But Leslie seemed so excited about him… the tiny girl didn’t have the heart to mention anything.

“Haven’t really talked to him”, she shrugged.

“But do you think he’s, you know, normal?”

“I think so, yeah”.

“Great!..”

It was only a matter of time before Leslie and Matt went on a date. Soon afterwards Audrey was officially introduced to the man. He was about five and ten - not too tall, but given Leslie’s partial shrinking he towered over her friend - and, of course, to Audrey he was a giant. There was a glint in his eye and a sly smile on his lips as he listened to Leslie talk about their childhood friendship. Of course, by the end of that day it was decided that Audrey and Matt should at least sit together during classes. This would make Leslie feel safer for her shrunken friend too.

She was a little wary around Matt, but they got along fine. They had some classes together and she’d usually be sitting on top of his desk, in a corner. He wasn’t very careful and often moved his hands or his things very quickly, and she quickly got jumpy around him, but he never actually teased her - at least in an evil way, though sometimes she got the feeling he was getting a kick out of lightly intimidating her by slamming a water bottle next to her or something of that sort. Often, he’d stay with her after class until Leslie arrived to pick her up. They talked sometimes; mostly about school, classes and things like that. They never got particularly close and Audrey often felt like he wasn't taking her seriously. That glint in his eye never came. Small talk was always casual and somewhat inattentive. All in all, she was getting the feeling that while he wasn't mean to her, he didn't really pay her much notice. Slowly but surely Audrey came to the conclusion that she didn't like him.

Leslie, on the other hand, did. A lot. She was almost in awe of Matt and would frequently invite him to sleep over at their place. The girls were spending less time together now because whenever Matt was over Leslie would be all over him; not to mention they often went out, leaving Audrey alone. Leslie adored her boyfriend to an almost annoying degree. While visiting, Matt would often lie down on the couch or play on Leslie's Xbox while she'd be running around getting tea and snacks or cooking dinner for them. As she poured more and more of herself into her relationship, Audrey was getting progressively more jealous. She hid it well, though, trying to be happy for her best friend, even if she thought Leslie deserved much better than this. She really didn't see what was there to fawn over in Matt. Arrogant, never serious, always behaving like he was entitled to Leslie's attention and respect... as, truth to be told, he seemed really comfortable with how much she was into him, but to Audrey it was painfully obvious he wasn't as much into her.
She did try to confront Leslie a couple of times. For example, there was that one evening where Matt and Leslie returned together and he immediately went to the bathroom. Several minutes later he joined the girls in the living room; Leslie was on the couch, Audrey - on the coffee table in front. As Matt sat down, he turned and swung his legs forwards, plopping his socked feet in Leslie's lap. "Be a babe, give me a footrub", he asked. She agreed, somewhat sheepishly, and for the next half an hour her small hands carefully rubbed his feet. Later that night, when Matt'd already left, Audrey asked:

"Why'd you even do it?"

"It's... it's just nice", Leslie replied. "I mean, he was happy with it, and it's not hard. It's just a footrub".

"But he didn't even say 'please'. And those socks were damp!"

"They weren't that bad! Audrey, it's sort of like... little acts of service, you know? It strengthens the relationship".

"Why are you always the one performing them?"

"You're just jealous!"