Stuck
Tessa took another bite of the cake. So delicious and moist, her mouth flooded with chocolaty goodness and soft, sweet bread. The Zigzagoon had always had a fondness for human food. Be it pizza, hamburgers, fish, and especially sweets, they were oh so much more tasty than berries. Plus, she didn't have to forage for human food. They left it out all the time and even when they didn't, it was nothing a little searching couldn't dig up.
Having finished her slice, she decided, what's the harm in another? She took out another generous piece from the spongy dessert. It was so good that she could almost forget that it wasn't doing any favors for her midsection. Though she was adamant not to, a quick glance at her plump tummy could've remedied that. All right, she figured that she might've just maybe grown a bit pudgy recently. But you'd never hear her admit it. She had always been a little stocky but normally her long coat of fur could hide it well enough. As of recently though, her sides had definitely been pooching out a bit more and her old hiding places were becoming increasingly cramped. That dropping down onto her stomach was growing easier was starting to nag at her.
So engrossed was she in her sweet treat, she didn't notice it was all gone until she was licking the plate. Looking towards the dessert revealed that there was only one or two slices left of the pre-cut cake. It hadn't been missing any pieces at all when she stumbled onto it. She let out a sigh. Had it not been for a pebble against a nearby window, she probably would've finished the job. She made her way across the tile countertops until she was standing in front of the window. Due to the lovely Sinnoh summer they had been having, these homeowners had cracked the window for some airflow. A pleasant breeze blew over, ruffling her fur pleasantly. Looking down below, the chubby Zigzagoon saw her good friend below, a Buneary named Moira.
Unlike Tessa, Moira was trainer-owned. She was part of a loving family here in Hearthrome. She received plenty of care and attention and would no doubt evolve should she ever reach that level. Moira took great care in her appearance and normally sported some pet sweater her owners had bought her. Thankfully, today it was simply restricted to two red barrettes in her ear fluff. One of the greatest parts about their friendship was that Moira also watched her weight. So if Tessa received one poffin and Moira received one poffin, that normally meant Tessa got to eat two poffins. The two had met in the most unlikely of circumstances: Tessa being caught redhanded trying to raid her owners' garbage cans while they were out. They hit it off and were soon best friends.
"Hey Moira, how'd you find me?" she questioned through the window.
"Call it women's intuition. What are you doing in there?"
"I don't knooow. Take a guess and I'll tell you if it's correct," the Zigzagoon answered playfully despite her friend's irritated tone.
"Raiding a pantry?"
"Wow, and on your first try. You know me too well."
"Tessa, you really should stop going into random houses and stealing their food." Apparently whatever Moira wanted to say could wait 'til she gave her little lecture.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's rude and mean and not civilized. But I'm wild. I don't have to obey your rules."
"Well, there's that. But it's getting to be more than that. Tessa, you're starting to put on some weight. Noticeable weight." Tessa froze at that. If there was one thing she hated, it was being called fat. Were Moira not her best friend, she wouldn't get a chance to speak between the volley of insults she volleyed back at her.
"Moira, you of all Pokemon should know that I what most people mistake as fat is simply my long, flowing fur. You know it's rather poofy."
"I've never seen fur jiggle like that," the Buneary muttered to herself.
"What was that?"
"I said your attitude makes me giggle and laugh." Tessa doubted that was what she really said but let it slide. Her mood was a bit sour now.
"Whad'ya want, Moira?"
"Well, I just wanted to tell you that the groomers are in town. The first 100 Pokemon get groomed for free. If you come with me, you could pose as a fellow pet. So I was wondering if you wanted to tag along?" Tessa perked up. She reared up on the window and looked at her reflection, for once glad that she was too short to see anything but her face. While her fur looked nice, a little touch up work certainly couldn't hurt it.
"I'll be down in a second. Meet me around back at the basement window." She dashed down into the basement, which had been converted into a home office.
The window she spoke of was close to the ceiling. It was one of the small rectangular ones, meant to let in some air and a bit of light. The humans here opened the window often and simply forgot to close it. It didn't normally matter since humans wouldn't consider trying to go through it. But since it was close to the ground, it was an easy entrance for Tessa to use whenever she felt like a snack, which was often. She usually stuck to sneaking stealthy foods that nobody would notice if they went missing. It just so happened that today the cake called out for her.
Tessa hopped from swivel chair, to desk, to computer tower, to file cabinet. The last jump was a bit tricky and she almost didn't make it this time, forcing her to haul herself up with her forepaws. But after this minor setback, she could see Moira's feet outside the window waiting for her. She flattened out on her stomach and squeezed through the open window.
But… dang if it wasn't a real squeeze today. As soon as she entered, she could feel the window frame pressing into her soft flesh and it didn't get any easier as she slowly inched forward. Her progress was slow in the beginning and unfortunately for the Tessa, too soon it slowed to a stand still. She tried pushing forward but her rotund middle simply sat jammed there jammed in the window. She wriggled a bit only to find herself tightly wedged in there.
"Hurry Tessa, they aren't going to be around all day. Stop fooling around."
"I'm… try… ing, " she said between clenched teeth as she futilely tried to push her stomach through. A look back confirmed her worst fears. Her healthy middle had no room to spare in the window. She had a feeling there was going to be trouble when the space became tight nearly as soon as he entered. The windowsill bit deeply into her belly and it was rapidly becoming clear that she wasn't going anywhere in a hurry.
"Wait. Tessa, don't tell me. Are you stuck?"
"N-n-no." Her midsection begged to differ as it defiantly remained firmly planted in the window.
"Face it, Tessa. You're stuck. You were able to get in here beforehand but your voracious appetite has caught up with you and now you're too fat to use the same small way twice."
"It doesn't matter what I am right now. Just help me out," Tessa demanded from behind gritted teeth. She tried to get out again to no avail.
"All right. I'll help you. But only if you first admit that you've gained a bit of weight."
"Moira-"
"Admit that you've packed on the pounds and I'll help you." Tessa bit her lip in silence. She didn't want to say anything of the sort and the Buneary's smug grin wasn't helping anything. But the more she tried to force herself through the window, the more her rotund waist told her she didn't have very many options.
"F-f-f-fine. I- I might've perhaps possibly maybe-"
"Tessa!"
"Alright. I've gotten rather plump and now I'm too big to fit through this window… Happy?"
"Yes. Now lets get you out of there." Moira grabbed her front paws and pulled while Tessa pushed with her back paws. Now, she'd like to say that through the power of friendship, they were able to overcome this obstacle. But even with their combined efforts, she only advanced maybe five centimeters at max before Moira fell backwards. And though she was loathe to admit it, she felt everyone of those centimeters tighten around her waist like a vise as the windowsill bit further and further into her prodigious tummy.
"Hey Moira. What happened to the truth will set you free?"
"I don't think that applies here."
"Well I think it does. And since I'm most certainly still stuck here, it was a lie. So therefore, my increased consumption and perfectly fine middle have nothing to do with my current situation." Moira merely rolled her eyes. Tessa wriggled her rump and confirmed her suspicions. Judging by the sparse amount her belly had moved, she was even more stuck than before, if only by a small margin.
"What if I pushed you out?"
"Grand idea Moira. There's just one small problem. I don't think even you could fit between me."
"No, but if we could just get you inside-"
"Wait. You want me to try to get back inside just so I can get back in this same situation only with you on the other side?"
"… Yeah, that's the general idea." There was a moment of silence before Tessa replied, "This better be worth doing twice." She took on a strained expression as she tried to pull herself out of the window. It still didn't work. She might as well have tried to go through a brick wall from the feel of it.
"It's no use Moira. I'm trapped no matter whether I go forward or backwards." Moira didn't reply, or at least, not verbally. Noticing her friends trouble with going in reverse, she rammed into her as fast as she could. Tessa swore she heard a pop as the combined force pushed her out on to the side she started on. Tessa spilled ungracefully onto the filing cabinet. Much to Tessa's chagrin, her best friend had an easier time getting in than she did the very first time she entered.
And so she tried again, this time with Moira at the rear. She once again tried to fit her girth through the window only to find herself woefully too big, or the window sadly lacking in space as Tessa preferred to look at it. She glanced back to find her round tummy snugly pressed against the frame. Then she let out an "oof" as Moira put all her weight into pushing her forward.
"Come on, Tessa. Suck your gut in," the Buneary demanded from behind gritted teeth.
"I am," she replied forlornly. In the end, it was for naught. Her rather plump belly was simply too big to squeeze through anymore. Moira laid against the Zigzagoon's prominent rump while Tessa remained stuck, both panting from the effort.
"Tessa, it's not going to work. You're a very round peg trying to fit through a square hole."
"Moira, I'm going to hurt you once I get out of here." The Buneary chuckled at her threat.
"Sure you will. But seriously, from the looks of it, you're much too fat to fit. If this was the result of just a little snack, I'm surprised you made it through the first time." Tessa bit her lip as she remembered that getting in this time had required a lot of wriggling and squirming before she finally got inside.
"I'll admit that it was one of my tougher times getting in but surely you're exaggerating." Moira simply rubbed the underside of Tessa's belly, using an old weakpoint of hers against her. While it felt good, it didn't stop Tessa from letting out a shiver once realization dawned on her. Where Moira had scratched was a good inch away from the windowsill, both horizontally and vertically. While that didn't sound like much, it might as well have been a mile away with how tight she was packed in. She was stuck fast and she hadn't even reached her widest point. She tried to struggle forward, wanting to prove Moira wrong, but all it proved was that she was, quite frankly, simply too fat to fit through the window.
"Alright Tessa, I think you've suffered enough torture. Let's get you out of there and find a spot more forgiving to huskier girls." Tessa growled at the fat joke.
Tessa felt Moira's paws grab onto her haunches, leaving her feet free to work with the Buneary. However, compared with the resounding success of last time, the Zigzagoon only shifted a smidgen at the tugging.
"What happened? You couldn't possibly have gained any more pounds since you were last in here."
"I think I know. Your pushing is better than your pulling. It requires less effort and allows you to more effectively swing your weight around, what little you have. Last time, you were pushing me out, which made it possible for me to get back inside. This time, you were pushing me in, which judging by how big my waist is, didn't get me any further than before. So in other words, great job for making it even harder for me to get out."
"That sounds surprisingly well thought out for you, Tessa. Are you sure this is the same friend who struggled to get in here without thinking that eating nearly an entire cake wouldn't have adverse effects? I'd offer you a cookie but that probably would hurt us even more."
"Oh sure, make fun of the pudgy girl while she can't do anything."
"Tessa, I'm pretty sure you've passed your pudgy stage," she grunted out as she hefted back on her friend. The next few minutes passed by as slow as delicious molasses. Tessa's tubby state left her wedged in the window good and tight. Every so often she could feel minute movements but nothing to write home about. Moira was panting and huffing from constantly trying to pull on her friends equally large behind and Tessa almost started crying from all the wasted effort. But it all paid off when they finally reached the where Tessa could move again. Not that they had time to recognize it because as soon as her gut was done being held back, the two fell backward off the filing cabinet as her less large front slid easily through.
"Tessa, do you mind getting off of me? Your stomach is crushing me." What Tessa didn't like was that even once she stood up, her orbular tummy still pressed heavily on her friend. Once the two were on their feet again, Moira let out a low whistle now that she had a good view of her friend.
"How much cake did you eat? Your middle is the size of a soccer ball." Her response was a swat at the Buneary. Now that she was no longer stuck, she didn't have to put up with the pokes at her weight. The two dashed upstairs to find another way out.
"Hey Moira, what about the windows?"
"I thought you'd be well enough acquainted with windows and small spaces."
"Yeah, but that one was small. Most windows are much larger and higher off the ground." Moira tried the window in the living room, a nearby couch granting easy access.
"Locked. It's latched shut. Now while I don't have thumbs, I think I might be able to-," she was cut off there as Tessa, running as fast as her little paws would let her, made a running leap at the window. Having shielded herself with a fancy, thick, glass salad bowl, she smashed through the window pane and onto the streets.
"Tessa!"
"Yes?"
"You broke the window!"
"Yeah I did! And thanks to my ingenious use of dinnerware, I didn't get but a few nicks and scratches."
"Tessa, that was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. You shouldn't have done that, it's crime called vandalism."
"Maybe for you. But I'm wild. I technically don't know the laws and stipulations and no one expects a wild Pokemon to know anything about those sorts of things." Moira fretted about and carefully stepped around shards of glass.
"Well, that's it. Judging from the sky, the groomers have no doubt left, first 100 free or not. I might get in trouble for your reckless actions. And my owners are no doubt worried sick about me. But at least we learned something, right?" Tessa was tight-lipped but she answered the question inside her head. When all else fails, there's always vandalism and that house now needed to be crossed of her mental list of houses that could be snuck into. Oh fine. And she might want to consider losing some weight. But that could wait til later. Her round tummy gurgled in hunger and Tessa gave a sideways look at a greasy fast food chain, drawing an exasperated gasp from Moira.