~insert lovey-dovey praise to all of my reviewers here~ I seriously love you all. I don't know how much more I can say it. I love you all. So here's the next part. My IRL friend, Shana wished to see this oneshot because she has a dirty mind... haha, no no, this chapter is actually pretty harmless, and I had fun writing it! We've made Garry feel awkward enough, so let's make Ib feel awkward.

Prompt Word #23: Breasts

Ib headed for the school exit as the bell rang for the final time that day. All the while, that uncomfortable, itching sensation surfaced again for possibly the millionth time that day. Usually, Ib treasured things given to her by her mother; this morning, however, when Ib's mother gave her.. that to wear, it made her feel weird.

All the while she walked, her arms were crossed over her chest, ignoring that itch she so desperately wanted to scratch. Around her shoulders, in the impossible spot to reach on her back, and underneath her—no, she didn't want to think about that! Her arms pressed more tightly around her chest. When she left for school that morning after putting that on, she noticed it made her look different. Maybe it was just her, but she noticed it, and if she noticed it, maybe her classmates would notice it.

"Good afternoon, Ib," came the voice of Garry, who was waiting for her outside the school gates. She bit at her lip, keeping her arms crossed. "How was school today?"

"Oh, it was..just like every other day," she responded. Normally she could talk to Garry about anything. But this..it was way too embarrassing. "But I finished all of my work today, so no homework." That part was true. Normally, she wasted time in school daydreaming about...someone... but her mind was elsewhere today. And the only way to get her mind off that itch begging to be tended to was to focus solely on her schoolwork.

"Great!" Garry exclaimed, flashing her one of his smiles that she loved so much. It was almost enough to take her mind off of that. "Shall we get going then?"

Ib nodded, and the two of them started walking. Garry made some small talk with her, and she responded with sounds of acknowledgement. Her mind was too focused on what her mother told her this morning.

-.-.-.-

"It's itchy!" Ib had complained to her. "And it just feels weird!"

"Ib, you're growing up," her mother explained. "Your body is changing, and this is something you need to adapt to that change."

"I don't like it," Ib pouted. "What if everyone sees?"

"Ib, every girl has to go through this at one point," her mother continued. "Trust me, you aren't the only one."

"Mamaaa!" Ib whined. The two of them argued over it so much that Ib was nearly late for school. Her mother won the argument, and even though Ib's mother had told her all of that stuff, Ib still felt like everyone could notice. And she felt like she was the only one.

-.-.-.-

"Ib, it's unladylike to keep your arms crossed like that," Garry suddenly chimed in, making her blush furiously. Her arms only tightened, and she wiped her sweaty hands on her sleeves. "Ib, is something the matter? You look a little... uh, bothered."

"I'm.. I'm fine," she lied. The blush in her cheeks was spreading through her whole face. The entire time, she could feel Garry's eyes on her. It immediately made her uncomfortable, since she figured he might eventually see...

"I find that hard to fathom," he admitted. "Something's wrong. Would you like to talk about it?"

Ib stiffened. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Ah, so there is something bothering you." Ib could hear the smirk in his voice. "Well, if you change your mind, you know I'm willing to listen."

The two of them continued on to Garry's apartment. The entire time, Ib kept her arms crossed and her eyes from Garry. Having to wear this was bad enough, but Garry was a boy. He didn't have to go through this, so he wouldn't understand.

Garry wrenched the knob to his apartment door open, and Ib made her way inside, kicking off her shoes at the entrance. Her arms never moved from their spot. Ib nervously sat herself on Garry's light blue couch, picking up the book that already sat on it, and opened it up. She wasn't reading it at all, she was just using it to cover her chest since her arms were so tired.

The book was closed shut by Garry, who took it from her. Ib crossed her arms, scarlet filling her cheeks once again.

"That book is beyond your level of reading, I'm afraid," he explained, taking a seat in the spot next to her. Garry wasted no time with his next remark, "Ib, do tell me what's troubling you. You know I don't like to see you upset."

Ib felt like her arms were made of jelly, so she pulled her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. She couldn't tell him. It was simply too embarrassing. Ib thought it was weird, Garry would probably think so too, since he was a boy. But Ib really did want to tell him, just so he'd understand why she was so bothered. If he was upset, then she was too, and vice-versa. So her uncomfortable feelings made him upset, which in turn made her upset. She sighed, sinking her head lower into her knees. Growing up was hard.

Ib jolted when she felt Garry's hand rest on her back and rub it up and down. Her blood turned to ice when his fingertips settled on the strap underneath her shirt. In a simple gesture to comfort Ib, he found out what was troubling her. Her flustered gaze met his, and she saw that Garry was his own shade of crimson. His trembling hand slowly removed itself from her back.

"O-oh," he stammered. "T-that's what's bothering you, isn't it?

After a long moment of silence, Ib finally spoke up, pulling her knees closer. "Mama made me wear it. Said I was changing. Ugh, but it feels so weird and it itches and... and..."

Ib simply let out a frustrated growl to finish her explanation. This thing annoyed her to no end. She knew grown-ups wore them, too, but she didn't get how they could deal with it after ten minutes.

"Well, ah," Garry began, clearing his throat. Ib slowly set her gaze on him, honestly interested in what he had to add to this situation. "She's right, you know. And you probably aren't alone."

"B-but!" Ib protested. "All of the girls in my class don't have to... wear these!"

"They don't? Did you ask them?"

"W-well, no, but—"

"Then how do you know for certain?" He genuinely sounded curious.

"They never said anything about.. this." Ib refused to call the thing by its name.

"You didn't tell anyone," he explained to her. "So what makes you think any other girl is going to tell?

Ib was silent, as he made a good point. She hung her head, trying to think of a rebuttal to his statement, but found that her argument had run dry.

"Think of it this way," Garry began. "The way you feel about it? Every other girl in the world feels the same way. It's not just you."

Ib eyed him suspiciously, "Garry, you're a boy. How would you know?"

"Well, er," he started, nervously scratching his head. "Boys go through some..changes as well, and—while not like a girl's—can make some feel a bit insecure."

"Really?" Ib was a little interested. "Like what?"

Garry sighed, "Ah, you'll have to wait until you're a bit older."

Ib pouted. She was already in a bra. How much older did she have to get?

And there you have it! This one was considerably longer. I hope you all have enjoyed, all of my readers and reviews and story alerts and the like are GREATLY appreciated. Hugs and kisses to you all!

Also a quick little note... when I publish these chapters, I've noticed that when I italicize words for emphasis, fanfiction likes to delete the space between the italicized word and the word after it. I've been going through and fixing them, so if you see any like that, please let me know. Thanks again for reading!