By My Side

By My Side

A Short Story by SalemSage


---

Rachel didn't know what to do.

As she sat in her room,  throwing away her umpteenth tissue, she wondered how bad
tomorrow was going to be. Probably really bad.

What are my options?

Well, I could miraculously invent an amnesia device and zap everyone at school... She
shook her head.

Come on, get realistic.

But if she was going to get realistic, the only option was to face the music - the
one thing she didn't want to do.

As she thought back, several alternate timelines played out in her mind...



---



"Hey Rachel, could I check your homework?" Brittany asked her friend, smiling.

"Why, so you can copy it off me again?"

"That biology homework was really difficult and you KNOW I can't do biology! If
Mr Atkins doesn't get my homework again, I'll be grounded for sure!"

"...okay, fine, but hurry up." Rachel retrieved her homework from her bag and
handed it over to Brittany, who hurriedly began to read it, making notes on
her own paper every so often.

"I'll be right back, I'm kinda thirsty." Rachel turned away from her friend to
walk to the drinking fountain.


---
Oh, if ONLY I'd checked my shoelaces...
---

Disorientation. Confusion. Fear. Rachel looked up, rubbing her left knee. And to
her horror, she realised that her one true fear had come to pass.

Her skirt had flown upwards, and her diaper was visible to everyone in the hall.

Laughter. Jeers. Catcalls. They came almost instantly, their words cutting deep.
Rachel stood up and hurriedly smoothed her skirt, as if it would make everyone
forget.

As if.

"Look at the diaper girl, does she need changing?"

"Aren't you lost? Why aren't you in the nursery?"

"Watch out, she'll pee on you if you're not careful!"


Rachel looked to her friend for moral support, and found the straw that broke the camel's back.

Brittany was laughing at her as well.

Utterly humiliated, she fled the scene.



---


Upon thinking of that nightmarish scenario that had happened earlier today, Rachel felt a rush
of anger. She picked up her shoe and threw it across the room, before collapsing back onto
her bed.

Almost instantly as she did so, there was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Rach? There's someone at the door for you."

As she stood up, Rachel idly thought that she probably shouldn't be doing this, but a moment later
her thoughts formed again, and she made a decision. There wasn't going to be any way to escape from
her situation, so she may as well find out if it was someone teasing her about her diapers. If it was,
well, she'd do her best to deal with it. Running away wouldn't solve her problems.

As she reached the door, her heart sank as she saw Rick.


It just HAD to be him, didn't it? And on the night before Valentine's day...


"Hi Rach," Rick said. When Rachel didn't respond, he spoke again. "I just came round to see how you
were doing today."

"As if," Rachel muttered. "I know you've heard about what happened to me today."

"Yeah, I know," Rick said, frowning. "Rach, I'm not here to make fun of you."

"Really?" Rachel's heart began to lift. Could it be? Was the guy she'd had a crush on for two years
going to be supportive?

She shook her head. "You can't be serious. This is the worst thing to happen to me since ever, and
not even my so-called best friend Brittany wants to talk to me to help out. Why would ever want to
talk to me, the Diaper Girl, anyw-"

"-because wearing diapers is nothing to be ashamed of. I should know." With those words, he shifted
in his stance slightly, and Rachel could see something poking out from his jeans. They couldn't be...
could they?

"You too, huh?" Rick nodded at her question.

"Rachel, I want to tell you something. I've always wanted to talk to you, you know. But I've always
been petrified. What if you found out about my diapers? I've always been worried about people
finding out, but I've been most afraid of you finding out."

"But now you know I wear diapers, you have nothing to be afraid of. Right?"

Rick nodded. "And I thought that I should get over my fear of somebody finding out and come to talk
to you. Help you feel better."

"But what's going to happen tomorrow? I'm never going to live this down, ever!"

"I'll be there by your side, Rach."

That was all he needed to say. Rachel realised that yes, if there was just one person who would stand
by her, who wouldn't ridicule her, facing everyone else would be a lot easier.

"Oh, and Rach?"

"Rick?"

"I don't know if you noticed the date, but tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Rachel, would you be my valentine?"