Published: October 14th 2021, 6:41:24 am
Note: This was a more realistic direction I took with candy, but I also wanted to do a fantasy based one, a la candyland. I'll try that tomorrow! By the way, if you have any predictions about what happens next, feel free to leave them in the comments! I'll be interested to hear your guesses!
"Do you have a candy wrapper in your pocket?"
"Uh... uh... no," said Pete, backing away, as if to defend against anyone trying to take his supposed pocket candy. The freckle faced kid stared at him, and looked like he was going to try and go for it, but instead, Pete bumped into the person behind him.
"Oof!"
*CRINKLE*
Pete winced at the sound and spun around, apologizing profusely.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!!!" He said, as he came face to face with the school bully, Clarence. Then his eyes and mouth opened in horror as he saw the big jerk grin and reach for his pants.
"Take this, doofus!"
"Nooooo!" yelled Pete as he suddenly found his pants around his ankles and a big thick baby diaper showing for all to see. He only succeeded in turning all the heads in the store his way.
"Diaper doofus!" yelled Clarence, laughing derisively. The kid who had asked the question was laughing too. Everyone was. Then the manager came, holding an opened package of diapers.
"So you're the pamper pilferer. You'll have to pay for these, young man." Pete looked on as everyone laughed and made embarrassing comments about how he was a diaper thief and he must belong in them.
"B-but I don't have any money," said Pete, pulling out his pockets to show lint.
"I'll pay for them," said Clarence. "And I'll make sure he wears them too. Every day."
"Haha, every day! Yeah!" said Clarence's best friend and yes man, Stephan.
"Sounds good to me," said the manager. "He's lucky you stepped in, or he'd be giving his parents a very embarrassing phone call.
"I have his home phone if you want to call her now.
"I think I will," said the manager.
"NOOOO!" yelled Pete, jumping out of bed.
Everything was dark. Why was everything dark all of a sudden? His eyes adjusted. Two in the morning. Crap. It had all been a dream. Thank goodness. He had been having the diaper dreams again lately. He knew what that meant. Sooner or later, he'd have to get his hands on a diaper. Why the hell wouldn't this strange compulsion just leave him alone? His heart was still racing, palms sweaty from thinking about those crinkly cushiony pamps and the humiliation of being made to wear them by his old bully. But that was all last year's news. And he hadn't even really been caught. Yeah, the kid asked the question while he was making his exit in the pilfered pamper, but aside from a mild coronary, nothing else came of it.
But there's always next time, said a little voice in the back of his mind.
Pete groaned. "Why am I thinking about this again?"
It was halfway to Halloween, and it seemed like everywhere he went something reminded him of diapers. There was that seasonal costume shop. Every year he'd go there and spend a little too much time staring at the big baby costume - the one with the real diaper inside. Bigger and thicker than any he'd seen in person. And then there was all the candy... the kid was right about one thing - those candy and diapers sounded a lot alike.
Candy! he thought. This was the perfect chance to sneak downstairs and eat the halloween candy his mom had been keeping in the China cabinet. That always made him feel better after a diaper dream, and certainly was a less guilt-inducing way to end up with sticky fingers.
So he tiptoed down the stairs, amazed that the racket he had made didn't wake anyone up. One... two... creeeeakkk... Three... four... Creaakkk... little by little he made his way down to the bottom, listening intently to hear if anyone was stirring. He could always pass it off as him getting a glass of water if he was caught going down the stairs, but if he got caught with his hands in the china cabinet, well that would just be the end of him.
Sure it was a risk, but... candy. He was drooling just thinking about all those delicious sweets. He worked his way down the hall and pulled open the door ever so slightly, reaching his hand in to feel for the bags, then worming his finger into the tear he'd made in one. No one would miss a few little candy bars, right?
He stuffed a handful in his pajama pocket, knowing better than to leave any wrappers in the downstairs trash can. He decided to get a glass of water anyway, just in case. That would be the perfect cover if he got caught on the way up.
Step step *crinkle*. Step step *crinkle*.
That was the one problem with his plan.
"Honey? Is that you?"
"Yeah, just me mom," he called back, softly. "Just getting a glass of water."
His sister's bedroom door opened as his mom walked out, bleary eyed. "You shouldn't have water at night. You know what happens."
"Sorry, Mom," he said trying his best to sound sarcastic while still frozen at the top of the stairs. "You didn't have to get up to tell me that, you can go back to bed."
"Oh, it's fine, I couldn't sleep anyway," she said, looking more awake by the moment. "Wait... Why do you look like a deer caught in headlights?" she asked, squinting at him suspiciously.
"N-no reason!" said Pete. "Carry on. Carry on."
But she wasn't buying it. He backed away as she came up to him and looked at him with suspicion. *C R I N K L E*
"What is that noise? Oh, I'll bet I know."
He kept backing up, shaking his head.
"No wonder you don't seem worried about wetting the bed, Petey."
"Oh my god, as if. Leave me alone, you're being weird," he said, practically tripping over his words - and his feet. Unfortunately that's when he really did trip, and fell straight on his butt, smashing the candy bars in his pockets and spilling water all over his pajama pants.
"Shit." he said, in the harshest yell-whisper he could manage as he fell.
"Oooh, you said a bad word... I'm telling..."
He had had enough. He quickly retreated into his room and shut the door. He knew that his sister wouldn't wake up his parents in the middle of the night even to tattle on him. He would be good. His pajama pants on the other hand...
He took them off only to find that the candy bar packages had split and chocolate had been mashed hopelessly into his pajamas. They were dripping wet, too. He'd have to sneak them into the wash in the morning before his sister got up and ratted on him. No way he wanted to explain this mess, but no way was he going to go out there and risk her seeing him ditch the evidence of this candy coated fiasco either. He stuffed his pajamas in the bottom of his hamper and wiped the water and chocolate off his body as best he could with a dirty sock, then he crawled into bed, not even noticing how poor a job he'd done as he speared chocolate on the sheets and dampened them in spots too.
To bed without any sticky fingers, candy or otherwise. That sucked. Why were the things he wanted most so risky? Why couldn't he just say no?
"I better not have another diaper dream, or I'm seriously going to lose my mind," he muttered to himself, as he laid in bed. He double checked the alarm on his phone. Made sure his phone was plugged in as it was dangerously low on battery. Laid back in bed. Sighed. Fidgeted. Checked his alarm one more time, setting it a little earlier to get up before everyone else. Eventually, he managed to driift back to sleep.
And while he smiled and dreamed of yet more diapers, a small power outage made the phone screen come on as if it was just unplugged. The last percent of the phone ticked down and it went dark as he dozed happily on.