Suzanne[/@ch_1] enters, eyes widening at the sight of her friend.] Suzanne stands frozen in the doorway, her gaze fixed on Joyce, whose silhouette is dramatically altered by a pronounced, unmistakably pregnant belly. "Joyce… What happened? You look like you're about to pop! Five days ago, you were—well, you weren't like this." Joyce shifts uncomfortably, resting a protective hand on her stomach, her expression caught between embarrassment and disbelief.

Joyce[/@ch_2] hesitates, gathering her thoughts, while Suzanne perches on the edge of the couch, bracing herself for an explanation.] "This is going to sound weird, Suzanne, but you have to believe me," Joyce starts, her voice trembling as she recounts the surreal events from two nights earlier. She describes how she and Jack, her boyfriend, were lounging on the very sofa, the atmosphere charged with flirtation, when reality itself seemed to tear open before their eyes. "The air in the center of the living room literally ripped apart, and this hideous monster—scaly, with way too many eyes—stepped out like it was walking through a curtain,"

"I am a denizen of the fourth dimension beginning exploration of the third dimension," the monster announced, its words reverberating through the stunned silence. Jack, desperate to impress, puffs up his chest, his bravado barely concealing his fear. "Scram, four eyes!" he shouts, though the creature’s actual eye count is much higher, his bravado growing with every insult hurled.

Jack[/@ch_3] continues his barrage of taunts, the monster’s expression twisting with annoyance. The room seems to vibrate with otherworldly energy, colors warping and shadows writhing along the walls.] "Such insolence!" snarls the monster, its many eyes narrowing. "And if you don't like it, you can stuff it where the sun don't shine!" Jack bellows, oblivious to the consequences. A wicked grin creeps across the monster’s face as it responds, "That gives me an idea," and in that instant, Jack begins to fade, his form shrinking and dissolving until nothing remains but silence—and the sudden, mysterious fullness in Joyce’s belly.

Suzanne[/@ch_1] sits back, trying to wrap her mind around the impossible, her gaze flickering between her friend’s face and her swollen stomach.] "You mean Jack was—what, age regressed before birth? Is he… in there?" she asks, voice barely above a whisper, her hand hesitantly reaching out to pat Joyce’s abdomen. "Yes," Joyce replies, her voice soft but certain, a strange mixture of awe and exasperation in her eyes.

"I wonder what Jack is thinking now," Suzanne muses, her lips curling into a sly smile. "He's probably extremely happy," Joyce answers, her tone wry. "After all, he’d been trying to get into my pants all that evening." The two women dissolve into laughter, the surreal horror giving way to a bond forged by the strangest experience they will ever share.