Just Add Water (Completed)

002.

The next morning, Pon woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring. Groggily, he sat up, rubbing his eyes and glancing at the clock. He was running a bit late, as usual, but he managed to drag himself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom to wash his face. As he splashed water on his face, he suddenly remembered the “Grow a Boyfriend” toy he’d left in the bathtub.

“Oh, right... that silly toy,” he muttered, chuckling to himself. “Wonder if it even did anything.”

He walked over to the tub, not expecting much. It was a joke, after all it's just a silly toy his friends had given him. But as he leaned over and looked into the tub, he froze, his eyes widening.

The tiny plastic figure was no longer tiny. In fact, it had grown to nearly the size of a small doll. Pon blinked, rubbing his eyes, wondering if he was still dreaming.

“No way...” he whispered. “This can’t be real.”

Pon leaned closer, peering at the figure. It was still a little blurry, but it definitely looked like it had grown. The figure’s limbs were more defined, and its face, though still generic and blank, seemed almost... human?

Pon laughed nervously, scratching his head. “Okay, maybe I’m just seeing things. It’s too early for this.”

He reached down, poking the figure with his finger. It felt spongy, like those squishy toys you could squeeze. But it was definitely bigger than before, and it seemed even softer. Pon pulled his hand back, shaking his head in disbelief.

“This is crazy,” he muttered, glancing around as if someone was watching. “It’s just a toy. It can’t actually grow... can it?”

Just then, his phone buzzed with a message. He grabbed it, seeing a text from Aon.

Aon: “So, did you try the boyfriend yet? ;)”

Pon rolled his eyes, typing back a quick response.

Pon: “Yeah, I tried it. It... actually looks like it’s growing?”

Aon responded almost immediately.

Aon: “LOL, no way! Are you serious? Send a pic!”

Pon hesitated, glancing down at the strange figure in his tub. Did he really want to send a picture of this? It felt embarrassing, but he figured Aon and Michael would probably get a kick out of it. So, he quickly snapped a picture and sent it.

Aon: “Haha! Look at that! Maybe it’s actually working. Got yourself a boyfriend after all!”

Pon: “Very funny. I still don’t get how this thing grew. Maybe it’s just one of those expand-in-water toys?”

Aon: “Maybe... or maybe it’s magic ;)”

Pon rolled his eyes again, chuckling to himself. “Magic, right,” he muttered sarcastically. Still, he couldn’t shake the strange feeling he had. The toy looked so... different. Almost like it was alive. But that was impossible, of course. It was just a gag gift, nothing more.

He glanced at the clock, realizing he was even later than he thought. He didn’t have time to keep staring at his “boyfriend,” so he grabbed his toothbrush and hurried through his morning routine. As he brushed his teeth, he kept stealing glances at the figure in the tub, half-expecting it to move.

After he finished getting ready, he leaned over the tub once more, staring at the figure. “Okay, boyfriend, you stay here,” he muttered, pointing at it as if it could understand him. “Don’t go causing any trouble, alright?”

He chuckled at his own joke, grabbing his bag and heading out the door. As he walked to work, his mind kept drifting back to the strange figure. It was silly, of course, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something unusual was happening.

When he arrived at the office, Aon and Michael were waiting for him with matching grins on their faces.

“Well?” Michael said, waggling his eyebrows. “How’s your new boyfriend doing?”

Pon sighed, rolling his eyes. “You guys are never going to let this go, are you?”

“Absolutely not,” Aon replied, laughing. “So, did it actually grow? Or were you just messing with us?”

Pon shrugged, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. “It actually grew. I don’t know how, but it’s almost the size of a doll now.”

Michael’s eyes widened. “Seriously? That’s hilarious! Maybe it really is magic.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pon muttered, shaking his head. “It’s probably just one of those cheap toys that expands in water. But it’s still... weird.”

Aon leaned in, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “So, are you going to keep it? Maybe you’ll have a full-sized boyfriend by the end of the week!”

Pon laughed, though he felt a little uneasy. “Very funny. I don’t think it’ll grow that much. It’s just a toy, remember?”

Michael shrugged, grinning. “You never know. Maybe you’ll wake up one day, and it’ll be life-sized, waiting to make you breakfast.”

Pon snorted. “If that happens, I’ll marry it.”

They all burst out laughing, but Pon couldn’t shake the strange feeling he had. There was something about that toy... something that didn’t feel quite right. But he pushed the thought aside, focusing on his work for the rest of the day.

However, every now and then, his mind would wander back to the figure in his bathtub. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would look like when he got home. Would it keep growing? Or would it shrink back to its original size?

By the end of the day, Pon’s curiosity had grown. As he said goodbye to Aon and Michael, he found himself almost rushing home, eager to see if anything had changed.

When he opened the door to his apartment, he immediately went to the bathroom, half-expecting the figure to still be the same. But as he peered over the edge of the tub, he gasped.

The figure was even bigger. It was now nearly the size of a child’s doll, with defined features that seemed more detailed than before. Pon stared at it, feeling his heart race.

“This... this can’t be real,” he whispered. But there it was, sitting in his tub, bigger than ever.

Pon reached out hesitantly, touching the figure. It felt warm, almost like real skin. He jerked his hand back, his mind racing with confusion and disbelief.

“Okay... maybe Aon was right. Maybe it really is magic,” he muttered to himself, half-joking but also half-serious.

He stood there for a while, just staring at the figure, wondering what he should do. Should he take it out of the water? Leave it there? He had no idea.

Finally, he backed away, leaving the bathroom and closing the door. “I must be losing my mind,” he whispered, shaking his head. But deep down, he couldn’t deny the strange excitement he felt.

As he lay in bed that night, his mind kept drifting back to the figure in the tub. He knew it was silly, but he couldn’t help feeling like something big was about to happen.