Despite having put on a "confidence-face" Nora was having doubts in her mind about everything. Her present was just a small bag of chocolates and the fact that she even had a "confidence-face" just kept making her feel childish. She wasn't entirely sure if she could handle a rejection. The ghost thought "Well could a teen guy really be so hard on someone so childish?" he copied her internal voice and said "Maybe it would be better if I were just a kid."
Nora felt something was odd and wondered "Did I just think that?"
After a small pause the ghost said "Of course I did. There'd be less of a chance for him to outright reject me."
Nora seemed to accept this and then muttered under her breathe "Maybe if I were a little younger..." then the ghost went and shrank her down a year. Not too much noticeable changed but her breasts shrank a little bit along with her overall size. Trying to flex his power a little bit he tried changing her clothes just a little and found he was able to shrink the clothes a little bit.
Nora thought "Ok Steven should be somewhere in this park. It's usually deserted and he likes the isolation so..." She looked around and walked through the park a bit and didn't find anyone, her heart rate elevated as she wondered if she could be wrong. The ghost sensing her indecision and hard thinking shrank Nora further by two years. Her chest went back to A-cup range and she was fairly short at 4'8''. The ghost shrank her clothes and managed to make them look a little more cute with her boots and beanie becoming pink instead of black. Nora thought to herself "everything's looking a lot bigger... I could've sworn the chocolates were smaller as well..."
The ghost thought for Nora "I'm a little nervous that's all... I'm just feeling pressured and it's getting to me. I just have to find Steven!"
Nora then ran around faster to try to find her crush Steven. During this dash Nora shrank an additional year making her 12 and just starting to bud into puberty. Nora spotted Steven and her heart skipped a beat and as she ran and she rushed quicker, but ended up tripping and falling down onto some somewhat muddy grass which got her clothes a bit dirty but she wasn't hurt.
Nora thought "Great just my luck that I had to trip..." The ghost wanting to make everything work had Nora shrink even further all the way to six years old. Her clothes had all been changed to look more kid designed. Her Bra basically vanished, her beige jacket was now pink and fluffy, her white scarf was more poofy, her sweat pants now were pink as well and a lot more fuzzy, the black beanie was reverted black to black but against was more fuzzy, The shirt underneath was basically the same but smaller, but her panties now were pink with little kitty cats on them. Nora looked up and saw that her present had gotten a little ripped and muddy showing the chocolates inside, but the presentation was ruined.
The ghost made her think "Oh No! Steven's gift... How can I approach him now?... and i'm probably covered in mud now..."
Nora got sadder and in her little kid body started to cry a bit.
Steven who heard Nora fall and then start crying approached the now little girl and asked "Are you alright Miss?"
Nora stopped crying for a second and saw Steven had come to her, but now just upset she said "I don't know!" and then started to cry further.
Steven looking saw the present and picking it up and brushing off some of the dirt/mud said "Ah you must be upset about your present getting muddy... I think that it's still in good condition and would still make a good valentine gift."
Nora hearing this stopped crying a little bit and between a few sobs she asked "then... would you be my valentine?..." her eyes were still teary and her voice was completely earnest.
Steven had no idea how to respond but to try to get the girl to feel better said "Sure, I think you'll become a lovely lady."
Nora wasn't sure about the response but said "Thank you... Feel free to have some of the chocolates if you want..."
Steven opened up the present to find that they were some special imported chocolates. he loved this type but only had them once when his father brought them back as a souvenir when he was in kindergarten. He wondered who this girl could be and then thought "Probably the younger sister of one of my older classmates who've known me for awhile. I wonder where her parents could be..." Steven then said "Hey Miss why don't you go to the bathroom and clean yourself up. Your clothes may not be able to be cleaned so easily with all the... fluff... but you should at least clean your hands and face."
Nora just realizing how dirty she must look nodded and then ran to the bathroom, and when she approached the bathroom door she realized how small she had gotten. She reached up to the door and opened the bathroom. She managed to get to the top of the sink and saw that she was now a little girl with some dirt on her. She was stunned and wondered if Steven even recognized her. She had always had a crush on him for some time, but she didn't really talk to him that much. She wondered if he even knew who she was. Nora washed up a little bit then dried her hands and face, and then damped another paper tower and blotted some of the dirt out of her clothes. it wasn't too bad and while there may be a small stain or two she didn't really care right then.
Steven having looked around for Nora's parents or older sibling sighed after seeing no one and then decided to eat one of the chocolates. He scowled and the sweetness hit his mouth hard as he wondered how he could've enjoyed such a sweet chocolate. he wondered what he would do with the little girl.
Nora came out of the bathroom and Steven saw her and waved. Steven asked "So what's your name anyway missy? My name's Steven."
Nora said "Ari..." she was nervous and just tried to say her name backwards, but that being aron she tried to make it sound more feminine and Ari just came out. Not really knowing what to say she just stayed a bit more quiet.
Steven asked "so are your parents nearby or do you have a way of contacting them?"
Nora shuffled through her pockets and pulled out her cell phone... Although Steven who saw what it actually was said "...Um... that's a plastic candy phone... it's not actually good for calling anyone you know?"
Nora looked and saw the little candies rattling in the plastic cell phone shaped container and then put it back in her pocket as the ghost had a quick chuckle. Nora searched her pockets and came up with nothing else... her wallet was missing and replaced with only a few dollars and coins.
Steven asked "So do you have an older sibling? These chocolates have to be imported and the only people who knew I ever ate them were classmates in kindergarten."
Nora shrunk an additional year bringing her to 5 (not too much shrinking though), literally the year she was in kindergarten and said "I have Nora..."
Steven sighed remembering Nora. She was a shy girl who was always in a corner doing something. he didn't really remember her much but she was basically always in the corner of his life. Steven said "Tell you what. Since you have no way to contact your parents i'll just..."