Raquel's Only Wish

[Emily_in_Diapers]

My first and only diaper story. Feedback is always appreciated.

CHAPTER 1

The sun had only just begun rising over the open ocean as a bright yellow Pontiac Grand Prix came racing through the winding shores of the South Carolina coast line. The car glimmered bright in the morning sunlight like a shooting star making its way through the night sky. Raquel Hernandez sat in the back of the car, safely secured in her car seat. The young girl was exhausted from what seemed like countless hours of driving. She had never been one to fall asleep during long car rides, especially in times of great anxiety such as this¬—Raquel and her father were in a strange place, far away from their home in Puerto Rico

The car finally came to a screeching halt outside of an old, rundown motel that sat on the outskirts of town. Although it was hidden from her sight, Raquel could still hear the sound of her father loading a handgun in the front seat. It was a sound that she knew all too well and it was easily enough to send a wave of chills surging across her body. Even at the young, naive age of seven, she knew the reason they were here. She knew that her father held a grudge and would go to any lengths to get revenge on the men who killed her mother.

“Papi, por favor no te vayas!” Raquel yelled in Spanish in a final attempt to change her fathers mind. All she wanted was to leave this place—to forget about the men in that room and to go back home.

Reluctantly, he turned around to look into his daughters emerald green eyes, “Lo siento, tengo que mija.”

Knowing there was nothing she could do or say to change his mind, she simply sighed and shook her head.

Her father leaned into the backseat of the car and kissed her on the forehead, “Vuelvo en seguida, te prometo”.

Raquel could do nothing but watch as he turned away, intently walking towards the motel room. The poor girl could feel her whole body shaking—she was more terrified in this moment than she had been in her entire life. Only a week ago, she had lost her mother. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her father too—he was the only family she had left in the entire world.

As her father moved closer to the motel room, he discovered that the door was already open a crack. Suspicious, he drew his weapon and slowly let himself inside. Only a short moment of silence passed until Raquel was startled by the sounds of sirens closing in all around her. Multiple American police officers were surrounding the building and pointing their guns directly at the room that her father was inside of, “Police! Come out slowly with your hands your hands where we can see them!” they demanded.

The door of the motel room opened again and her father stepped out with his hands held high above his head. Raquel now had a direct line of sight into the room, which revealed two dead bodies lying across the bed.

As the police patted down her father, he began protesting— in English this time—that he was innocent, but they weren’t listening. Raquel watched as they slammed him face down on the front of his own car and proceeded to handcuff him violently.

She started to cry, unable to move, unable to believe this was happening.
“Papi! No!”

Raquel’s eyes shot open; her pulse was racing as she awoke from a deep sleep, realizing that it was all just a dream. She propped herself up in her bed, breathing hard and covered in sweat.

A bad dream, she told herself.

But she couldn’t pretend it was only a dream—it was a memory. It had actually happened. Eight years ago, her father had hauled away in front of her and she never saw him again.

As her mind slowly shifted back to reality, she turned to look at the alarm clock on her nightstand and realized that it was only 6:00 AM. Not that it mattered—there was no way she could go back to sleep after such a vivid dream. She didn’t even need to feel the front of her diaper to tell that it had been recently wet, as it was still warm and clinging tight to her skin. The teenage girl sighed, swung her legs over the side of the bed and let her eyes adjust to the morning sunlight that came piercing through her half-open curtains to illuminate her bedroom.

Over the years, she had gotten used to the feeling of waking up wet, but that never stopped her from feeling disappointed in herself. It didn’t help that every doctor she’d ever been to over the years had told that her she was completely healthy and that her bedwetting was most likely psychological, not uncommon with foster kids who had lost their parents. That didn’t make her feel better—it would have been so much easier to believe that it was a medical problem completely out of her control.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a soft knock on her bedroom door. “Raquel, are you up yet honey?” came the voice of her foster mother, Jennifer.

That’s right! She remembered. Today was the first day of her sophomore year of high school. More importantly, it was the day of cheerleading try-outs. “Uh-huh, I’ll be right out!” Raquel hollered sharply, feeling herself spring back to life.

She grabbed her bathroom and made her way to the bathroom at the end of the hall. There, she disposed of her very wet diaper.

Raquel stepped into the shower, still drowsy but eager to freshen up. The hot water ran down her back and washed away the sweat from her medium length, dark brown hair, but it could not wash away her memories as easily. Nothing could wash away that traumatic experience that had robbed her of her childhood and forced her to grow up so quickly. Nothing could wash away years of moving between foster homes—places where she was neither loved nor wanted.

All she could do was focus her thoughts on the busy day she had ahead of her. While her hair was still drying, she decided to put a little bit of make-up on. She didn’t typically wear a lot—if any—unlike most girls in high school she felt fairly comfortable just as she was. But of course there were exceptions like today. In addition to trying out for the cheerleading squad, she wanted to look her absolute best for her crush, who she hadn’t seen in-person for over a month.

She went over to her closet to get dressed and picked out a knee-length burgundy plaid skirt, followed by her favorite white cardigan. Last but not least, she opened the top drawer of her dresser to reveal a package of absorbent store brand diapers that she wore at night, and a package of much more discreet Goodnites that she wore during the day. Raquel grabbed one of the Goodnites and pulled it up under her skirt. Her daytime accidents were far less frequent then her night accidents, so she always reminded herself that wearing protection to school was more of a precaution than a necessity.

Once she was finished getting dressed, she took one last look at herself in the mirror. At 5’2", she was fairly short, but also in good shape because she spent a good portion of her time dancing. Raquel’s birth mother had been a dance instructor and naturally began teaching her daughter at a young age back in her hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Raquel still practiced regularly on her own at a local dance studio in her new home in here in South Carolina.

Finally satisfied that she was ready, Raquel went downstairs, kissed her foster mother goodbye, and headed out the door to walk to school. She was both excited and nervous for the day ahead of her…

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 2

Raquel enjoyed walking to school versus taking the bus whenever she could—although it wasn’t always practical on days when it rained or snowed—warm September mornings like today were a perfect opportunity for her to clear her head and focus on the day ahead of her. She had only been forced to take the bus on a handful of occasions in her freshmen year and those were certainly not pleasant experiences. Her neighborhood consisted mostly of upperclassmen, including what seemed like half of her school’s varsity football team; some of the most loud, vile and immature people she’d ever had the misfortune of being trapped with.

Madison High School was an average sized suburban school with approximately 2,000 students. The building itself was fairly ordinary and sat just off of a busy avenue on the east side of town. Raquel had almost forgotten just how chaotic the first day could be. To her utter dismay, she hadn’t grown any taller over the summer and was once again finding herself overlooked—practically trampled—in the stampedes of confused freshmen looking for their classes and the swaggering upperclassmen who seemed to roam around the halls around without a care in the world.

Once she became situated in her first class, the next few hours of the school day went by fairly smoothly and uneventful. It was almost lunchtime now and she was sitting in her Algebra class, tapping her pencil and literally counting down the minutes before this class was over. She had yet to see her crush all day, or any of her other friends for that matter. Naturally, this only made her more anxious to leave.

She was quite proud of the fact that she had succeeded in keeping her diaper dry for the entire morning without so much as a close call. She fully intended to keep it that way for the rest of the day. Whenever Raquel was out in public, she always followed the same basic strategy to remain accident free: use the restroom at every possible opportunity. She always reminded herself that her bedwetting was something that couldn’t be helped. But during the day, she was in control. Her Goodnites were really nothing more than a precaution. Of course, she still packed a spare one in a secret compartment of her backpac for the rare occasion that she did have an accident.

Lost in her daydreaming, the sound of the bell actually took Raquel by surprise. She hastily slid her books back into her backpack and headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Fortunately, her Algebra classroom wasn’t far away so she was able to beat the line. After ordering 2 Quesadillas, she proceeded to navigate the busy cafeteria in search of a friendly face. And it wasn’t long before she heard the voice she had been waiting to hear all day.

“Hey, Raquel! Over here!” shouted a petite blonde.

Raquel’s face lid up when she saw her, “Hey Alicia!” she hollered back, as she rushed across the crowded cafeteria to hug her friend.

Alicia had shoulder length golden blond hair that she usually wore pulled back behind her head for convenience. She typically wore black sleeveless tops and dark wash jeans and today was no exception. Of course she always wore a variety of different accessories and jewelry to keep her outfits colorful and intriguing.

“So how was Florida?” Raquel asked casually as they sat down at a nearby table.

“It was pretty fun, it sucked that I had to come home and go straight to school though. And I missed you” Alicia said with a flirty smile.

“Awww I missed you too! Y’know I was thinking about you almost every day.” She replied with the slightest hint of shyness in her voice.

“Oh yeah? I bet dance class was pretty boring without me there.”

Raquel nodded while daintily picking at her food, “Yeah, only like five other girls signed up for the summer class. We learned a lot of new stuff though, which is good because I’ll need all the help I can get for cheerleading tryouts today!”

“Yeah right,” Alicia teased while playing with one of the many violet feathers that were woven into her blonde hair. “I wonder how many of the girls on that squad have been dancing before they could walk!”

She giggled, “Hey, I could walk just fine when I was three!”

“You know what I mean.” Alicia began, “Anyway, I’m gonna be jealous when you’re on the squad. I’ve always wanted to get back into cheerleading.”

“You could always try-out with me.” Raquel suggested.

“No, that’s okay. Try-outs were never really my thing.”

After that, the two girls spent the majority of their lunch hour chatting about the period of time they spent apart over the summer. It wasn’t long before everyone else in the cafeteria had gone to find their classes and they were the only ones left.

“Oh! I almost forgot, I have something to tell you” Alicia said, “You know Chase Collins, captain of the football team?”

“Uh-huh.” Raquel nodded curiously.

“Well, his family owns also owns a cottage on the beach, not far from mine. And he and I started hanging out while we were down there.” Alicia paused and searched for the right words. “…And before he left, he asked if he could take me out on a real date once we got back.”

Raquel’s eyes widened—she didn’t like where this was going at all, “And… What did you say?”

Alicia shrugged, “I told him I would have to think about it.”

“Are you actually considering it?”

“Honestly, I am.” She replied with a dreamy smile.

Raquel’s heart did a summersault when she heard this. After spending the first half of the summer hanging out with Alicia, she was convinced that they shared the same feelings for each other. “But… I thought you said you weren’t ready for a relationship again?” she asked, reminiscing of an earlier conversation they shared.

The change in Raquel’s tone didn’t go unnoticed by her friend. “I know, and honestly I still don’t think I am. But I really do think I might want to take a chance. You’re not mad are you?”

But I wasn’t worth taking a chance for? Raquel wanted to ask, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She simply forced out a smile and said, “No, I’m happy for you…”

Before either girl could say another word, the first bell rang and they both stood up. “Okay well, I’ll try to call you tonight, okay?” said Alicia as she turned to go,

Raquel simply nodded as they parted ways. She walked through the almost empty hallway towards her next class. She still couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Back in July, on their last “date”, Raquel was feeling stronger feelings for Alicia then she’d ever felt before. And for her, nothing changed in the time they spent apart. She wanted to ask Alicia to be her girlfriend, but she knew that the other girl wasn’t ready for a relationship at that point. At the time, she figured the best thing to do was respect her decision and give her time. But now she couldn’t help but wonder, was she not ready for a relationship, or was she just not ready for me?

The hallway was now completely dead and the only sounds she could hear were her own footsteps, and a subtle crackling sound coming from beneath her skirt… And I never even told her about my diapers.

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 3

It was several minutes past noon when Raquel finally found the Geology classroom. She was late, so she quickly tiptoed towards the back of the classroom in an effort not to draw any more attention to herself.

Needless to say, the day hadn’t gone exactly as she had anticipated. Alicia’s last words were still echoing in her mind as clearly as when they were first spoken. Subtle as they were, they pierced her heart like daggers and forced her to reconsider so many things. What if Alicia had never actually liked her as more than a friend? What if she didn’t like girls that way at all? Raquel was sure that couldn’t be true— but then again, she had never actually been in a relationship with anyone before. How much did she really know?

As hard as it was, She forced herself not to dwell on it. After all, the day wasn’t over yet; she still had cheerleading try-outs to go to. Last year, her foster sister Sarah had been the head cheerleader before graduating and leaving for college. Sarah knew what a talented dancer Raquel was and she always encouraged her to try out for the squad. Raquel liked the idea, but couldn’t bring herself to join before. She just couldn’t imagine being a cheerleader and being in diapers at the same time—the idea seemed unheard of. Dance class was one thing; there weren’t as many people watching, she didn’t have to wear a revealing uniform and there definitely weren’t changing rooms. This year, Raquel decided that sort of negative thinking was behind her. She may have been in diapers, but they didn’t have to stop her from following her dreams.

Once again caught up in her train of thought, Raquel didn’t even notice her increasing urge to pee. Oh no… how long have I had to go? Raquel wondered. She quickly recalled the events of the last hour and realized that she had been subconsciously holding it since lunch with Alicia. It was a miracle that she’d even managed to last this long without her bladder failing her. She didn’t waste another second before raising her hand in an effort to get the teachers attention.

The tall blonde women stopped lecturing and pointed a lazy finger in Raquel’s direction, supposedly giving her permission to speak.

Raquel took a deep breath, “Could I please… use the restroom?”

Her teacher turned around and glanced at the clock suspiciously, "Class just started less than ten minutes ago. “Why didn’t you go before?”

“I, uh… I was rushing to get to class ma’am, and I didn’t realize I had to go.” Raquel murmured, becoming increasingly impatient as her urge grew stronger.

“Well then, I’m sure you can at least wait until I’m done going over the syllabus. Next time I’d like you to remember to go before class please.” Her teacher continued going over the class outline, leaving the struggling girl no choice but to continue holding it.

Raquel sighed and sank several inches lower into her seat. Only a few moments passed until she was sure the seal was about to break. She considered asking the teacher for permission to leave again, but that seemed equally as hopeless as trying to hold it in for another moment. Her bladder started to relax and there was nothing Raquel could do but sit awkwardly in her seat, helplessly flooding the bottom of her diaper.

She couldn’t focus in class after that, which only made it seem to drag on longer. When it finally did come to an end, Raquel headed straight for the restroom to change into a fresh Goodnite so that she wouldn’t have any distractions during her cheerleading try-out. She went into the handicap stall, locking the door behind her and setting her backpack down on the floor. There were a few other girls in the bathroom so she tried to make as little noise as possible as she stepped out of her red hi-top Converse shoes, then unzipped and pulled down her burgundy skirt which she folded up and placed safely on top of her backpack. She examined the bottom of her diaper between her legs and discovered that it even wetter then she had anticipated. She was actually surprised that the leg-guards managed to last the entire class periods without leaking.

Raquel slid her Goodnite down to the floor and carefully stepped out of it. She wiped herself clean and pulled her only spare diaper up snugly around her waist. There were times when Raquel genuinely despised wearing diapers—the same way that most teenage girls feel would in her position. But she had to admit, there was nothing quite like the feeling of putting a fresh one on.

Raquel made it to the gym just in time to find this year’s new head cheerleader, Kelsey Webster, finishing what must have been a long and dramatic speech.

“Remember everyone,” Kelsey said as she directed her gaze to some of the more less promising recruits, “After today there aren’t any do-overs, excuses or second chances! You’re either on the team, or you’re not. It’s nothing personal. We only have so many spots available and we’re only as strong as our weakest link.”

Kelsey Webster was obviously a strong and assertive girl—it didn’t take Raquel long to discover that. She remembered that her foster sister had been the same way; when Sarah spoke to her team, they always stopped and listened. Must be a requirement captains, Raquel assumed. Not that it mattered to her; that was an honor she could do without.

When Kelsey’s speech came to an end, the prospective recruits formed a line and began preforming their routines. As Raquel observed her peers from her place at the back of the line, her confidence actually began to grow. Compared to her, most of these girls had no rhythm, no original moves, no flexibility and most importantly, no attitude. Raquel was typically considered to be a quiet and reserved girl. But when she danced, she became a whole other person— she was anyone she wanted to be. That was one of the many reasons why she had grown to love dancing over the years,

Eventually the line died down and it was her turn to go. Raquel eagerly stepped forward, tired of sitting by idly watching other people dance. Just as she was about to begin her routine, she felt the sudden need to pass gas. She let it go, without a second thought.

But in that moment, Raquel came to a screeching halt when she realized what she had done. It wasn’t gas—it was far worse than that—she was actually filling the back of her diaper. Oh no! Not NOW!

She couldn’t believe what was happening—she hadn’t had an accident of this sort in years, How could this happen to her? There was no explanation. Raquel’s heart started beating faster and she could feel her legs beginning to shake. She was expected to dance, but right now she was too scared to even move a single muscle in her body.

“Hey! Number 19, you’re up Hun.” Kelsey snapped, pointing a long manicured finger in Raquel’s direction.

Raquel remained perfectly still, like a deer standing in the path of headlights—she didn’t know what to say or what to do. But she knew that she couldn’t go on like this…

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 4

Raquel had spent the entire summer preparing for this moment, but all the practice and preparation in the world could never have prepared her for the anxiety she was feeling now after what she’d done. Her legs were still trembling so much that she wasn’t even sure could walk, much less dance. But she remembered what Kelsey said, if she ran away now, she wouldn’t get a second chance.

One last look into the head cheerleader’s discouraging eyes confirmed what she already knew; she couldn’t do this. “Umm e-excuse me…” She murmured—barely above a whisper—as she turned around and scurried out of the gym without looking back.

Raquel dragged herself through the chaos and crowds that plagued the halls of her high school. She held her head low in a desperate attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone else. Somehow, in only a matter of seconds, a bad day had turned into an utter disaster. Not only had she completely missed her only chance to become a cheerleader, she did it in the worst way imaginable. She felt a constant reminder of that fact sitting in the back of her diaper with every despairing step she took. To make matters worse, she was already wearing her only spare, which meant that she was stuck wearing this one until she got home.

She stepped outside and was immediately greeted by the sounds of falling rain and the violent crashing of thunder in the clouds above. Of course it had to be raining. She sighed as she began contemplating how she was going to get home now. A two-mile walk in the pouring rain certainly wasn’t something that she wanted to endure. Even if she did, Raquel wasn’t convinced that her protection could survive the duration of the walk—it was only a pullup after all, hardly built for an accident of this sort. Even calling her foster mother and asking for a ride was out of the question because she taught evening classes at the local university on Monday nights. This left Raquel with only one choice; she would have to take the bus home.

Raquel kept her head down and wrapped herself tightly in her cardigan as the rain began to fall even harder. Her walk was heavy, her clothes and hair were already drenched and her Goodnite was now sagging between her legs. When she finally managed to locate her bus, she quickly realized that the only available seat was towards the back, right in front of several kids from the football team. One of these boys happened to be Alicia’s new boyfriend, Chase Collins. As if I hadn’t heard enough about him today.

Thankfully, none of these boys paid any attention to her when she sat down. Several comments were made regarding the smell, but of course they simply blamed that on each other.

Raquel curled up in her seat with her back to the window. After everything that had happened to her today, she decided there was only one person who could raise her spirits—her foster sister, Sarah. Once the bus was finally in motion, Raquel flipped open her phone and began dialing her number.

“Hey, what’s up Raquel?” Sarah answered in a rather cheerful tone.

“Hey Sarah, I hope I’m not bothering you while you’re in class or anything.” She said quietly.

“Nope, I’m actually in-between classes now. What’s wrong? Are you okay?” She asked, obviously sensing the melancholy in the younger girl’s voice.

“No… Not really. I went to cheer try-outs today… and I couldn’t do it—”

“—Wait, what do you mean you couldn’t do it?” She interjected, “We practiced your routine at home and it was flawless!”

Raquel took a deep breath and continued, “I never got the chance; I had an… accident right before I was supposed to do my routine.” Her voice lowered to barely above a whisper. “I’m still on the bus so I can’t talk about it. But the head cheerleader said there aren’t any second chances after today. I don’t know what to do now…”

Sarah was surprised to hear this, “Well if you didn’t even get the chance to show them the routine, I’m sure they can find time to watch it tomorrow.”

“I dunno… I walked right out of the gym when it was my turn. And they’re posting the list of people who made the team tomorrow. Why would they give me another chance?”

“Kelsey will give you another chance because you’re my sister, and you’re more talented than any other girl on that squad. Forget all about what happened today—it won’t matter after you show them your routine.”

Despite everything that had happened, Raquel was finally starting to feel better, “Are you sure they’ll give me another chance? Kelsey made it seem like they wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about that.” Sarah assured her, “I would say the same thing when I was captain but we made exceptions to that rule all the time. Just tell Kelsey that I’m referring you. And if she doesn’t listen, talk to the coach instead. Once they see your routine they have to let you on the squad!”

Raquel couldn’t help but let out a tiny smile after hearing her sisters uplifting words.

“Hey Raquel, I have to go, It’s almost time for my last class. But I’ll call you later tonight, okay?”

“Okay bye Sarah, talk to you later.” Raquel closed her phone and let out a sigh of relief. She finally felt some of her former confidence coming back.

Just as she was about to put away her phone, the bus hit a curb, causing it to fall to the floor. When she bent down to grab it, Chase Collins somehow took notice of her Goodnite, which was sticking out a few inches above the top of her skirt.

“Hey guys check it out, this chick’s wearing a diaper!” He announced in the most obnoxiously loud voice to his nearby friends.

“No way.” one of the other boys replied. Just as he was about to lean over and get a closer look, Raquel heard them talking and instinctively sat back up in her seat, looking straight out the window as if she was oblivious to their conversation.

A third boy who was sitting across the isle chuckled, “Damn dude, looks like you embarrassed her.”

Chase took the bait and stood up, towering over towards Raquel’s seat, “Hey, how you doing?”

Not wanting any trouble, Raquel continued looking out the window as if she hadn’t heard him.

Chase might have given up at this point, but he had already amassed an audience who were eagerly waiting to hear his next comment. “So, I’m just wondering, how come you wear diapers to school?”

Once again, Raquel didn’t reply. She knew that anything she said would only fuel Chase’s fire. Instead, she slumped lower into her seat and closed her eyes, praying that he would somehow lose interest and leave her alone. He might have, if one of his friends hadn’t spoken up, “Okay, so she wears diapers and she can’t talk. She’s probably special-needs or something.”

“She probably is,” Chase agreed, “Wait, do you guys think that nasty smell back here is her? What if she decided to take a shit in her diaper right here on the bus?”

“I bet she did!” the other boy roared in agreement, “And her mom isn’t even here to change her.”

“Well, hopefully she shows up soon. I don’t know much more of that smell I can take.” Chase chuckled and leaned over her seat for the third time, “Hey, any chance your mom is gonna show up and change you soon?”

Raquel had tried to ignore them, but now she was literally fighting back tears. How could anyone be so vile and immature that they actually found amusement in this?

“Forget it dude, she can’t talk remember?”

Chase was still completely oblivious as to how much his words were hurting her. He was far more concerned with keeping himself entertained getting more laughs out of his friends. He took out his empty Mountain Dew bottle and bounced it off Raquel’s head to guarantee her immediate attention. Startled, her eyes shot open and she instinctively turned around to face him. Chase smiled proudly as he asked her again, “I said, is your mom gonna come and change you soon?”

Raquel had tried her hardest to ignore Chase and his friends, but she could only endure so much abuse before she snapped. She took a deep breath, “For your information Chase, I don’t have a mother; She died eight years ago. I’m sorry that I have my own way of dealing with that but I’d like to see you do better.” Raquel was still trying her absolute hardest to hold back tears. “But don’t worry, I’ve already been either punished or kicked out of almost every foster home I’ve ever lived in because of it. After all that, there’s nothing that you can do or say to hurt me.”

Before either boy could react, she turned away, hiding her face her face from their sight. Raquel was strong, but everyone had his or her own breaking point and now she had finally reached hers. For the first time all day, Raquel finally gave in and let the tears flow…

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 5

She was relieved when the bus finally stopped in front of her foster home, signifying the end of her day. Even though the three boys behind her had continued talking obnoxiously for the remainder of the trip, the subject of their conversation had shifted away from Raquel once she finally stood up to them.

One thing still bothered her; did Alicia know what kind of a person Chase really was? She must know, Raquel told herself. Even the kids at school who had never spoken to Chase Collins knew that he was cruel, vile and immature. Then again, she knew that boys could behave differently when they were trying to impress a girl they liked. If only there was someway for her to see him for who he really was.

Her walk was noticeably awkward as she trudged up the long driveway towards the Cooper’s house. The roaring storm had finally started to calm down to a light drizzle. Although the clouds above her house remained a dark shade of grey and the faintest echoes of thunder could be heard off in the distance on the other side of town.

Raquel was eager to get inside to the safety of her warm bedroom, but she certainly wasn’t looking forward to changing herself once she got there. The teenage girl had years of experience changing her own wet diapers, but accidents like this one were a rare occurrence. In fact, the last time she could remember having an accident of this sort, she was only eleven years old and had a bad case of food poisoning. Thankfully, her foster mother had been there to help her change. This time she knew she would be on her own.

She opened the door to discover that everyone except for her foster mother was home. Mr. Cooper was sitting at the dining room, engaged in his daily routine of reading the day’s mail. As usual, he was too preoccupied with this activity to pay any attention to Raquel. In the living room sat the eight-year-old twins, Andy and Erika. They were equally as engrossed in their television show as Mr. Cooper was with his mail. And no doubt they were just as exhausted from the first day of school as she was.

Raquel didn’t waste any time before heading straight upstairs to get changed. As far as she was concerned, none of the Cooper’s needed to know about her unfortunate accident at school. Especially Mr. Cooper, who wasn’t exactly supportive of her problem in the first place. Like most of the foster parents she had lived with over the years, he never hesitated to share his opinions regarding her bedwetting or the protection that she wore.

“You know Raquel, you could try actually going to the bathroom before you go to bed.” He would always suggest to her, as if she could never have conceived such a brilliant idea on her own.

He would also take pleasure in the fact that all three of his children were fully potty-trained before they were three years old. “And it’s a good thing they are” Mr. Cooper would always say, “Because we certainly wouldn’t have the finances to buy diapers for you and for them.”

She wanted to tell him that these comments was only clever the first fifty times he said them, but she always thought better of it. After all, minor lectures like these were nothing compared to what she suffered in her previous foster homes. Mr. Cooper’s words may have hurt, but they were a far less painful punishment than a belt or a hairbrush. So she always sat in silence and took his lectures for what they were.

Once she was in the privacy of her own room, Raquel dumped her backpack and shoes into an accumulating pile of clothes next to her closet. Then she grabbed a fresh diaper, a tank top and a pair of pink sweatpants to change into. Satisfied that she had everything she needed, the exhausted girl dragged herself across the hall and into the bathroom for the change she had been dreading.

The first thing she did was remove her skirt and slowly lower herself down onto the cold tile floor. She figured it would probably be best to take her sweater off too, just to be on the safe side and keep it clean. This left her sitting on the bathroom floor wearing only her Goodnite and a periwinkle colored bra.

She paused for a moment as she contemplated the best way to go about changing herself. With some reluctance, she decided to go ahead and tear apart the sides like a regular diaper. After that, she proceeded to pull the front down and examine the mess. But before she could, Raquel was startled by the sounds of heard loud footsteps just outside the bathroom door. And before she even had a chance to react, the door was opening. Oh no, I forgot to lock it! The teenage girl panicked, thinking that it could only be Mr. Cooper. Naturally, her first reflex was to pull the front of her diaper back up to cover herself in what little way she could.

But to her immediate relief, it wasn’t Mr. Cooper at the door; it was her foster mother, Jennifer. And judging by her damp curly blonde hair, she must have just gotten home too.

Jennifer was equally startled as she jumped at the sight of her half naked foster daughter lying on the bathroom floor. “Oh my gosh! Raquel! Are you okay?” she asked with genuine concern as she closed and locked the door behind her.

“Yeah I’m okay… I j-just had an…” Raquel was obviously still in shock and stumbling over her words.

No more words were necessary. Jennifer could already see, and smell what had happened. “Awww, its okay sweetie, do you need me to help you?”

Raquel started to relax but she still couldn’t manage a response. Deep down, she knew that she needed help, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it. Fortunately, her foster mother could see right through her proud facade and knew what she had to do. “Okay, don’t worry about it honey, just relax and lie back” she said amiably and began rolling up with the sleeves of her blouse.

Raquel obediently lay down, getting a small chill as her bare back came in full contact the cold tile floor. Jennifer got straight to work, disposing of the Goodnite in the diaper pal and lifting up Raquel’s small legs to wipe her diaper area clean.

Raquel could feel her face going red. She appreciated the help, but was still feeling uneasy about the whole situation. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that her foster mother also had three kids of her own so she must know what she’s doing.

“Aw sweetie, looks like you got a little bit of a diaper rash. How long ago did this happen?” she asked.

“Uhh… it happened at school and I didn’t have any extras left to change into…” Raquel murmured as she shifted uncomfortably on the tile floor.

“Oh, you poor thing! No wonder it’s so red down here.” Her mother remarked as she began taping Raquel’s nighttime diaper snugly in place.

Sill feeling awkward, Raquel attempted to break the silence again. “So how come you’re home so early today?”

“The university lost power because of the storm, so all of the evening classes were canceled and my students got to go home early.”

“Lucky them!” Raquel chuckled; she was feeling more confortable now that she had a fresh diaper on.

“And lucky me, I got to come home and spend more time with my kids tonight!” Her foster mother said cheerfully.

This made Raquel smile because she knew that Jennifer wasn’t only referring to Andy and Erika. She stood up and immediately hugged her foster mother. “Thanks Mom, I’m glad you’re home!”

She smiled, “You’re welcome honey. Now come on, you better get dressed so we can start dinner!”

Family dinners at the Cooper house had become a much quieter affair ever since Sarah left for college. Not only was Sarah the life of the conversation, she was the only one in the house close to Raquel’s age. Not to mention the only with whom she actually shared common interests. Her foster sister always had interesting things to say about people at school, current events, movies, music and trends in fashion. And she always spoke with a passion that made it easy to get excited.

These days, a typical conversation consisted of Mr. Cooper babbling on about his daily achievements as a prosecutor. Which, contrary to what Raquel had learned from the media, wasn’t all that interesting of a profession, especially in a small town like this. Although she couldn’t help but feel bad for the people he went up again in court—even if they were criminals—Mr. Cooper sounded even more merciless in the courtroom than he was at home.

After they finished eating, Raquel helped her foster mother with the dishes then decided to retire to her bedroom for the evening. It was only 8:30, but it had been a long and exhausting day. The only thing she wanted to do now was lie on her bed and relax.

Fortunately, she was already wearing her nighttime diaper so she could pass out early without any extra preparations. Typically, Raquel waited until the last minute to get ready for bed, since her night diapers were fastened with tapes, it made going the bathroom more of a hassle. Besides, she didn’t have many accidents at home since the bathroom was never far and there weren’t any cranky teachers to deny her access. She told herself that she could practically wear underwear at home if she wanted to.

Even though she was ready for bed, Raquel wasn’t entirely sure she was tired enough just yet. One thing was for certain thing though, she was in desperate need of some alone time—time to wind down and clear her head of the day’s events.

She grabbed her sketchpad and a handful of colored pencils and began drawing. This was an activity that she’d come to love over the years because she could do it anywhere. Even as she was passed around from foster home to foster home, it was one of two things in her life that remained consistent. The other thing being the reason that no one wanted her. After all, good children weren’t supposed to come with emotional baggage and problems like bedwetting. They were supposed to sit quietly and smile, or in Raquel’s case, sit quietly and draw.

She drew two anime-inspired girls sitting together and holding hands on a bench in what appeared to be a contemporary urban setting. The first girl was petite, with olive skin, medium length brown hair and emerald green eyes. Her girlfriend was taller, with fairer skin and clad fully in black with long, golden blonde hair that was adorned with a variety of colored feathers.

Just as Raquel was putting the final touches on her drawing, she heard the sound of her phone vibrating on her nightstand. She hoped that it would be her foster sister Sarah calling her back. But she knew who it really was, and checking the Caller ID only confirmed it—it was Alicia. The two girls had talked almost every night over the summer, usually starting at around this time and carrying on for hours. Their nightly phone conversations were how they become close friends, and how they gradually became what Raquel considered more than just friends.

Now, it seemed like those happy memories had all but faded, and dwelling on them only served to make her feel worse now. She couldn’t answer the phone—she wasn’t ready the face the facts that things were going to be different. And she definitely didn’t want to here another word about Chase Collins. Instead, she put it back down on her nightstand and covered it with her drawing.

Raquel slept peacefully for a few hours, but was soon awakened by the sounds of rain colliding with her bedroom window and the crashing and booming of thunder, which now sounded closer than ever. She casually felt the crotch of her diaper and discovered that it was already soaked; this was hardly a surprise because she had felt the urge coming on even before she drifted off.

Raquel felt a shiver run down her spine with each roar of thunder. She wrapped herself tightly in her blankets and tried to shut her eyes but it wasn’t easy. Thunderstorm’s these always brought her back to a time when she was a little girl, living with her parents in their small apartment back in Puerto Rico. Whenever there was a storm like this one, she would ask her mother to come in and stay with her until she fell asleep. It wasn’t because she was afraid; it was because she just didn’t want to feel alone. Little had changed since those days, except that the warm, reassuring feeling of having someone by her side to make her feel safe and loved was little more than a memory.

Her tossing and turning was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice at the end of her bed. “Raquel, are you still up?”

She propped herself up as best as she could and saw her 8 year old foster brother standing at the foot of her bed. His only features that could be made out in the darkness were the highlights on his short blond hair, illuminated by her nightlight.

“Hey Andy, are you okay?” Raquel murmured softly.

“Yeah, I’m just a little scared though, and Mom and Dad are asleep…”

Raquel nodded and moved over in her bed while lifting her blanket up. “It’s okay, you can sleep here tonight if you want.”

“Awesome!” Andy replied with obvious excitement as he hopped into her bed. As he was getting comfortable, Andy accidentally grazed the front of Raquel’s exposed diaper. She instinctively pulled back to give him more space. Had she known that she would be sharing her bed, she would have worn pajama bottoms over it.

“Uhh Raquel? I think you’re diaper’s wet…” Andy pointed out, clearly not afraid to speak his mind.

It was too dark for him to see, but Raquel’s face started to turn red at his comment. Even though the entire Cooper family knew about her problem, she had never actually discussed it with either of the twins before.

“Yeah, I know, I just—” Raquel was stumbling over her words, which was surprising because she was usually more comfortable around kids.

“You should get changed.” He suggested, "when I used to wet the bed, I always changed my pull-ups so they wouldn’t leak.

Raquel hadn’t considered it before, but she realized that Andy was right. She didn’t normally change in the middle of the night, but tonight was an exception. She was already having trouble falling asleep, and a cold, wet diaper certainly wasn’t going to help. And even though she rarely leaked at night, tonight would be a bad time to start.

“Okay, I’ll be right back” Raquel told him as she reluctantly crawled out of her warm bed and gingerly crept towards her dresser to grab a dry diaper. Although the room was dark, her nightlight still gave her a substantial amount of light to maneuver around in. Not to mention the lightning outside that occasionally illuminated the entire room.

Raquel turned around and smiled at Andy, “No peaking okay?” He nodded pulled the pink comforter over his face.

Raquel sat down on the carpeted floor and undid the tapes of her diaper. Eager to get back to her bed, she quickly wiped her diaper area clean and laid down a fresh one. She taped it snugly in place and then stood up to throw away the wet one in her diaper pail.

Upon crawling back into her bed, Raquel instantly realized what an improvement a fresh diaper was. “Ahh much better!” she said cheerfully to Andy, who had finally taken his head out from under the blankets to nod in agreement. The two snuggled closer together, and finally drifted off to sleep once again.

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 6

Her alarm went off only a few hours later and Raquel had to roll through a tangled mess of blankets to turn it off before it woke up Andy too. After all, he had at least another hour before he had to get up for school.

A quick glance out the window revealed that the morning sky was dark and still filled with storm clouds. Despite this gloomy weather, she climbed out of bed and began searching for her bathrobe—which was much easier to find on a brighter morning. After rummaging through multiple piles of clothes to no avail, her search was interrupted by the sound of the bedroom door jolting open behind her.

The intense light from the hallway instantly lid up the entire room, as Mr. Cooper—already dressed for work in a tailored dark grey suit—took a casual step inside. Raquel froze in her tracks, hoping he would realize that she was only wearing a tank top and a diaper and give her a chance to cover herself. Unfortunately, he clearly had no regard for the teenage girl’s privacy.

Her foster father had the appearance of a typical lawyer in his mid-40’s, with sharp facial features and short brown hair, which he always kept neatly, combed back. Standing at 6’2, he was nearly an entire foot taller than Raquel. “Is Andy in here?” he asked her with the slightest hint of genuine concern in his voice.

“Um yeah, h—he slept in here last night because he was scared of the thunder…” Raquel gestured over to her bed, wondering just how long this encounter was going to last.

“I see.” Mr. Cooper nodded, somewhat reassured. Then he casually turned his attention down to her exposed diaper, which she was attempting to cover in vain with her small, trembling hands. “So, Raquel, are you dry today?”

She instantly felt her stomach twist violently at the mere sound of his words. Did he REALLY just ask me that? As if he didn’t embarrass me enough just by seeing me like this. In truth, Raquel hadn’t even gotten a chance to check her diaper for herself yet, much less provide a status report. “Umm… I don’t know…” she heard herself say in a small, thin voice.

“Of course you don’t know.” His voice was practically dripping with sarcasm. “Well I need to get to work.”

“Okay, bye.” She said bluntly, not bothering to hide her relief that he was finally leaving.

She shut the door behind him and managed to find her robe buried in a pile of clothes in her closet. She hastily wrapped herself in the soft fleece garment incase Mr. Cooper decided to barge in for a second time. She didn’t ever want him to see her in a diaper again. His blatant distaste for her and her problem was enough to make an already embarrassing situation a thousand times worse. Even after he was long gone, her palms were still sweating profusely and her heart was throbbing in her chest so hard that she felt like it was going to rip it’s way out.

She took a few deep breaths before prodding across the hall into the bathroom. While the shower was warming up, she took off her tank top and her diaper, which only turned out to be slightly damp. This wasn’t a surprise considering she had only just put it on a few hours before.

Once she had finished her usual morning routine, Raquel headed back to her bedroom to get dressed for the day. Andy was still sleeping peacefully in her bed, even as the morning light began to creep though her curtains.

She knew that it would be far too cold outside to wear a skirt today, so she grabbed a worn pair of jeans instead. She also put on one of Sarah’s old hoodies. It may have been a size too large for her petite frame, but it was the perfect length for covering up her protection; the last thing she wanted was a repeat of yesterday’s incident on the bus.

Raquel walked for about a mile through her neighborhood when she recognized the grinding hum of skateboard wheels approaching on the concrete sidewalk behind her. She casually stepped to the side to make room for the rider. But to her surprise, the board came to a screeching halt behind her, “Hey Raquel!” A boy’s voice called out as he got off his board and began catching up to her on foot.

“Oh, hey Ryan!” She replied and greeted her friend with a hug.

Everything about Ryan screamed, ‘stereotypical skateboarder.’ His entire wardrobe consisted of skate shoes, t-shirts, hoodies and flat bill hats. He had dark brown messy hair and icy blue eyes. He was also one of Raquel’s closest friends.

“So I saw you in Geology class yesterday… You looked really sad.” He remarked as they began walking together.

“Oh, yeah…” Raquel realized how miserable she must have looked, not only walking into class late, but also holding her head down and blinking back tears. “Y’know Alicia, right?”

Ryan nodded, “Of course. She’s the girl you like.”

“Yeah, well apparently, she doesn’t feel the same way about me. Yesterday, she made it clear that she would rather date the captain of the football team.”

“No way! She’s dating that asshole Chase Collins instead of you?”

“Yeah, pretty much” she chuckled. One of her favorite things about Ryan was that he could always manage to cheer her up, no matter how bad the circumstances were. "I guess they started hanging out this summer down in Florida. I didn’t even know what to say when she told me, she acted like there was never anything between us.

He nodded, “But you think there was?”

“Yeah, I know there was! And I still can’t stop thinking about her, no matter how hard I try. Even though we’ll probably never get to be together now.” Raquel admitted.

He shrugged, “Hey, just because they’re dating now doesn’t mean you don’t ever have a chance with her. People break up in high school all the time! In the meantime, why not give her some competition?”

“What do you mean?” she asked curiously.

“You know, try going out with someone else for now.” Ryan suggested

She bit her lip thoughtfully, “How is going out with someone else supposed to get Alicia to like me again?”

“Trust me” He began, “I know girls. Once she realizes she has some competition on her hands, it will change the way she looks at you. Right now she just sees you as an option. You want her to see you as someone who’s in-demand, someone she would be lucky to be with.”

“So you’re the expert on girls now, huh?” She teased.

“No, but I have dated more than you!” He retorted proudly.

Raquel laughed “For now…”

“But seriously, if you’re trying to get her back, the worst thing you can do is sit by yourself looking miserable. Besides, I don’t like seeing you that way either.”

“I don’t know…” She shrugged, “I’m not even sure I could find anyone else to go out with. I’m not exactly Ms. Popular.”

Ryan was quick to seize the opportunity, “I’ll go out with you Raquel!”

Raquel grinned; she knew that her friend had good intentions, but she also knew that he had a crush on her ever since they met in art class last year. “Ryan, you know I don’t like boys that way.”

He nodded, “I know that, but the idea is to give Alicia some competition right? And you have to admit, I’m totally competition.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at her friend’s shameless self-confidence. “Well I’ll think about. Right now, I should probably focus less on girl-drama and more on my cheerleading try-out this afternoon.”

He grimaced, “I thought the cheerleading try-outs were yesterday?”

“Yeah, they were, I just—” Raquel stopped herself mid-sentence and tried to think of a good excuse that didn’t involve accidents or diapers. “I just missed them yesterday.” She murmured.

She had always been a terrible liar, but thankfully Ryan took the hint that this was a sensitive subject. “Well, want me to go with you to your try-out today? You know, for moral support?”

Just as she was about to answer, Raquel was interrupted by a sweet, familiar voice. “Hey Raquel, over here!” Alicia was waving to her from a bench outside the school.

For a moment, she was almost happy to see her crush. But then she realized, with a sudden start of fear, that Chase Collins was sitting by her side. “Great, it’s him again.” She whispered to Ryan. She wanted to run and hide, but she knew that she couldn’t avoid the two of them forever. Anxiously, she started over towards Alicia and her new boyfriend.
“So… this is Chase.” Alicia said with a look in her eye that was far too dreamy. “He’s the guy I was telling you about yesterday.”
“Hi Raquel, nice to meet you.” Chase grinned and offered her his hand. She shook it, but didn’t say anything, nor did she make an effort to return his smile. I was right; he does act differently around her. I wonder if he even remembers me from yesterday?
“So, I tried calling you last night.” Alicia said casually.

She nodded and bit her lip nervously. “Oh yeah… I went to bed early last night so I must’ve missed it.”

“Well? How did cheerleading try-outs go? Did you make the squad?”

“Actually, I didn’t try-out yet. I had a last minute thing I had to do yesterday and I couldn’t go.” She shot Chase a quick glance, only to discover that he was still grinning like an idiot. “So… I’m going today instead.” She added.

“Really?” Alicia asked doubtfully. “They let people try-out a day later?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know for sure yet, but I talked to Sarah about it and she said I might have a chance.”

“Oh okay. Well, I’m actually free after my last period today. Do you want me to go with you?”

Raquel shook her head, “No, that’s okay. Ryan already offered to come with me.” She wrapped her small hands around his arm and smiled. “Anyway, we should probably get to class, so I’ll talk to you later?”

Alicia nodded reluctantly, “Yeah, I’ll see you later I guess.”

Raquel made her way up the concrete stairs and into Madison High School with Ryan by her side. She didn’t get as much of a reaction out of Alicia as she might’ve liked, but that didn’t matter; it made her better. She realized in that moment that Ryan was right; sitting around and feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to get her anywhere. However, only time would tell if she could truly move on…

[derj]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 7

When Raquel and Ryan made their way into the gymnasium later that day, the new cheerleading squad was already in the process teaching their first routine to the new recruits. Coincidently, this was the exact same routine that Raquel’s foster sister had taught her over the summer.

For a few brief moments, she simply observed the cluster of cheerleaders from a safe distance as they danced, twirled, tumbled and even flew through the air in their bright crimson uniforms. Raquel wasn’t surprised when she discovered that the head cheerleader, Kelsey Webster, was the squad’s star flyer just as Sarah had been before her. Kelsey moved through the air so effortlessly that Raquel knew she must have had years of experience as a cheerleader. This may have intimidated the other new recruits, but Raquel had spent enough time practicing with Sarah to know that this level of polish and perfection was expected in a good flyer.

Raquel didn’t begin to doubt herself until the squad’s routine came to an end and she realized that it was time for her to approach them. Despite all of her efforts to remain positive, her felt her stomach twist as a thousand questions began swirling around in her head. What if they remember me from yesterday? She wondered. Or worse, what if they somehow know the reason why I had to leave?

It didn’t take long for Ryan to notice her hesitation, “Hey, you okay Raquel?”

She bit her lip and nodded reluctantly, “Yeah, I’m okay. I just wonder if anyone else has ever tried out a day late before…”

He shrugged, “I’m sure it’s no big deal, especially for someone with your talent!”

She smiled, “Thanks, I hope you’re right,” She handed her backpack to Ryan and gathered her courage as she set off to approach the crowd of cheerleaders on her own.

By now, most of them had already divided up into smaller groups to chat amongst themselves. But it didn’t take long for the head cheerleader to notice a stranger in their midst. The tall blonde approached her and asked, “Hey, can I help you?”

Raquel stood up straight to feign confidence, “Yes, I hoping I could try out for the squad.”

“Oh, now I remember you, you’re the one who ran away yesterday.” Kelsey pointed out bluntly.

She sighed; of course it would have been too much to ask for them to forget about yesterday’s incident. “Yeah, I had an emergency and I had to leave. But I was hoping I could get another chance today?”

The other girl’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she replied, “Sorry Hun, the final roster was already posted this morning, but maybe next year.”

Just as she was about to leave, Raquel spoke up again. “I’m Sarah Cooper’s sister; she said you could make an exception for me today.”

“Really? You don’t look like Sarah Cooper’s sister” Kelsey remarked sharply, no doubt she was referring to the obvious racial difference between the two girls, “Besides, she’s not in charge anymore. I am.”

Before she could say another word in her own defense, a young brunette women who appeared to be the coach walked over to join the conversation, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear, you said you’re Sarah Cooper’s sister?”

Raquel nodded, “Yes, well—foster sister actually. But she taught me some of your routines over the summer.”

“Alright, well I’m sure we can spare a few minutes for you then. I’m Coach Miles by the way.” She said, offering her hand

“Thanks, I’m Raquel Hernandez.”

The coach smiled warmly, “Alright Raquel, show us what you’ve got. Music please, from the top!”

The entire squad gathered around as the familiar beat of the song “Killa” by Cherish echoed throughout the corners of the gym. Raquel stuck her opening pose with the casual practice of an expert. It was moments like these that had fueled her passion for dancing. When she let the music take over, the thoughts of the snug diaper she was wearing and the feelings of low self-esteem that it brought managed to fade away entirely. As the song transitioned into the chorus, the slack jawed cheerleaders simply watched in amazement as Raquel kept up with the rhythm using flawless grace and precision in every movement. At the same time, she managed to add some of her own personal style to the routine,

When the song finally ended, the surrounding cheerleaders gathered around and applauded her while the coach took Kelsey aside, “So…” she began conversationally.

“Let me guess; you want me to let this girl on the squad?” The head-cheerleader put her hands on her hips indignantly. She would just as soon have sent Raquel on her way without a second thought.

“She’s good Kelsey. And she has a perfect flyer build. We could use another flyer if we want to beat Emerald Beach Academy at the state competition this year.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Kelsey exclaimed, “Emerald Beach Academy only has one flyer and they’ve won the past three years in a row.”

“Yes, and we both know that their one flyer is a force of nature.” The coach retorted. “Look Kelsey, I get that you want to beat her one-on-one, and I admire your determination. But this is a team competition. And as captain, you’re expected to do everything in your power to strengthen the team.”

Kelsey sighed when she realized that she had no real choice in the matter, “Fine, we’ll let her on the team, but only as a back up. And I’m definitely not making her a flyer just because she weighs 95 pounds and can memorize a few routines. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to all of the people who actually tried out on time.”

Coach Miles agreed to the compromise. “You are the captain,” she said knowingly. And with that, the two young women rejoined the squad of cheerleaders who were still gathered around their newest member, bombarding her with questions.

Kelsey made her way back through the crowd and approached the younger girl with great reluctance, “Well kiddo, it’s your lucky day. You’re going to be one of our back-ups.”

Raquel’s face lit up like a bulb. “Oh my gosh! Really?”

“Yep. Pick up a uniform by tomorrow and be here at exactly 2:30 for practice. Don’t be late.” She said coolly.

“I won’t!” Raquel said with conviction. For the first time this week, things were finally looking starting to go right for her.

Once she had finally separated herself from the cluster of cheerleaders, Ryan stood up from his seat on the bleachers and ran over to hug his friend. “You did it Raquel!”

She grinned, “Yeah I can’t believe it!”

“Well I can, you were pretty awesome! So awesome that we should definitely go out and celebrate right now.”

Raquel nodded, “Okay, I just need to call my foster mom first and see if it’s okay.”

Out in the school parking lot, Ryan watched from a short distance as his friend made multiple phone calls to share the story of her success, first to her sister Sarah, then to her foster mother. Even though it seemed like she was on the phone for an eternity, he was still glad to see his friend genuinely happy for once.

“So did your mom say it was fine if we hang out?” Ryan asked eagerly

“Yep!” Raquel chirped, “She said Mr. Cooper’s working late again so we probably won’t have dinner until after 7 anyway.”

“Cool, that gives us plenty of time then. Have you seen the new Harry Potter movie yet?” Ryan asked.

“Nope, but I definitely want to.” She replied cheerfully.

“Well let’s go then, it’s on me.”

Raquel loved going to the movies, but she also knew from experience that it was a prime time for accidents to occur. Every time she went, she would promise herself that if she felt the urge to pee coming on, she would immediately get up from her seat and go. But in reality, she usually ended up procrastinating or attempting to ignore the feeling, almost always resulting in an accident. To her delight, today’s trip to the movies turned out to be entirely accident free. Walking out of the theater, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for making one Goodnite last the whole day without so much as a single leak. Not only am I a cheerleader now, I could have worn regular underwear to school and been fine. She told herself.

The two of them walked side-by-side down Main Street towards Raquel’s neighborhood. Thankfully, rush hour traffic was just coming to an end so they were able to cross most of the busier streets with ease. When they passed the local courthouse where Mr. Cooper worked, she was surprised to see that his car was still sitting in the parking lot. She was even more surprised to see him sitting in the back seat.

“Hang on a second” she said to Ryan, moving in to get a closer look. After a more careful inspection, she realized that he wasn’t alone. By his side was an attractive blonde in her mid-30s—most likely one of his co-workers.

“What’s up? You know them or something?” Ryan asked curiously.

“Yeah that’s Mr. Cooper…” Raquel muttered as she approached the car further, making little effort to be inconspicuous at this point.

“…And I’m guessing that isn’t Mrs. Cooper?”

Raquel’s suspicion turned into a reality at that very moment, when the two of them leaned in and locked lips. She could only stand there, speechless as the couple kissed in broad daylight.

“Uhh Raquel, we should probably get out of here” Ryan said, reaching for her hand.

Before she could react, Mr. Cooper’s attention shifted from the women in his arms to his foster daughter who was standing outside in the parking lot. Upon making eye contact with her, he immediately pulled away from the strange women and went to open the car door.

Without a second thought, she dashed down the sidewalk ahead of Ryan, far out of Mr. Cooper’s sight. Her foster father had never been her favorite person, and it was an understatement to say that he had his fair share of flaws. But despite everything, she had never expected him to do something like this. To cheat on his wife, one of the few people in the world who had shown Raquel true kindness, How could he do this to her? How could he do this to his family?

She didn’t stop running until she made her way out of town and onto the beach; where she finally slowed down to catch her breath. After taking only a few steps out towards the ocean, the exhausted girl finally plopped herself down into the cool sand. Ryan caught up with her a few minutes later. “You okay?” he asked.

Raquel simply nodded, hugging her knees as a cool breeze blew in from over the water’s surface. They sat quietly for a few minutes, watching the sun go down in a blaze of orange and violet. Ryan finally broke the silence for a second time, “So what are you gonna do about Mr. Cooper?”

She replied reluctantly, “I… I need to tell my foster mother. I could never keep something like this from her.” Belatedly she added, “She’s always been the closet thing I’ve had to a mother ever since my real mom died.”

Ryan frowned, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

She shrugged, “Yeah, I guess I don’t really talk about it a lot.”

“Well, what happened?” He asked gently.

“When I was only seven, my parents and I lived in a small apartment in Puerto Rico. It happened one night when they went out to dinner together left me home with a babysitter. There was… a drive-by shooting outside the restaurant they went to and my mom was short three times.”

Ryan nodded, “But your dad made it out okay?”

She turned and looked blindly outward towards the ocean once again. “He did. But he also held a grudge. A few weeks later, he managed to track the men who shot her here in South Carolina. If he would’ve just given them up to the police, they would be the ones prison now. But he couldn’t do that. He killed them, and then he was caught.” Raquel failed to hold back tears, “And I was left… with no one.”

Ryan put his arm around her without comment and let her cry on his shoulder.

Raquel relaxed in Ryan’s embrace, and felt herself begin to slowly wet the diaper that she had managed to keep dry for almost the entire day. Maybe it was because of the emotional state she was in, or maybe she was simply exhausted beyond the point of control. Either way, she was definitely too tired to let it bother her now.

As the sun finally started to disappear beyond the horizon, Ryan lifted himself up to his feet, offering Raquel his hand. “C’mon, we should get you home.” He said encouragingly.

Raquel nodded dully. She had been dreading going home this whole time; knowing that after today, things would never be the same again.

When they finally reached her house, Raquel stopped at the end of the driveway to face her friend, “Thanks for everything today Ryan.” She stood up on her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek before walking inside.

Only a few minutes after getting settled in her bedroom, Mr. Cooper decided to let himself in for the second time that day. He cleared his throat, “Raquel, I hope that what you saw earlier today can stay just between us.”

Her eyes widened, “How can you expect me to keep a secret like that?”

“Because,” he continued, “If you say one word to my wife, I’ll make sure you get sent right back to where you came from.”

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 8

When she finally drifted off to sleep that night, her dreams were lucid and proved to be just as daunting as her reality. Raquel found herself waking up in a small bed, but it wasn’t like her bed at the Coopers house. The mattress was old, springy and closer to the ground. She was curled up under a single blanket and the sheet she had been sleeping on was wet and cold.

“Oh NO!” Raquel heard herself whisper. She turned on the lamp at the side of her bed to examine the damage. Not only was the sheet soaked, her pajama bottoms were as well.

Did my diaper leak? She wondered. But when she examined herself further, she discovered the problem. No, I’m not even wearing one… but why not?

With the room now fully illuminated, she finally realized where she was. It was one of the foster homes she had lived in when she was nine years old, only a few years after her mother was killed and her father was imprisoned. She looked around the room and saw two other girls sleeping in their own beds nearby. They both appeared to be older than her—the first girl looked like she was at least ten; the other was twelve or thirteen.

Ashley and Caroline, she found herself recalling their names. She remembered that the two girls were sisters who were taken away from their abusive mother years ago and had lived at this foster home ever since.

Raquel quickly switched off the lamp so as not to wake them. She crept out of her bed to go tell her foster parents what she had done. What madness led her do that, she couldn’t say. This is just a dream, Raquel told herself, I don’t have to go tell them. I can just wake up. But even when she tried to wake up, she couldn’t—the dream was too immersive and she soon became lost in it entirely as everything seemed to happen in a blur.

Her foster mother at the time was a stocky woman with curly red hair and milky white skin, always smelling of smoke, alcohol and all matter of substances. Even after she punished Raquel, she continued to lecture her endlessly in an effort to cure her of her problem. As far as she was concerned, discipline and a good lecture could solve anything.

“This is the third time this week Raquel! If you’re going to piss in your bed, maybe you should start sleeping outside with the dog. Is that what you want?”

“No” She murmured solemnly, barely above a whisper.

“Or maybe you need to start wearing diapers?” The question hung between them for a moment—sharp and poisoned.

Raquel shook her head in horror—this time she didn’t say a word. There were times when the young orphan girl had wondered about protection, but she wouldn’t dare say anything now—not with her foster sisters nearby. She knew that if she started wearing diapers, the older girls would never accept her.

“What did your parents do when you wet the bed at home? Huh?” Her mouth twisted in anger at the small girl.

She didn’t have an answer for that question either—she had no recollection of ever wetting the bed when her family was still together. Even if she had, she knew that her real parents loved her and they would never treat her like this.

“Nothing huh? Just as I suspected.” The women sneered, “typical Mexicans.”

I’m from Puerto Rico, you idiot! Raquel wanted to shout at her. But still she remained silent. It wasn’t long before her foster mother had finally exhausted herself and left the room, slamming the door behind her. Hurt and humiliated, there was nothing Raquel could do but to climb back onto the old, springy mattress, now stripped of its sheets. Only a cold, white plastic cover remained—a constant reminder of what she had done.

“Hey Raquel, you okay?” came a soft whisper from the other side of the room. It was Caroline, the elder of the two girls.

She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes before the other girl could see them, “Mmhmm, I’m okay”

Caroline came over and sat at the edge of Raquel’s bed. “Can you keep a secret?”

She sat up and nodded earnestly.

“A few of us are planning on leaving this place: me, my sister and Brandon. You should come with us.”

“Really?” Raquel replied, feeling suddenly dazed. She had heard the older kids talk about leaving before, but never believed they would actually go through with their plans. The idea of running away terrified her—she had to admit—but anywhere else had to be better than here. “When are you leaving?” She asked.

“Tomorrow” Caroline told her, “Meet us in the backyard right after breakfast. Brandon will tell you what you need to do.”

She nodded, “Okay, I will!”

The next morning at breakfast, everyone seemed quieter than usual. But Raquel noticed that whenever one of her foster siblings had finished eating, they slipped out the back door without comment. Caroline was the last one out and she subtly motioned for her to follow. Raquel for waited a few heartbeats to gather up her courage, then she followed the older girl out into the backyard, safely out of sight from Mrs. Brailey.

Raquel found them all gathered behind a large pine tree that obstructed their view from the house. Ashley and Caroline were already talking to Anthony, a tall thin boy with shaggy brown hair and squinted eyes. He gave Raquel a look that said plainly, she was nothing more than a burden. He turned to Caroline and whispered, “You sure about this?”

“I’m sure.” She replied, “Raquel has even more of a reason to want to leave this place than any of us.”

He shrugged before turning back to look at the small girl, “How old are you Raquel, Six?”

“I’m nine!” She snapped, obviously offended by his question.

“Sorry,” Anthony gave another shrug, “You look really young for your age.”

“Still,” Caroline spoke up, “I think she can pull this off.”

Raquel looked at them both wonderingly, “You think I can pull what off?”

“Here’s the thing” Anthony began, “If we’re gonna get far away from here, we need money. Mr. and Mrs. Brailey always keep a wad of cash in their sock drawer—it should be more than enough to buy the four of us bus tickets.”

Her emerald eyes widened even more, “You mean you’re gonna steal it?”

“No” he said coolly, “You’re gonna steal it.”

Before she could say anything, Caroline put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Mrs. Brailey goes to work at eleven, and Mr. Brailey worked all night so he wont be awake until at least noon.”

“Right” Anthony agreed, “That’s our window of opportunity.”

Raquel bit her lip nervously, “I dunno… stealing is—”

“—Wrong?” Caroline interjected and then she shook her head sternly, “No Raquel, what’s wrong is what she did to you last night, and the night before. This is payback. And it’s your chance to get away from here, forever.”

Raquel liked the idea of leaving the place forever, she had to admit, “But why does it have to be me that steals the money?”

Anthony leaned back against a nearby tree and crossed his arms, “The bus station is all the way in town, four miles from here—maybe less if we cut through some fields here and there. And you’re really small. If you’re gonna be slowing us down, you’ve gotta make yourself useful in some way.”

“But you can use being small to your advantage” Caroline added, “You have the best chance of sneaking in there without Mr. Brailey waking up.”

“And what if he does wake up?”

“He won’t.” Caroline said confidently, “The whole time Ashley and I lived here, he’s never woken up early. Not once. Everything’s gonna be okay Raquel, I promise.”

Raquel swallowed hard. She didn’t like the idea of stealing money or running away. But she also knew that she could stay here another night. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

When Mrs. Brailey finally left for work, Raquel crept up at the stairs towards the master bedroom. The thundering sound of Mr. Brailey’s snoring on the other side of the door confirmed that he was in fact, asleep. When she tried to turn the door handle, she realized that it was locked.

It’s locked? How can it be locked? She panicked for a moment, wondering if their entire plan was over before it even began. But then she remembered the time her father showed her how to pick simple locks on the doors in their apartment; all I need is something small and pointy!

Raquel pulled a bobby pin out of her short brown hair and straightened it out enough so that it could fit into the keyhole. “Please work… please work…” She whispered. It took a few tries, but the door finally gave a loud CLICK and she breathed a sigh of relief. She pushed the door open and the sound of Mr. Brailey’s snoring grew even louder.

Her heart hammered faster as she crept through the darkness towards the dresser on the opposite side of the room. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. When Raquel reached the dresser; she was shaking like a leaf. Rummaging through the drawers took longer than she had anticipated. The room was pitch black and she had to rely only on her small trembling hands to feel around for the money that Anthony had described. Which one is the sock drawer anyway? She wondered

Finally, she felt something compact and cylinder shaped. She squeezed the wad of cash firmly in her hand so as not to loose it and crept back out of the room, much faster than she had entered.

She met the other kids in the backyard, this time they all had their backpacks on, ready to go at a moments notice. Raquel gave Anthony the money and smiled proudly at her achievement.

“Wow, you actually did it.” Anthony grinned back at her, somewhat impressed. “No problems?”

She shook her head, “None”

“Alright, lets get a move on then.”

Before any of them could take a single step, Mr. Brailey came running out the back door, “Hey, what the hell do you kids think you’re doing with that money?!”

“RUN!” Anthony commanded as he, Ashley and Caroline all bolted towards neighbor’s cornfield.

Raquel tried to keep up but it was no use. The older kids—and Mr. Brailey—were too fast for her. He caught her by the arm, leaving her to watch helplessly as the rest of them disappeared into the cornfield without looking back. First Anthony, then Ashley, even Caroline who had promised her that everything would be okay. None of them helped her. None of them cared.

As Mr. Brailey dragged her back into the house, Raquel started to wake up from her dream and come back to reality. Her eyes opened and she slowly propped herself up in her bed. Her heart was still hammering and she was covered in sweat from the back of her neck all the way down to her diaper, which—to her surprise—she hadn’t wet.

It was just a dream. Raquel looked around the room as if to confirm that she really was back at the Cooper’s house and not in some other foster home on the other side of the state. She felt herself shiver hard with the memories of her dream still fresh in her mind.

“I thought for sure that life was behind me forever.” Raquel breathed. She felt like she had come so far since those days—that she was no longer the same, scared little girl that she used to be. She had people who cared about her now, she had friends, and she was even going to be a cheerleader. But who would she be if all of that was taken away from her? What would she be? That same little girl who was scared enough to steal money and try to run away with it?

No, I’m more than that now. Raquel wanted to believe. But even as she tried to calm herself down, Mr. Cooper’s words still echoed fresh in her mind. If she said one word to her foster mother about his affair, he would send her away and she would lose everything.

After taking her time getting ready for the day, Raquel headed down the stairs to find her foster mother standing at the kitchen stove making pancakes for breakfast. “Hi sweetie, how come you’re up so early?”

Raquel shrugged, " I just couldn’t sleep I guess."

“Hmm… bad dreams?”

A flicker of surprise crossed her face as she sat down, “Yeah, how’d you know?”

Jennifer smiled, “Remember when you first came to live with us four years ago? You would always wake up crying in the middle of the night with bad dreams, and you could never go back to sleep unless either Sarah or I came in and laid down with you.”

Raquel nodded, “Yeah, I remember. I always dreamt about losing my parents. The night my mom was shot; the day my dad was dragged off to prison. It all happened so fast, one day we were all together as a family and then one day I was I alone. And then when I finally woke up from the dreams, I would feel more alone than ever.”

Jennifer walked over and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “But you weren’t alone Raquel, we were there for you. And we still are. I hope you know that we’ll always be together, no matter what happens.”

She returned a weak smile, if you only knew…

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 9

Kelsey Webster walked into her AP English classroom several minutes before class began. As usual, her head was held high and her long blonde hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail, bouncing back and forth as she swept through the narrow isle between the desks. Most of her classmates were other upperclassmen whom she knew by name; however she could hardly call them friends. She only had one friend in this class—or anywhere outside of the cheerleading squad for that matter—and that was Saddie White.

“Hey Kelsey!” Saddie’s voice called out from the back of the classroom. She was a thin girl with shoulder length brown hair and gentle eyes that sparkled behind a pair of violet reading glasses. Kelsey always thought that she dressed a bit conservatively for her age, but she also had enough self-confidence that it gave her an aura of maturity and sophistication that was rare among her peers.

“Hey, what’s up?” Kelsey replied as she took a seat next to her friend.

“Not much, just catching up on some of the reading for this class.” She replied, gesturing towards an open copy of The Scarlet Letter.

Kelsey chuckled, “The semester just started! It’s going to be weeks before we have our first test.”

“Yeah, I know, but no harm in being prepared right?” Saddie remarked before closing the book. “So how’ve you been? Do you like being the new head cheerleader?”

She gave an exasperated shrug, “I’m off to a fantastic start so far. Yesterday we had some sophomore interrupt our practice to ask if she could try-out for the squad a day late. Of course I told her ‘no’, but then she went over my head and whined to the coach about it…”

“And what? Your coach just let her on the squad after that?”

“Yeah, apparently this girl is Sarah Cooper’s sister.” She grumbled, “so of course we just had to have her on the squad. It’s bullshit because the coach would never do this kind of thing back when Sarah was captain.”

Saddie nodded, “'I’m sorry, that sucks. And since when does Sarah Cooper have a sister that goes here?”

“Well, it’s her foster sister so they’re not actually related.” Kelsey said vaguely. “Her name’s Raquel Hernandez.”

“Raquel Hernandez?” Chase Collins interrupted from the back row of the classroom and leaned forward in an attempt to join their conversation. “I think I know I that girl!”

“Really? Congratulations, Chase.” Kelsey rolled her eyes at the sudden interruption, barely even turning to face him.

“I met her the other day on the bus,” Chase continued, clearly unbothered by the head cheerleader’s blatant sarcasm. “And you’ll never guess what she was wearing…”

“Clothes!” Saddie suggested as if she had just solved a complex riddle.

“Well, yeah, of course she was wearing clothes.” Chase narrowed his eyes at her. “But then when she bent over to pick something up, I saw a diaper sticking out from the top of her skirt!”

To Chase’s satisfaction, this immediately grabbed the attention of both girls and they finally turned in their seats to look at him.

“You saw a what?!” asked Saddie, looking stunned.

“A diaper!” He repeated, “She was wearing a diaper!”

Kelsey raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow, “Are you sure about this Chase?”

“Positive” he nodded. “I even asked her about it and she didn’t deny it.”

Saddie glared at him, “You’re such a creeper Chase! Why would you ask her about something so private?”

He shrugged thoughtlessly, “I wanted to know why she was wearing it.”

“Probably for a medical reason.” She said shortly. “Either way, it’s none of your business.”

When it was clear that he didn’t have anything else to offer, Kelsey turned around and began to relax in her chair again. She had known Chase Collins ever since they were in elementary school, but this was the first time he ever had anything interesting to say. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, she thought.

Saddie continued to shift uncomfortably in her own seat and it was obvious that she didn’t approve of the insidious look in her friend’s eye. “What are you thinking, Kelsey?”

“I’m thinking that I could use this to my advantage.” She replied coolly.

“You can’t do that!” She exclaimed. “What if she really does need to wear them for a medical condition? You have no idea how embarrassing that could be!”

For a brief moment, Kelsey considered this. After all, the only thing she wanted was for Raquel to leave the squad peacefully; she certainly had no intention of ruining the girl’s entire life. Then again, someone with that kind of secret probably shouldn’t be a cheerleader in the first place. Kelsey told herself, if Chase Collins of all people could find out, it’s only a matter of time before others do too. If I can get her to leave quietly with her dignity intact, I would actually be doing her a favor.

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on doing anything drastic.” Kelsey finally retorted. “But she still can’t stay on the cheerleading squad.”

“C’mon Kelsey, I know it sucks that the coach just forced you to add her to the squad like that but—”

“No, it’s not just that.” Kelsey interjected. “The coach was also talking about making her a flyer.”

“So? There’s more than just one flyer, right?”

She nodded, “Yes, but that’s not the point. Before Sarah graduated, she always got to be the star flyer. And not just for her senior year either; she got to be the star flyer every year, at every single competition we ever went to. It didn’t matter how hard I trained, she was the coach’s favorite—that’s just how things were. And now when she’s finally gone, when it’s my chance to shine, the coach just brings her younger sister in here and suggests making her a flyer too? You can’t expect me to just sit around and wait for her to replace me. I worked too hard these last three years to let that happen.”

Reluctantly, Saddie nodded. “I get it Kelsey, this means a lot to you. But please… just promise me that you’re not going to use her secret against her. Nothing good will come from it.”

Kelsey crossed her fingers under the table, “Alright… I promise.”

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

As always, feedback is appreciated.

CHAPTER 10

Raquel’s first day of cheerleading practice was even more gruesome and fast-paced than she could have ever imagined. Before the squad even preformed a single cheer or dance routine, the coach had them stretching, jogging, and doing all matter of body-weight exercises—mostly squats and lunges. I should have worked my legs more over the summer. Raquel scolded herself as she began to realize just how sore they were going to be the next morning. The teenage girl had been dancing her entire life and always considered herself to be in fairly decent shape, but evidently these girls were in a league of their own. As the end of practice drew near, she drifted over towards the bleachers and plopped herself down to catch her breath.

“Hey, don’t worry, it’ll get way easier!” One of the other girls assured her. She was of Asian decent, with hair as dark as ebony and bright almond-shaped eyes that always seemed to be smiling.

Raquel chuckled, “So my legs won’t always feel like Jell-O then?”

“Nope, not forever.” She returned the laugh, “I transferred here last year in the middle of the semester and I literally had no idea what I was doing at first either! But after a couple of weeks, I got the hang of it. I’m Britney, by the way, who are you?”

“I’m Raquel.”

“Well hang in there Raquel, you’re gonna do great here!”

She grinned, “Thanks, I hope so.”

Britney was right; as the weeks went by, practice became much easier. By the third week, her body had adapted to the workouts enough that she was able to keep up with almost every other girl on the squad—both in terms of speed and strength. All of them except for Kelsey Webster of course; no one could keep up with her. It was rumored that the head cheerleader could run a six-minute mile and bench-press twice her own bodyweight. Whether these rumors were true or not, Raquel couldn’t say. One thing was for certain though; Kelsey trained harder than anyone else.

In the three weeks that Raquel had been on the squad, the head cheerleader had hardly spoken a word to her. However, she did seem to spend a great deal of time observing her from a distance. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Raquel would often wonder.

She walked into cheer practice several minutes late one afternoon to find her teammates sitting on the polished hickory wood floor of the gymnasium while the coach paced back and forth, reminding them of the Homecoming game that was just around the corner. It was the squad’s first opportunity to perform their newest routine in front of an audience. Not that this mattered to Raquel. Despite her best efforts to make a good impression on the coach and the head cheerleader, she was still only a backup and therefor wouldn’t be preforming at games or competitions unless one of her teammates was either injured or didn’t show up.

When she took a seat on the floor next to Britney, the other girl immediately scooted closer and whispered, “Speaking of homecoming, do you have a date for the dance yet?”

Raquel shook her head, “No, I’m only a sophomore though so I don’t even know if I’ll be going…”

“Yeah same here.” Britney admitted, “It could be fun though! And I bet you could get that one guy friend of yours to take you—what’s his name?”

“Who, Ryan?”

“Yeah Ryan, he’s a junior and he’s cute!” She teased

“Yeah, he’s a good friend but he’s not my type. Trust me.”

“Uh-huh, whatever!” she elbowed her friend playfully.

“No, really, he’s not!”

“Okay… Well if you guys are really just friends, how about setting me up with him then?”

Raquel looked at her thoughtfully, “What? You and Ryan?”

“Yeah, why not? He’s cute… I’m cute… It’s like we’re meant to be.”

She laughed, “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

Despite the Coach’s enthusiasm about the upcoming game, the rest of practice went by fairly quick and easy. Raquel was about halfway home when she started to feel a growing pressure down on her bladder, Great, I knew I shouldn’t have drank all that water after practice. The Cooper’s house was still over eight blocks away and she knew from experience that her fragile bladder would fail her before she made it that far. She contemplated the idea of going in her diaper on purpose—it was certainly preferable to spending the next few minutes waiting for an accident to take her by surprise. She normally did everything she could to make it to the bathroom on time. However, her daytime accidents seemed to be becoming more frequent over the past few weeks—this had made her start to lose faith in herself.

As the pain in her bladder became more sharp and uncomfortable, Raquel decided to go through with her plan. Why not? She thought, It’s not like I would have made it to the bathroom in time anyway. Besides, I can change as soon as I get home. She felt instant relief as her diaper grew warm and began to swell between her legs.

When she finally made it home, the first thing she did was head upstairs to change. She tossed her backpack and clothes into a pile on her bed and began rummaging through her top dresser drawer for a fresh Goodnite. But when she reached her hand into the last package, she made a shocking discovery, oh no! I can’t be out! Raquel panicked and franticly began searching through the rest of the drawers. There were several empty packages that had accumulated over the past few months, but not a single fresh pullup or diaper to be found.

“Damn it!” She shouted and slammed the dresser drawer shut. This meant a trip back out to the store.

Of course diaper shopping was one of Raquel’s least favorite activities, which was why she often procrastinated until the last minute. Despite her years of practice buying diapers, she never did get used to all of the curious glances she received from the other customers and cashiers—no doubt wondering if the merchandise was actually for her. The fact that Raquel was so small and innocent in appearance could only aid in their suspicions.

She searched the entire house for her foster mother but she was nowhere to be found. Weird, she’s normally home by now. Starting to grow impatient, Raquel crept into the living room to find the twins playing Xbox together on the floor while Mr. Cooper sat on the sofa with his laptop open.

“Hey, do you guys know where Mom is?”

Her question had been directed at the twins, but Mr. Cooper answered for them. “Jennifer went down to Florida to visit her sister who’s in the hospital having her baby.”

“Oh, um… Do you know when she’s coming back?” Raquel stuttered nervously.

“She’s staying overnight. Why, what’s wrong?”

She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. If Jennifer wasn’t here, that meant the only person who could give her money was Mr. Cooper. She had no choice but to ask him. “I’m just… out of diapers.” She spoke barely above a whisper.

“I’m sorry—what?” Mr. Cooper leaned closer and put a hand to his ear.

“I’m out of diapers.” She repeated, turning a shade redder.

He grimaced, “I thought Jennifer just bought you some before school started.”

“Yeah she did, but—”

“—Those were supposed to last you until the end of the month Raquel. Where’d they all go?”

She stared down at her feet, desperately searching for the right words. “I don’t know. I just… used them all.”

“So you’re telling me that I just spent over forty dollars on diapers for you and now you need even more? How is it even possible to go through that many Raquel? Are you just using them because you’re too lazy to go to the bathroom?”

Raquel trembled and shook her head frantically. Of course he had to make this even more difficult for her than it already was, He could never understand that diapers were the last thing that any teenage girl wanted to ask for.

Mr. Cooper sighed in frustration, “I just want to know one thing; how is it physically possible to go through that many in a day?”

She felt a tear beginning to form in the corner of her eye, “I j-just, had a lot of accidents at school lately and—”

“Just accidents?” he asked suspiciously. “Not one of those times was on purpose, just because it was easier?”

I would never use my diapers on purpose! Raquel wanted to tell him, but then she remembered what happened on the walk home from school. She didn’t bother denying it—she was a terrible liar and she knew it. Overrun with guilt, all she could do was lower her eyes to the floor.

“See, that’s what I thought.” He said sharply.

She started to cry again, “I’m sorry! But I really do have accidents at school. I’m not making that up!”

“Alright, calm down Raquel.” He gave her a mocking smile, “I think if you actually try going to the bathroom at school tomorrow, you won’t have any more of these accidents. It might come as a surprise to you, but that’s what most kids your age do. Even Andy and Erica here know how to go to the bathroom.” He casually gestured towards the twins who were still immersed in their game.

After that comment, Raquel realized that it was hopeless and retreated back upstairs to her room. She lay down on her bed and hugged her pillow tightly, wondering what she was going to do about school tomorrow. The pullup she was currently wearing would only last her for so long, and going without any protection was definitely not an option. She considered calling her foster mother for help, but doubted that it would do any good in this situation. Sarah was also too far away to help her, and none of her other friends even knew about her problem. She was truly on her own.

At least twenty minutes passed before Raquel managed to stand up and pull herself together. There must be diapers somewhere in this house. She realized, if I can’t buy any, I’ll just have to find some. She remembered that Andy used to wear pull-ups to bed several years ago, so his room was as good of a place as any to start.

She stood in the doorway of his bedroom to find him sitting at his desk doing homework. “Hey, you okay Raquel?”

Raquel blushed as she sat down next to Andy; she had almost forgotten that he was right there during her encounter with his father. “Yeah I’m okay now, thanks.”

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Raquel finally spoke up, “So remember how you used to wet the bed a few years ago?”

He nodded, “Yeah.”

“And how you used to wear pull-ups, then you stopped? I was wondering if you had any extras leftover in your room.”

Andy looked confused, “for you?”

Raquel bit her lip and nodded shyly.

He gave a shrug and glanced around his room. “Hmm I dunno, maybe in the top part of the closet? Mom put a lot of my old stuff up there.”

“Good idea!” Raquel said as she hopped off the bed.

She opened the white double doors to reveal a closet packed full of clothes, toys, and other typical 8-year old items. Most of the top shelf was covered in blankets, sheets and a variety of different colored storage bins. No sign of any pull-ups yet, but if there were any up there, Raquel was going to find them. She grabbed the chair from Andy’s desk to stand on, and proceeded to remove the bins one by one.

By the third bin, she started to feel like she wasn’t going to find anything but old clothes. Until she got to the bottom of the bin, where she discovered an almost empty package of Luvs size 6 diapers.

“Hmm will those work?” Andy asked, looking over Raquel’s shoulder.

She shrugged, “I dunno, there’s only two left and they might not even fit me.” They may not have been ideal, but they were better than nothing. After reorganizing his closet, Raquel gave her foster brother a big hug, “Thanks Andy.”

He smiled, “No problem.”

Once she was back in the privacy of her bedroom, Raquel took off her skirt and wet pullup, which she threw away in a grocery bag. After taking a wipe and freshening up, she proceeded to open one of the strange new diapers. The first thing she noticed was how nice it smelled compared to the protection she was used to wearing. She couldn’t explain why, but the smell brought back memories of her parents, and of her home.

She lay the diaper out on her bed and sat down on top of it, pulling the front up to her belly button. To her delight, these diapers were actually much bigger than they initially appeared. She taped the sides snugly in place and propped herself up on her bed and ran her fingers across the outside of the diaper. It was definitely a little tight, but still surprisingly comfortable.

She walked and twirled around the room for a minute to get a decent feel for it, and decided that they should be suitable for tomorrow at least. The only problem was that she only had one more, and would need to make it last the whole day. Only time would tell if she could make it…

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 11

When she woke, the pale light of morning was slanting through her window giving her a small burst of energy. She tossed her covers aside, anxious to see if her diaper had lasted the night. A quick examination of her inner thighs revealed that it hadn’t leaked at all. This was a good sign—If one Luvs diaper could hold up through the night, maybe the other one could get her through the school day.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, it finally occurred to Raquel that going to the bathroom in these diapers may pose a greater challenge than usual. Unlike her Goodnites, which slid on and off with relative ease, these diapers had to be fastened into place; Raquel knew from personal experience that those tapes only lasted so many times before lost their grip. All in all, this was sure to be an interesting day—a day that would she hoped would end with her foster mother coming to her rescue.

She made it through her first two classes free of accidents, Maybe today won’t be such a disaster after all, she mused while making her way into her empty algebra classroom. The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, or in Raquel’s case, an exceptionally loud crinkle from under her skirt. She figured this was because they were many years older than anything she was accustomed to wearing. The Goodnites that she typically wore to school hardly made a sound. Even the minor sounds that her less discreet night time diapers made seemed frivolous in compassion to these Luvs diapers with their plastic-backed exteriors.

Raquel’s crinkling train of thought was finally interrupted when she heard the familiar and bubbly voice of her friend Britney skipping through the doorway. “Hey Raquel, you’re not in your cheer uniform today?”

She instinctively glanced down at her indigo denim jacket and red plaid skirt. “Oh yeah, it’s in my backpack. I just felt like wearing something else today.” She lied; obviously not wanting to share the real reason she had chosen to wear a simple skirt instead of her uniform. It was far easier to remove, and with only one spare diaper in her bag, going to the bathroom needed to be as fast and efficient as possible if it came down to a close call

Britney shrugged and prodded her on, “So… Homecoming!”

“Oh yeah, I still haven’t gotten a chance to ask Ryan about you yet.”

“That’s okay, we still need to talk about getting you a date anyway! You’re my B.F.F now; I can’t go without you!”

Raquel giggled, “We’ve only known each other for a couple weeks.”

“Yeah, Just sayin’, It would it suck if you weren’t there!”

She laughed and nodded her head proudly, “That’s true, it would. I’m still not so sure that a school dance is my thing though.”

Britney cocked an eyebrow, “What? You’ve never been to one before?”

“Not… exactly” She replied, “I switched schools so much while I was younger that I never really settled down anywhere.”

“Makes sense I guess. So this will be your first one then! Come on, we just need to find you a date. Maybe Ryan has some more cute friends that are more your type?”

Raquel grinned and shook her head. All his other friends are boys.

The two girls continued to chat quietly on and off throughout the course of the class until Raquel finally felt the need to pee. Great, she thought. This meant that her diaper had to come off if she wanted to keep it dry. Fortunately, this teacher was more considerate then some of the other ones, so getting permission to leave wasn’t an issue.

Even though it was less than a 30 second walk to the restroom, Raquel kept a brisk pace—nothing was going to stop her from making it through the day accident free. As she hastily pushed open the door to one of the bathroom stalls, she could already feel the first few drops starting to slip out. From there, it took all of her strength to hold it in long enough to slide down her skirt and un-tape the sides of her diaper, which she let fall to the floor without concern. Raquel let out a sigh of relief as she finally sat down on the toilet and let the stream flow freely. This may have been a small victory, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

Once her Algebra class was over, Raquel headed to the cafeteria for lunch where she met up with Ryan at their usual table. Not five seconds after she sat down, she caught sight of Alicia and Chase making out at a nearby table, surrounded by a group of what she assumed were Chase’s friends. “Classy. As if some of us aren’t trying to eat here.” She muttered.

Ryan nodded in agreement, “Have you talked to her at all lately?”

“Yeah, she called me a couple days ago but it was really awkward. Especially when she started talking about Chase and how she’s so excited that they’re going to Homecoming together. I’ve been trying not to think about her though. It’s easier that way, y’know?”

Ryan nodded again, “Yeah makes sense. I guess it must be hard having to see her like this all the time.”

“…And when she still wants to go on being friends like nothing’s wrong,” Raquel added grievously. She had been trying to get Alicia out of her head ever since she first came to the realization that they may never be more than friends. She had tried pushing her feelings for the other girl aside, but every time she saw her face at school, those feelings came bubbling back to the surface as if they’d never left her.

Ryan cleared his throat, “Speaking of Homecoming, are you going with anyone?”

Raquel was also eager to change the subject. “No not yet, but I do know someone who has her eye on you.”

Ryan’s interest peaked, “Oh really, who’s that?”

“My friend Britney Chang from Cheerleading, she’s pretty cute and she’s been asking about you.”

He grinned, “Cute huh? Does she have nice boobs too?”

“Shut up Ryan!” she laughed and chucked a French fry at his face. “What’s important is that she just might be willing to put up with you and your so-called sense of humor.”

“Ohhh” he said, while putting a hand over his heart. “Excuse me for trying to take advantage of the fact that you have good taste in girls.”

“Very funny. You’ll just have to find out for yourself.”

The two friends picked at their food for the next few minutes until Ryan finally broke the silence again. “So if I ask your friend Britney to homecoming, who does that leave you to go with?”

She shrugged, “I dunno. I was thinking about just staying home but Britney sounded like she really wanted me to go. I guess you two already have one thing in common.”

“Well, since there’s only one person that you really want to go with. Why don’t you, me and Britney all go together?”

Raquel wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of being the third wheel on their date, but Ryan was right about one thing; there was no one else at this school that she wanted to go with. And besides, Ryan and Britney might feel more comfortable with a mutual friend accompanying them. Raquel smiled and said, “Okay that works for me! Britney might think it’s weird that I don’t have a date though.”

“So I’m guessing that means you haven’t told her about Alicia.”

“Or that I like girls at all…” She added

“Why not? You don’t think she’d approve?”

“No, it’s not that.” She replied, “I guess… Sometimes apart of me just wishes that I didn’t—I feel like it would be easier that way. Especially when the only person that’s ever liked me is a guy.” She smiled at him.

He nodded, “And you’re sure that you’re okay with me asking your friend Britney out, right?”

“Of course,” She said earnestly. “You deserve to me happy.”

“Don’t worry Raquel, somewhere out there is the girl for you. You just have to find her.”

Just as they were getting up to walk to Geology class, Raquel jumped in terror at the sound of an entire stack of metal cooking pans crashing down on the floor like a violent avalanche. As she caught her breath, she felt the crotch of diaper becoming increasingly warm. “Damn it” she murmured while instinctively glancing down.

“What, you okay?” Ryan asked.

She nodded briskly. “Yeah, let’s just go.”

Of course she wasn’t exactly okay; she was disappointed in herself. She had come so close to making it through an entire school day dry, only to be taken completely off guard by some clumsy dishwasher in the kitchen. She wanted to believe that if she gave it her full attention, she could make it to the bathroom every time without fail. But after today, she had truly proven herself wrong.

At this point Raquel was more concerned with Cheer practice than anything else. Last night had proved that these diapers would hold a minor wetting without leaking or coming undone, but simply lying in bed and doing cartwheels were two completely different things. What if the tapes came undone? What would she do then? She considered telling her coach she that she wasn’t feeling well enough for practice—it wasn’t far from the truth after all.

By the time the last bell of the day rang, she still hadn’t made up her mind. It would look bad if she missed practice on top of being late so many times, but it would look even worse if there was an incident involving her diaper, which was now starting to feel even heavier than before.

As always, getting through the chaotic hallways of Madison High School was a challenge for someone so short and easily overlooked in a crowd. It also didn’t help that the gym was in the opposite direction of the general flow of traffic. With each step she took, Raquel could feel her diaper growing looser, almost if the tapes were about to snap free at any moment. No way I can go to cheer practice like this.

Still, she pressed on, hoping that she could at least make it to the bathroom and somehow make an adjustment. But it was too late—one of the tapes promptly lost it’s grip, causing her protection fall out through her skirt and down way down to her ankle, completely exposed for everyone in the hallway to see.

“Oh crap, Oh crap…” Raquel whispered in panic as she franticly tried to untape the other half from around her ankle and conceal it in her hands as best she could. But her efforts were in vain. Just as she was about to stand back up, Raquel heard a cold, familiar voice approaching her from behind, “Well, well, now what do we have here?”

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 11

When she woke, the pale light of morning was slanting through her window giving her a small burst of energy. She tossed her covers aside, anxious to see if her diaper had lasted the night. A quick examination of her inner thighs revealed that it hadn’t leaked at all. This was a good sign—If one Luvs diaper could hold up through the night, maybe the other one could get her through the school day.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, it finally occurred to Raquel that going to the bathroom in these diapers may pose a greater challenge than usual. Unlike her Goodnites, which slid on and off with relative ease, these diapers had to be fastened into place; Raquel knew from personal experience that those tapes only lasted so many times before lost their grip. All in all, this was sure to be an interesting day—a day that would she hoped would end with her foster mother coming to her rescue.

She made it through her first two classes free of accidents, Maybe today won’t be such a disaster after all, she mused while making her way into her empty algebra classroom. The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, or in Raquel’s case, an exceptionally loud crinkle from under her skirt. She figured this was because they were many years older than anything she was accustomed to wearing. The Goodnites that she typically wore to school hardly made a sound. Even the minor sounds that her less discreet night time diapers made seemed frivolous in compassion to these Luvs diapers with their plastic-backed exteriors.

Raquel’s crinkling train of thought was finally interrupted when she heard the familiar and bubbly voice of her friend Britney skipping through the doorway. “Hey Raquel, you’re not in your cheer uniform today?”

She instinctively glanced down at her indigo denim jacket and red plaid skirt. “Oh yeah, it’s in my backpack. I just felt like wearing something else today.” She lied; obviously not wanting to share the real reason she had chosen to wear a simple skirt instead of her uniform. It was far easier to remove, and with only one spare diaper in her bag, going to the bathroom needed to be as fast and efficient as possible if it came down to a close call

Britney shrugged and prodded her on, “So… Homecoming!”

“Oh yeah, I still haven’t gotten a chance to ask Ryan about you yet.”

“That’s okay, we still need to talk about getting you a date anyway! You’re my B.F.F now; I can’t go without you!”

Raquel giggled, “We’ve only known each other for a couple weeks.”

“Yeah, Just sayin’, It would it suck if you weren’t there!”

She laughed and nodded her head proudly, “That’s true, it would. I’m still not so sure that a school dance is my thing though.”

Britney cocked an eyebrow, “What? You’ve never been to one before?”

“Not… exactly” She replied, “I switched schools so much while I was younger that I never really settled down anywhere.”

“Makes sense I guess. So this will be your first one then! Come on, we just need to find you a date. Maybe Ryan has some more cute friends that are more your type?”

Raquel grinned and shook her head. All his other friends are boys.

The two girls continued to chat quietly on and off throughout the course of the class until Raquel finally felt the need to pee. Great, she thought. This meant that her diaper had to come off if she wanted to keep it dry. Fortunately, this teacher was more considerate then some of the other ones, so getting permission to leave wasn’t an issue.

Even though it was less than a 30 second walk to the restroom, Raquel kept a brisk pace—nothing was going to stop her from making it through the day accident free. As she hastily pushed open the door to one of the bathroom stalls, she could already feel the first few drops starting to slip out. From there, it took all of her strength to hold it in long enough to slide down her skirt and un-tape the sides of her diaper, which she let fall to the floor without concern. Raquel let out a sigh of relief as she finally sat down on the toilet and let the stream flow freely. This may have been a small victory, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

Once her Algebra class was over, Raquel headed to the cafeteria for lunch where she met up with Ryan at their usual table. Not five seconds after she sat down, she caught sight of Alicia and Chase making out at a nearby table, surrounded by a group of what she assumed were Chase’s friends. “Classy. As if some of us aren’t trying to eat here.” She muttered.

Ryan nodded in agreement, “Have you talked to her at all lately?”

“Yeah, she called me a couple days ago but it was really awkward. Especially when she started talking about Chase and how she’s so excited that they’re going to Homecoming together. I’ve been trying not to think about her though. It’s easier that way, y’know?”

Ryan nodded again, “Yeah makes sense. I guess it must be hard having to see her like this all the time.”

“…And when she still wants to go on being friends like nothing’s wrong,” Raquel added grievously. She had been trying to get Alicia out of her head ever since she first came to the realization that they may never be more than friends. She had tried pushing her feelings for the other girl aside, but every time she saw her face at school, those feelings came bubbling back to the surface as if they’d never left her.

Ryan cleared his throat, “Speaking of Homecoming, are you going with anyone?”

Raquel was also eager to change the subject. “No not yet, but I do know someone who has her eye on you.”

Ryan’s interest peaked, “Oh really, who’s that?”

“My friend Britney Chang from Cheerleading, she’s pretty cute and she’s been asking about you.”

He grinned, “Cute huh? Does she have nice boobs too?”

“Shut up Ryan!” she laughed and chucked a French fry at his face. “What’s important is that she just might be willing to put up with you and your so-called sense of humor.”

“Ohhh” he said, while putting a hand over his heart. “Excuse me for trying to take advantage of the fact that you have good taste in girls.”

“Very funny. You’ll just have to find out for yourself.”

The two friends picked at their food for the next few minutes until Ryan finally broke the silence again. “So if I ask your friend Britney to homecoming, who does that leave you to go with?”

She shrugged, “I dunno. I was thinking about just staying home but Britney sounded like she really wanted me to go. I guess you two already have one thing in common.”

“Well, since there’s only one person that you really want to go with. Why don’t you, me and Britney all go together?”

Raquel wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of being the third wheel on their date, but Ryan was right about one thing; there was no one else at this school that she wanted to go with. And besides, Ryan and Britney might feel more comfortable with a mutual friend accompanying them. Raquel smiled and said, “Okay that works for me! Britney might think it’s weird that I don’t have a date though.”

“So I’m guessing that means you haven’t told her about Alicia.”

“Or that I like girls at all…” She added

“Why not? You don’t think she’d approve?”

“No, it’s not that.” She replied, “I guess… Sometimes apart of me just wishes that I didn’t—I feel like it would be easier that way. Especially when the only person that’s ever liked me is a guy.” She smiled at him.

He nodded, “And you’re sure that you’re okay with me asking your friend Britney out, right?”

“Of course,” She said earnestly. “You deserve to me happy.”

“Don’t worry Raquel, somewhere out there is the girl for you. You just have to find her.”

Just as they were getting up to walk to Geology class, Raquel jumped in terror at the sound of an entire stack of metal cooking pans crashing down on the floor like a violent avalanche. As she caught her breath, she felt the crotch of diaper becoming increasingly warm. “Damn it” she murmured while instinctively glancing down.

“What, you okay?” Ryan asked.

She nodded briskly. “Yeah, let’s just go.”

Of course she wasn’t exactly okay; she was disappointed in herself. She had come so close to making it through an entire school day dry, only to be taken completely off guard by some clumsy dishwasher in the kitchen. She wanted to believe that if she gave it her full attention, she could make it to the bathroom every time without fail. But after today, she had truly proven herself wrong.

At this point Raquel was more concerned with Cheer practice than anything else. Last night had proved that these diapers would hold a minor wetting without leaking or coming undone, but simply lying in bed and doing cartwheels were two completely different things. What if the tapes came undone? What would she do then? She considered telling her coach she that she wasn’t feeling well enough for practice—it wasn’t far from the truth after all.

By the time the last bell of the day rang, she still hadn’t made up her mind. It would look bad if she missed practice on top of being late so many times, but it would look even worse if there was an incident involving her diaper, which was now starting to feel even heavier than before.

As always, getting through the chaotic hallways of Madison High School was a challenge for someone so short and easily overlooked in a crowd. It also didn’t help that the gym was in the opposite direction of the general flow of traffic. With each step she took, Raquel could feel her diaper growing looser, almost if the tapes were about to snap free at any moment. No way I can go to cheer practice like this.

Still, she pressed on, hoping that she could at least make it to the bathroom and somehow make an adjustment. But it was too late—one of the tapes promptly lost it’s grip, causing her protection fall out through her skirt and down way down to her ankle, completely exposed for everyone in the hallway to see.

“Oh crap, Oh crap…” Raquel whispered in panic as she franticly tried to untape the other half from around her ankle and conceal it in her hands as best she could. But her efforts were in vain. Just as she was about to stand back up, Raquel heard a cold, familiar voice approaching her from behind, “Well, well, now what do we have here?”

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 12

Raquel immediately turned around to face the head cheerleader and attempted to conceal the diaper behind her back with both hands. “Oh, hey Kelsey…”

Without warning, the older, and much stronger girl, grabbed hold of Raquel’s her upper arm and spun her around, snatching the wet diaper she had been harboring. Raquel protested, “Hey! What are you—”

“Well look at that” Kelsey interjected, dangling Raquel’s wet diaper tauntingly by one of the tapes. “You know, a little birdie told me that you wore diapers to school. But I had to see it to believe it.”

Someone else already knows? But how? I’ve never told anyone! As the other girl was blatantly enjoying herself, Raquel was so stunned that she could barely speak. “P-please Kelsey, you wont tell anyone will you?” she pleaded.

Kelsey tossed her newly discovered evidence into a nearby trashcan and motioned for Raquel to walk with her away from the crowd. “Of course I wont Hun; unlike some people in this school, I can actually keep a secret. I only have one condition…”

She looked inquiringly as Kelsey continued. “I’m going to need you to resign from the cheerleading squad.”

Raquel’s jaw dropped, “What?”

“Yep you heard me. See, some of the girls and I have been talking, and we’ve decided that you’re not really cheerleader material after all. I mean just look at yourself; a cheerleader in high school who still wears diapers? My, my, what is this world coming to?”

“What the hell is your problem with me Kelsey?” Raquel raised her voice in frustration, “What have I ever done to you?”

Kelsey tsked at her, "It’s really nothing personal. As the team captain I have a responsibility to give the people what they want. And the sad truth is that most of the girls on this team don’t want you here because you’re an embarrassment to them. "

Raquel shook her head in disbelief, “No that’s not true, they’re my friends…”

The head cheerleader looked at her pitifully, “Wake up Raquel. You’re really so naive that you can’t see past a few fake smiles for what they really are? Allow me to be the first one to share some honesty with you; the only reason you’re here is because the coach made us put you on the squad.”

Raquel still refused to believe her. She had only been on the squad for three weeks, but she truly felt like this was where she belonged. And although she may not have gotten to know many of the other girls yet, Brittney was her friend; that much she knew for certain. Britney had nothing to gain by pretending to be friends with her.

“Still don’t believe me?” Kelsey continued as if she had been reading her mind, “well it doesn’t matter. If you don’t want to take my advice and walk away with your dignity, then I’ll make sure the entire school knows your secret by this time tomorrow.”

For a good portion of her life, Raquel had dreaded the moment that someone finally discovered that she wore diapers. She had imagined so many different scenarios in her head—each one more terrifying than the last—and she was convinced that her life would come be over if any of them were to actually come true. But now, standing here in this moment, the fact that someone knew her secret was overshadowed by the fact that yet another person in her life was attempting to manipulate her. Mr. Cooper—who manipulated people for a living—had already blackmailed her once, and she had been all but helpless to stand up him. But this time she had a choice; only question remained, was she brave enough to stand up to the head cheerleader?

The tall blonde was still looking down at her with a triumphant look in her icy blue eyes—most likely anticipating her to either cry or run away in defeat. No, not this time, Raquel told herself. Although she was still terrified at what was to come, she managed to gather her resolve and speak with every ounce of strength in her being, “Do your worst Kelsey. I’m tired of letting everyone push me around.”

For a brief second, Kelsey stood slack jawed at the other girl’s sudden display of courage, “You’re going to regret this.”

Raquel turned on her heel to walk away. “I guess I’ll see you at practice.”

Despite the fact that she had just sacrificed everything for a chance to remain on the cheerleading squad, going to practice was still the last thing in the world that she wanted to do. But skipping was no longer an option. If Kelsey was going to do everything in her power to force her off the squad, not showing up to practice would only give her the ammunition she needed.

As she changed into her cheer uniform, the initial shock of her encounter slowly began to wear off and things came back into perspective. “Damn it Raquel, what are you getting yourself into?”" She murmured under her breath. “This isn’t who you are…”

She tried to acclimate herself to the feeling of her bare skin coming in contact with the cool polyester material of her cheer uniform. It had been so long since she had worn any article of clothing without a diaper on underneath, and its absence left her feeling cold, empty and vulnerable. But there was nothing she could do about it now. Thanks to Kelsey, her last diaper was now sitting in the bottom of a trashcan.

When she arrived in the gym, she immediately took her place among the group and began doing her warm-up stretches as usual. Only Britney could sense that something was wrong “Hey Raquel, you okay?”

Raquel forced out a tiny, reassuring smile, “Yeah, I’m alright.”

“You sure?” Britney asked suspiciously.

“I’m fine Britney, really.” She said absently, not even making eye contact with her friend. She was far too busy focusing on Kelsey, who was sitting on the bleaches talking with two of their teammates, Joanna and Megan. She could be telling them about me right now…

The majority of practice consisted of the squad perfecting their routine for the Homecoming game that was right around the corner. Raquel had already mastered this routine in the second week of practice so she decided to use her time helping the other girls. “Come on Christina, you got this!” She shouted encouragingly as one of her fellow cheerleaders attempted to perform a barrel turn in the air.

Christina jumped off the ground but barely even attempted to complete the turn. “I can’t do it!” She snapped, “The coach is crazy if she expects me to have this down by next week!”

'What are you talking about? You nailed it when she was spotting you!"

“That’s different,” she replied. “She was guiding me through it. When I do it myself, I feel I’m gonna fall backwards.”

Raquel shook her head, “You either can do the move or you can’t, and I know you can Christina. It’s all about confidence. C’mon, try it again; just tell yourself that you can make it this time and you will.”

“Okay, but can you just demonstrate it one more time for me?”

Raquel nodded and proceeded to do the ground work of the turn in slow motion so that the other girl could follow along with ease, “Okay the most important thing to remember is that your right arm needs to hang down here when you first take off; you need that to guide you through the rest of the turn.”

Christina watched intently as she gracefully twirled through the air.

Raquel smiled upon successfully landing the turn, “See, just like that!”

She winced and pointed at the ground directly below her. “Uhh Raquel… I think you just…”

“Huh?” Raquel looked down and quickly discovered that a small puddle was slowly forming between her feet all over the gym floor. “Oh no!” She shouted.

She scurried to grab a towel off the bleachers as the rest of the squad moved in to investigate the scene. By the time she returned, all twenty girls had gathered around and gotten a good, long look. Raquel pressed the towel firmly on the ground without comment. She was trying hard to avoid eye contact with anyone and trying even harder to fight back tears.

When she finally got up and ran out of the gym as fast as her legs could carry her, Kelsey grinned and spoke just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. “And here I thought I was going to have to have to work to get her off of the squad. But now she’s done that herself.”

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 13

Raquel sat in silence on the floor of the girl’s bathroom, hugging her legs tightly in an attempt to stop them from trembling uncontrollably. The once lightweight and breathable polyester material of her cheer uniform was now clinging to her skin—wet, heavy and as cold as ice. When she closed her eyes, all she saw was the faces of her teammate’s staring down at her with looks of surprise and pity. And now I’m trapped here, Raquel realized. Not only was her lower half covered in urine, her only change of clothes was in her backpack, along with her diaper wipes and her cell phone.

Feeling truly desperate, Raquel closed her eyes and began to pray. When she was a little girl, her mother had taught her to pray everyday—to be thankful for the things they had, and to ask for help in times of need. But after her mother died, Raquel gradually stopped praying. If God was willing to sit by and let her mother be killed, why should He ever help her? How did she know He even cared what happened to her? Even so, she pressed her palms together and began to whisper, “Please God, I know that I haven’t prayed in a long time and… I probably have no right to ask you this, but… please help me. Please help me get out of this mess.”

When she blinked her eyes open, there was no reply, no sound except for the quiet hum of the florescent lights that hung over her. That’s what I thought. She sighed.

She sat in silence for several minutes until she heard the soft sound of footsteps approaching outside the stall, “Hey Raquel, you in there? It’s Britney. I went and got your backpack for you.”

Raquel instinctively jumped to her feet and wiped away the tears that had been running freely down her cheeks. Of course her efforts to appear calm and collected were in vain. Once the door was open, Britney saw straight through her strong façade. “Oh, you poor thing!” She said, immediately pulling her into an unexpected hug, nearly crushing Raquel’s head into her bosom. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She replied softly.

“Hey… it’s no big deal, it could happen to anyone y’know,” Britney said, releasing the smaller girl from her embrace.

“No, it’s me…” Raquel began, as she contemplated telling Britney the whole truth. She’s going to find out anyway, better she hears it from me than from Kelsey…

“What are you talking about?”

“I have accidents a lot.” Raquel muttered, now gazing down at the floor, “But normally I wear… protection.”

Britney nodded encouragingly as Raquel spent the next few minutes confessing her wetting problem, along with the other recent events in her life that had led up to this moment, like the fact that she was now out of diapers without a penny to her name, and that her foster father refused to help her in any way.

“Well he sounds like an asshole!” Britney remarked in reference to Mr. Cooper.

She nodded, “He doesn’t even care about his real family, so I definitely can’t expect him to care about me.”

Fortunately, while Raquel was talking, Britney had already devised a solution to solve her friend’s problem. “So, it sounds like you just need to borrow some money to buy some—” she bit her lip mid-sentence and contemplated what the least embarrassing term was.

“—Diapers?” Raquel added, smiling shyly.

“Right! I have my debit card with me; we can go to the store right now if you want!”

“No, you don’t have to do that Britney.”

“But what if your mom still isn’t home yet? C’mon! You’re my friend. I have to help you! And you can always repay me when she gets back.”

Of course it didn’t take long for Raquel to realize that this was no time to be proud. If her foster mother didn’t come home tonight, she wouldn’t be able to last another day of school. “Okay, thanks Britney.”

She gave her a reassuring smile, “C’mon then, let’s go then! We don’t wanna spend all day in the bathroom.”

Raquel chuckled, “Okay, just let me get changed first.”

Britney glanced down at her friend’s wet cheer uniform “Oh! Right, right! Guess I’ll meet you in the hall then.”

After Raquel freshened up with some wipes and changed back into her dry clothes, the two girls set out to one of the local drug stores. Raquel had always felt awkward purchasing diapers on her own, despite the fact that she had been buying them at this same store ever sense she started living with the Cooper’s several years ago. But this was the first time she had gone diaper shopping with a friend—strangely enough, having company actually made her feel more at ease than when she went alone.

She perused the isles, overlooking the comfortable but not-so-absorbent Goodnights and Underjams. Although pullups had earned their place as her usual daytime protection over the years, their purpose had always been to handle minor accidents, not multiple soakings over the course of a school day. She had to admit that Mr. Cooper was right about one thing; it was hardly acceptable to go through three or four diapers in a day. It was time for her to start wearing something more absorbent, at least until this phase of increased daytime accidents had passed.

They finally stopped perusing the isle when a package of youth sized, day-and- night diapers caught Raquel’s eye. From the picture on the front, they looked almost like a hybrid of the pullups she wore to school and the thicker diapers she wore to bed. Although they appeared to only have two tapes on the front instead of four, which looked much more comfortable “Hmm, guess I’ll give these a try,”

“Yeah those look really cute!” Britney chippered “All set then?”

Raquel nodded and they proceeded to check out. Afterwards, she didn’t waste any time in heading to the bathroom at the back of the store to put one on. Even though her house was only a few blocks away, it wasn’t worth risking another embarrassing accident in public. As she emerged from the restroom, she couldn’t help but let a small smile escape her lips. Not only were these new diapers exceptionally comfortable, she hadn’t felt so safe and secure in a long time. That feeling alone was worth anything.

“Thanks again Britney! I honestly dunno what I would have done without you,”

“No problem!” She smiled, “C’mon, I’ll walk you home.”

They walked several blocks until Raquel’s house was finally in sight. She was disappointed to see that her foster mother’s car wasn’t in the driveway, neither was Mr. Cooper’s car for that matter. Instead there was an unfamiliar red Pontiac Grand Am parked in the driveway.

“Hey, I think that’s Kelsey’s car!” Britney remarked.

Raquel’s eyed widened, "What? Are you sure?’

“Yeah, pretty sure. What would she be doing at your house though?”

“I dunno, but whatever it is, it can’t be good.” Raquel murmured as they made their way up the worn cobblestone path towards the front door.

When she opened the front door, her worst fear became a reality. Kelsey Webster was sitting quite comfortably on the Cooper’s living room sofa watching TV with the twins at her side. “Oh Raquel, you’re home! I was beginning to worry.” The head cheerleader said, obviously feigning concern.

“What are you doing here Kelsey?” Raquel asked suspiciously.

The head cheerleader grinned, “I’m babysitting of course.”

Since when does Kelsey know the Cooper’s? And since when do the Cooper’s hire babysitters at all? I’m more than capable of looking after the twins for an evening. “And why are you babysitting, exactly?” she asked suspiciously.

Kelsey replied with a hint of condescension in her voice, “Mr. Cooper is out of town on business until tomorrow morning so he called me.”

And there it was, the anomaly. Mr. Cooper was a prosecutor and rarely ever had to travel, especially overnight. It was too much of a coincidence for him to be away on business the exact same night that his wife was out of town. She could only think of one place where he might be, but that was something she didn’t even want to think about, much less discuss with Kelsey Webster in front of her siblings.

“Oh and by the way,” Kelsey continued with a mocking smile, “When I asked him if I would have to change any diapers, he assured me that I wouldn’t. Imagine what a relief that was to hear.”

Britney’s eyes widened at Kelsey’s last remark. But before she had the chance to say anything, Raquel stormed back out the front door. Britney chased after her and hollered, “Raquel! Wait up!”

Raquel ran down the street as fast as any girl could with such a generous amount of padding between her legs. She didn’t stop running until halfway down the street when her house was completely out of sight. Exasperated, she violently plopped herself down onto the curb.

“Okay, Wow!” Britney exclaimed, catching her breath as she finally caught up, “What’s going on with you two? So much tension! And how does she… know?”

Raquel shrugged, “She found out today right before cheer practice, I guess someone told her. I dunno who though.”

Britney sat down beside her. “…And?”

“And… She threatened to tell everyone about it unless I quit the cheer leading squad.”

“What the hell? Who does something like that?” Britney said indignantly.

Raquel sighed, “I told her that I wasn’t going to let her push me around. But let’s face it, she’s the queen bee, if she wants me off the squad, it’s going to happen one way or another.”

“Why? Because of what happened during practice today? Trust me Raquel; no one cares about that!”

She shook her head slowly, “No it’s not even that. Kelsey made it sound like a lot of the girls don’t want me on the squad. She said that ‘nobody thinks I’m cheerleader material.’ I know that you’re my friend, but I’m not so sure about the others.”

“No, that’s just totally wrong!” Britney protested, “Trust me Raquel, no one’s been saying anything about you behind your back! If people were, I’d know about it!”

The mere possibility that Kelsey had concocted this story out of desperation put Raquel in slightly higher spirits. “But why would she lie about that?” she asked, “What did I ever do to her?”

Britney shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe’s she’s threatened by you? Your sister Sarah was the team captain after all.”

“So she thinks that I’m plotting to take over? I’m not! I just wanted to be a cheerleader, I didn’t ask for any of this drama.”

She nodded in agreement, “I know, but if there’s one thing I know about Kelsey Webster, it’s that she hates to share the spotlight with anyone. I tried to become a flyer all last year but she always had some excuse why I couldn’t. I never thought she would do something like this though.”

“If she’s so bad, why did you guys make her head cheerleader in the first place?”

“We didn’t,” Britney replied. "When Sarah left, Kelsey had the most seniority so she kind of slid into it by default.

“But Sarah told me that when she became head cheerleader, they held a vote and the squad elected her. Why can’t we do the same thing and elect a new head cheerleader?” Raquel suggested.

“My thoughts exactly” she replied, turning to face Raquel, “And I know just the girl for the job!”

She blushed, “Oh no! That’s not what I meant!”

“Why not? You would make a much better captain than Kelsey!”

Raquel shook her head, “There’s no way that I’m head cheerleader material though!”

“Didn’t you just tell one of the most popular girls in school to screw off today, even after she threatened to reveal your biggest secret?”

Raquel couldn’t help but smile as she reminisced her single act of courage. “Yeah I did, pretty crazy huh?”

“More like pretty badass!” Britney replied, “You’ve gotta be the bravest person I know! Don’t tell me that same girl is having trouble believing in herself now!”

“Okay but still, even I wanted to be the head cheerleader, no one else would ever go for it! Kelsey’s a senior and I’m a sophomore!”

“Don’t worry. As usual, I have a plan. But first things first, you’re sleeping at my house tonight! No great protagonist in history was ever babysat by her arch nemesis.”

Raquel chucked at her friend’s over dramatization of the situation. “Alright, let’s do it! Now what’s the plan?”

“Yay! That’s the spirit!” Britney said as she got up off the curb, “Long story short, the queen bee’s going down!”

[Rammus_fan]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

The plot is chugging right along! I’m enjoying the pacing of this. Great to see some ethnic diversity in characters lately, glad you did that. Thanks for sharing!

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

Thanks Rammus fan! Glad you like it.

CHAPTER 14

Raquel was at a complete loss for words as she stood in the presence of Britney’s house. Standing at three stories high, it was practically a mansion in her eyes. The exterior was covered in a light, natural colored stone cladding, contrasted by dark brown roofing and trim. From the end of the driveway, she could make out multiple bedrooms, each with it’s own private balcony overlooking the beach and the ocean beyond.

“Yeah… I know.” Britney said, answering Raquel’s unspoken thought. “Sometimes it’s embarrassing how big it is, especially when it’s just me and my parents. Speaking of which, there’s my mom now!” she pointed over to one of the small gardens in front of the house where her mother was picking fresh vegetables.

“Hi Mommy!” Britney hollered as she skipped up the long driveway. “This is my friend Raquel, from Cheerleading.”

“Hi, nice to meet you Raquel, I’m Leah.” She removed a pair of yellow gardening gloves and offered her hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” Raquel replied shyly.

“Anyway, would it be cool if Raquel slept over tonight?” asked Britney.

“Really? A sleepover on a school night?”

“Just to do some quick scheming, nothing crazy.”

She cocked an eyebrow, “did you say ‘scheming’ young lady?”

“Opps! I meant to say ‘studying’!” She flashed an innocent smile. “We’ll be in bed by ten, I promise!”

“Well I suppose that would be alright,” she decided. “Your father actually had to fly up to Michigan for an emergency surgery tonight so we’re one short for dinner anyway.”

Raquel’s eyes widened, “Emergency surgery?”

Britney chuckled, “Don’t worry; It’s not as serious as it sounds! My dad’s one of the best cardiac surgeon’s in the country so he’s always getting called on for stuff like that. Anyways, let’s go upstairs to my room— we’ve got a head cheerleader to take down, remember?”

“Play nice girls!” Mrs. Chang hollered as they disappeared into the house.

After a long and stressful day, Raquel was relieved to finally be somewhere where should could relax and not have to spend every waking minute looking over her shoulder for Kelsey Webster. Despite the fact that they were plotting against her at this very moment, which ironically, they were only doing because she was overly paranoid about being plotted against in the first place. Raquel still had no real desire to be the head cheerleader, but it was worth it to stop Kelsey.

Britney’s room was truly enormous. In the center of the room sat a queen-sized bed under a pink and white canopy. She also had a vanity mirror, a desk, a private bathroom, walk-in closet and even a balcony that faced the ocean.

“So… It’s really just you and your parents in this big house all by yourself?” Raquel asked, her eyes still wandering around the room.

Britney nodded, “Yeah, my older sister is here in the summer. But she’s away at boarding school now, thank goodness.”

“Why? You two don’t get along?”

“It’s not that,” Britney answered with a shrug. “More like I’m invisible whenever she’s around. See, I used to go to the same boarding school as her, until I got kicked out for having bad grades. And my sister—well, last I heard, she’s still deciding whether she wants to be a doctor like my dad, or a lawyer like my mom.”

Britney sat down on her bed in the center of the room and motioned for Raquel to do the same. “I don’t wanna talk about her though. Let’s focus on you!” She began, “If we wanna make you the head cheerleader, all we have to do is get the rest of the squad to hold a vote. If it’s unanimous, Coach Miles has to go for it!”

Raquel’s emerald green eyes went momentarily wide, “It really has to be unanimous?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry,” Britney assured her. “Like I said before, the only reason Kelsey became the head cheerleader after Sarah graduated was because she had the most seniority, and because no one else was really interested in the position anyway. That doesn’t mean she’s a good leader, or that anyone even likes her.”

“Really? Not even her friends?”

Britney shrugged, “She might hang out with a few of the girls on the squad, but I’m pretty sure they’re just trying to stay on her good side. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re loyal to her.”

Raquel nodded. “Okay, that makes sense I guess. So… um, what are we going to about—” Raquel cut herself short and casually pointed down to her diaper area with an inquiring look on her face.

“I guess that’s up to you.” Britney told her softly. “You can wait and see if Kelsey really tells everyone like she said she would, or you can try and beat her to it by telling everyone yourself. Either way, no one’s going to hold it again you. You have accidents sometimes, so what?”

Reluctantly, she nodded in agreement, so either way, my secret’s out. She appreciated the fact that her friend was trying to cheer her up, but couldn’t help but feel that she often overestimated the maturity of their fellow high school students. Britney’s initial reaction was beyond supportive, and better than anything she could’ve possibly hoped for. But most people were far less open-minded about this sort of thing.

After a late dinner, Britney sat at her computer, texting and Facebook messaging the rest of the cheerleading squad. Apparently she was spreading the word about a secret meeting that was scheduled to take place on the junior varsity football field the next morning before school. She was vague on the details, but she made it clear to everyone that Kelsey Webster couldn’t know under any circumstances.

Raquel crept out of the bathroom, wearing only her diaper and a t-shirt that she was borrowing from Britney since she never got the chance to pack any pajamas of her own.

“See! I told you those would look cute on you!” Britney said, referring to the new diapers that she bought earlier in the day.

“Thanks” The other girl said with a blush as she crawled under the covers in Britney’s bed. “They’re pretty comfortable too!”

“That’s good because it gets hot in here at night” She chuckled, “Especially since my parents are health freaks who don’t believe in air conditioning! My dad, the doctor, insists that ‘air conditioning keeps us indoors all day when we should be outside enjoying all the fresh air.’”

Raquel chuckled, “That’s okay, I’m used to it.”

“Guess I should probably get ready for bed too.” Britney said. She got off the computer for what seemed like the first time since dinner and began rummaging through her dresser drawers to find some pajamas for herself. Once she found a suitable top, she proceeded to strip down without a word of warning—first her blouse, then her bra.

Raquel instinctively averted her eyes, feeling an instant sense of guilt overwhelm her. Even though she only thought of her as a friend, she couldn’t help but feel that Britney wouldn’t have changed in front of her so freely had she known that Raquel was attracted to girls.

“Hey, you okay?” Britney’s voice echoed, forcing her to snap back to reality.

Raquel turned around to face Britney, who was already dressed in a tank top and a pair of sleep shorts. “Uh, yeah, just tired I guess” she murmured.

“Yeah, you should definitely get some sleep. We’ve got a big day tomorrow!”

“Okay, what about you?” she asked, noticing that Britney was once sitting again at the computer, in Facebook-Land.

'I’m almost done," she murmured absently. “Just have to make sure everyone’s gonna be at the meeting tomorrow, especially our guest speaker!”

“We have a guest speaker?” Raquel asked curiously.

“Yep, but it’s a surprise so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning!”

Raquel simply nodded and made herself comfortable under the warm blankets in Britney’s bed. Exhausted from the events of the day and feeling safe and secure in the comfort of her new diapers, she drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 15

Raquel woke early the next morning from a deep sleep. She could faintly recall having some sort of bad dream—more memories of her past floating back up to the surface, no doubt exaggerated by her own imagination. Although none of the images were vivid enough to remember, only the feelings that accompanied them. What time is it? She wondered as she slowly opened her eyes to do a quick scan of the room. It was still dark and there wasn’t a clock in sight, but a quick glimpse of the morning sun peaking up over the ocean confirmed that it was in-fact morning. Groggily, she sat up, shifting her attention from out the window to the other side of the bed where her friend was still sound asleep beside her. Not wanting to wake her, Raquel slipped out from under the blankets and crept outside onto the balcony to get some fresh air.

It was a little chilly outside, especially for someone who was only wearing a T-shirt and a diaper. Her diaper was quite soaked, but still surprisingly comfortable. This brand was certainly more absorbent than anything she had ever worn before. It also seemed to retain its shape better. In a way, she was actually looking forward to trying them out at school. Not having to worry about leaks would definitely make school more bearable. It would also be nice to start showing up to cheer practice on time for a change, instead of spending the first few minutes in the bathroom changing. After all, the head cheerleader couldn’t be late.

Her last thought made her stomach tighten. Can I really do this? She wondered, me, of all people, the head cheerleader? It wasn’t the first time that she had doubted Britney’s plan, but a new day meant a new perspective. And the more she thought about it, the more she began to realize, who in their right mind would vote for me, a sophomore to replace a senior as the head cheerleader? Especially when that senior has so much more experience than me, and every other girl on the squad. Why doesn’t Britney just nominate herself? Even she has more experience than I do!

Although she knew that Kelsey Webster’s experience would be the least of their concerns if she somehow got wind of their plan. Despite what people thought of her, she was a leader, just as Sarah had been before her. If she discovered their plan, it would be over before it even began.

For a few moments, Raquel stood at the balcony’s edge, leaning against the chest high railing and letting the cool morning breeze ruffle her hair. The sun continued to creep up over the horizon, illuminating the surrounding clouds and the ocean waves, painting a breathtaking image of yellow and orange hues, complemented by darker shades of blue and violet. It was so peaceful—exactly what she needed to clear her head.

She was still gazing at the sunrise, when only a few feet behind her the door, the bedroom door slid opened. Raquel turned around to see her friend shuffling out of her room wrapped in a pink fleece blanket, “Oh hey Britt, I didn’t wake you up did I?”

“Nah, it’s alright,” Britney smiled. “You okay?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just couldn’t sleep I guess.” Raquel casually straightened her posture so that her T-shirt would cover a greater portion of her diaper. She was finding herself far more self-conscious now then she had been previous night when it was still dry.

“Opps! It wasn’t my snoring was it?” Britney teased.

She chuckled, “Nope, I definitely didn’t hear any snoring!”

“Hmmm… bad dreams then?”

A flicker of surprise, almost too fast to see crossed her face, “Maybe, something like that. I’ve been having them a lot lately.”

Britney nodded reassuringly, “You wanna talk about it?”

“I always dream about my parents—about loosing them. Either that or I dream about the foster homes I lived in afterwards.” There was a short pause before she continued, “…and now I feel like I’m gonna lose my foster family too.”

Britney took a shuddering breath, “Wait—why would even think something like that?”

She bit her lip, there was a reason, but that wasn’t something that she was ready to discuss with Britney yet. Instead, she simply said, “I dunno, just because that’s what always happens I guess…”

“It’s gonna be okay Raquel.” The other girl said, putting as much reassurance and confidence into the thought as she could.

She forced out a tiny smile, “Yeah you’re right.”

“We should probably head downstairs.” Britney suggested, “I bet my mom’s making breakfast by now!.”

Raquel nodded in agreement and proceeded to follow her friend back inside.

Britney popped into her bathroom for a split second and came out holding a pink sweater robe, “Hey, you wanna borrow this?”

“Sure, thanks!” Raquel wrapped herself in the warm, fluffy material, hiding her exposed diaper beneath it. Ideally she would have liked to change into a fresh diaper before breakfast like she did at home, but this wasn’t so bad either.

She followed Britney down the stairs and into the dining area of the house of the house where they found Britney’s mother in the kitchen making breakfast. “Good morning girls,” Mrs. Chang greeted them.

“Morning!” they replied in unison, taking their seats at the table.

“Oh Raquel, before I forget,” She began, “I had your uniform cleaned, it’s hanging in the laundry room right now.”

“Oh, thank you Mrs. Chang.” Raquel murmured shyly, she could feel herself going crimson. With everything else that was going on, she had almost completely forgotten yesterday’s incident in the gym and her wet cheer uniform. She hoped that it didn’t raise any concern with Britney’s mother. Obviously having an accident like that wasn’t a normal occurrence for a teenage girl.

“No problem at all honey.” Leah replied.

After a quick breakfast, they headed back up the stairs to Britney’s room where they started getting ready for school. They took turns in the shower, doing their make-up and getting dressed. Now it was only a matter of time before their secret meeting finally took place…

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 16

“Looks like we’re a little bit late” Britney observed as she and Raquel wove their way through the various conversations that had already sprung up between their fellow cheerleaders. It was a cold morning, and most of them were shivering impatiently. Britney did a quick head-count to make sure that everyone was accounted for, then clapped her hands together several times in order to gain their attention. “Alright everyone, listen up! I called you all here today because I want to talk about our head cheerleader, Kelsey Webster.”

The other girls listened in silence, their expressions varying from curious to encouraging. “I know the school year only just started” Britney continued cautiously, “but she hasn’t been much of a leader. Instead of being supportive of our newest members, she’s been bullying and blackmailing them in order to get them to leave the squad.”

Raquel felt her legs growing weaker as Britney spoke, but she quickly pushed the negative thoughts away. I have to be strong now, she reminded herself.

“Why would she try to get people to quit?” One of the girls asked.

“Because,” Britney replied, “She feels threatened by them. And she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she stays on top, both as the head cheerleader and as the star flyer. She would rather weaken the whole squad than have to share the spotlight. This is why I think it’s time for us to choose a new head cheerleader! One who will put the needs of this squad before her own!”

“And I suppose you’re just the girl for the job?” Came Kelsey’s voice, as she came bustling through the crowd importantly.

“Damn it…” Britney breathed, just loud enough for Raquel and herself to hear.

“What do we do know?” Raquel whispered. But the other girl didn’t say anything. And judging by the look on her face, she hadn’t prepared for this interruption.

“Please, enlighten us then Brit,” Kelsey said sweetly, “About this so-called ‘bullying and blackmailing’ I’ve been doing? Maybe we could start with who the victim is?”

Britney shot Raquel a quick glance, “…It doesn’t really matter who, but—”

“So let me get this straight,” Kelsey interjected. “You call everyone down here at the crack of dawn to talk about me behind my back and plot to get rid of me. Then you accuse me of bullying people? Do you even have any proof of this at all?”

After a short pause, Britney shook her head, “No.”

“I see.” She replied, “You know I care about this squad Britney. And as head cheerleader, I only want what’s best for everyone.”

“Yeah right! You only want what’s best for yourself!” Britney snapped back. “If you really care about the whole squad, how come the spotlight is always on you?”

Kelsey tsked at her, “Jealously was never a good color on you Brit. I had to practice for years to get where I am today. And I didn’t have to take any shortcuts by plotting and scheming against people.”

“You’re not gonna get away with this…” was all Britney could say. She was clearly out of her league when it came to dealing with Kelsey Webster.

The head cheerleader ignored her, “If there’s nothing else, I think we all have other places we’d rather be right now.”

The rest of the squad nodded in agreement and started to make their way towards the exit. But before they could, a young woman entered the football stadium, instantly grabbing the attention of the entire crowd. She was tall and thin, with long blonde hair that fell down to her eyes with a casual elegance. She was wearing a brown leather jacket and dark blue jeans tucked into a pair of tall leather boots. Her blue eyes were bright and sparkling in the morning sunlight. From a distance, no one could make out exactly who she was. But as the figure got closer, Raquel was the first to recognize her.

“Sarah!” she yelled in excitement and she ran over to hug her foster sister.

“Hey Raquel.” Sarah smiled, returning the hug. “Surprised to see me?”

“Yeah! I didn’t even know you were coming home today.”

“Neither did I until last night.” Sarah told her. “Britney messaged me and told me what happened with Kelsey. I thought you could use some help.”

“Definitely!” Her face brightened even more.

“Don’t worry Sis, I got this.” She turned and began to walk hastily towards Kelsey, who was perhaps even more surprised to see her than Raquel and the rest of the squad had been.

“Oh, Sarah, what a surprise…” Kelsey said, her mouth suddenly feeling dry.

“Who the hell do you think you are Kelsey? You think just because I’m gone you can push my little sister around?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Kelsey grinned at her, practically glowing with innocence.

“Don’t play stupid with me!” Sarah said loudly, quick to see through the other girl’s cunning demeanor. “I’ve known you for almost three years now, and I know how jealous you can get. Just admit it; you tried to force Raquel off the squad because she’s better than you!”

Kelsey cocked an eyebrow, “No one’s better than me. Not you, and definitely not her.”

As if she hadn’t even heard her, Sarah turned to face the rest of the girls who had all been listening intently to the conversation.

“Alright, I want everyone who was here last year to take a minute, and think back to last April at the state competition. We trained as a team, we performed as a team, and in the end we were only five points away from being the being the number one cheerleading squad in the state. This year, you all get another chance to train even harder. And if you do, I have no doubt that you can win at State and go on to Nationals. But first I want you all to ask yourselves this; 'Is your new captain’s heart in it for the squad, or for herself?”

Sarah could see Kelsey glaring at her from the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath and continued, “I think you all know my sister, Raquel. I’d like to nominate her to be the head cheerleader. With your help, I think she could be the best this school has ever seen!”

Britney stepped forward and raised her right hand, “I second that nomination! Raquel would be an awesome captain!”

Christina Clark—one of the many girls that Raquel had always helped during practice—was the next one to speak up, “Me too, Raquel! You’ve got my vote!”

Before Kelsey had a chance to react, the rest of the squad began to raise their hands, one by one until it was a unanimous vote.

“Well that settles it then,” Britney announced cheerfully, “Raquel is our new head cheerleader!”

Raquel smiled wide and hugged Britney and Sarah. Finally, she walked over to the former head cheerleader, and said the words she had been waiting to say all morning, “And you’re off the squad, Kelsey.”

Raquel’s words hit her like a bucket of ice. In the blink of an eye, Kelsey had gone from being in control of the situation, to losing everything. The whole squad was looking at her now, waiting for her to say something in her own defense. But the former head cheerleader was feeling too lightheaded to speak. And when she felt tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes, she turned to leave before any of them could see her cry.

She walked out of the football stadium without looking back, and made her way through the glass double doors of Madison High School, hoping to find Sadie inside—quite possibly the only friend she had left.

“Hey, you okay?” Saddie asked when she saw her friend walking inside.

Kelsey shook her head, “No, I just got kicked off my own cheerleading squad.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Britney Chang happened,” Kelsey clenched her jaw, “She’s been digging those little claws of hers into Sarah Cooper’s sister ever since she got here—cozying up to her during practice, eating lunch together in the cafeteria…”

“…I’m not following” Sadie admitted

“Britney used her; she used Raquel to take me down. Evidently, all it took was one text message to Sarah to make entire squad turn on me. Every single one of them.”

“But why? Why would they do something like that?”

She briefly considered telling Sadie about how she had threatened Raquel the day before, but the more she thought about it, the more irrelevant it seemed. Britney wanted her gone, and would have found a way to get rid of her regardless. Threatening Sarah Cooper’s sister only gave her the ammunition she needed to act sooner. “I don’t know.” Kelsey shook her head, “Britney wasn’t happy last year when I told her that she wasn’t ready to be a flyer. For all I know, she’s been plotting against me the whole time, just waiting for the right moment to strike.”

"Maybe it’s not too late, " Saddie said. “They can’t just kick you off the squad without talking to the coach, right? What if you talk with her first and get her to—”

“It wouldn’t make a difference.” Kelsey interjected, “If Britney got Sarah Cooper to drive all the way back from college just to convince them to hold a vote, I’m sure she’ll be talking to the coach while she’s here too… And everyone knows that Coach Miles would never say no to her.”

“I’m sorry.” Sadie said earnestly, “You didn’t deserve any of this.”

“Can you drive me home?” Kelsey asked without preamble, “I can’t go to school today. Half the squad is my pre-calc class…”

“I would,” Sadie replied, “But I can’t skip today, I have two quizzes.”

She sighed, “It’s fine. I’ll just… call my mom and see if she can pick me up.”

“She’s not working today?”

“She works from home on Friday’s. She’s still not gonna be happy about it though…”

---

With so much on her mind, Raquel struggled to pay attention in her first few classes. She was far too busy thinking about her new position as head cheerleader, and all of the perks and responsibilities that came with it.

Her new diapers were somewhat of a distraction as well, as they were quite a bit thicker than anything she had worn to school before. Not that she was complaining—after yesterday’s incident with the Luv’s diaper failing her, she was more than grateful to be wearing something more absorbent and reliable.

It was finally lunchtime now, and Raquel was proudly relaying the events of the morning to Ryan as they walked outside the school to find a quiet table under the sun.

“So let me get this straight,” Ryan said, “You were too shy to try out for the cheerleading squad last year. And now—not only did you make the team—you became the captain in like… a month?”

Raquel laughed, “Yeah when you put it that way it sounds pretty crazy. It was all Britney’s idea though. If it wasn’t for her, I’m sure Kelsey would have found a way to kick me off the squad by now.”

“So how did she take it when you kicked her off the squad?”

“She didn’t say anything. She just walked away.”

“Wow, that’s a first!” He chuckled.

Raquel nodded in agreement, “Yeah, well… hopefully that’s the last we see of—” she stopped when she saw Kelsey sitting alone on the curb, looking out towards the parking lot.

A silver Dodge Stratus pulled up in front of her, “Get down!” Raquel whispered. She grabbed Ryan’s hand and led him behind a nearby bush.

Kelsey quickly wiped a tear from her eye as the car window rolled down to reveal a woman in her late thirties. She had the same blonde hair and icy blue eyes as Kelsey. “Why aren’t you in your cheer uniform today?” The women inquired urgently.

“Because… I’m not a cheerleader anymore Mom. I got kicked off the squad.”

“Are you serious?” Her mother said, biting each word off in a mixture of anger and confusion. “I thought you were the captain!”

“Obviously I’m not anymore.” Kelsey said reluctantly. She stood up and started to make her way over to the car.

“See, I told you this would happen didn’t I?” Her mother continued, looking at Kelsey with every sign of great disappointment. “If you just loosened up a little bit you would’ve actually had some friends. And what are you planning on doing about college now? If you don’t compete this year, you won’t get that scholarship.”

“Really mom? I had no idea, please tell me again.”

She rolled her eyes at her daughter’s sarcasm, “Just get in the car Kelsey. You’re not helping your case by sitting on the curb looking pathetic.”

“Right…” She muttered grimly as she opened the car door.

“Geez, and I thought my parents were mean.” Ryan said. But Raquel kept her eyes focused on the car until it was well out of sight.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Ryan…” she began cautiously “Do you remember last month when we saw Mr. Cooper with that strange women outside of the courthouse?”

“Yeah, but what’s that have to do with—” He stopped and thought for a moment, “Wait, that wasn’t…?”

She nodded, “It was her! Mr. Cooper was with Kelsey’s mother!”

[Emily_in_Diapers]

Re: Raquel’s Only Wish

CHAPTER 17

That night, Raquel tossed and turned in her bed. Although her body was tired, her heart was also weary—the day had held so many highs and lows for her. She was overjoyed to be the new head cheerleader, but a part of her actually felt bad for Kelsey. She deserved what she got, Raquel would tell herself over and over until she believed it. But that did little to help her sleep. The fact remained that she had taken away everything Kelsey cared about in a heartbeat. And for what? Just because she threatened me? That may have been the kind of leader that Kelsey was, but Raquel knew that wasn’t the kind of leader that she wanted to be.

She also couldn’t help but wonder, does Kelsey know about Mr. Cooper’s affair with her mother? He did pay her to babysit the twins after all, which means they must’ve met at least once… But if Kelsey knows about the affair, why hasn’t she said anything to anyone? Maybe her mother is single? Or maybe she just doesn’t care what her mother does?

Of course, Raquel didn’t share any these thoughts with Sarah. Despite the fact that she had spent the better part of the evening catching up with her foster sister—somehow she found herself unable to share the most important things. She used to feel like she could be honest with Sarah about anything. But now things were different; the secret she was harboring was about Sarah’s father. Raquel knew how impulsive her foster sister could be. If she found out that her father was having an affair, she would take immediate action regardless of the consequences. So Raquel remained silent, Sarah remained in the dark, and Mr. Cooper continued to get away with cheating on his wife. It was wrong, Raquel knew, but what could be done?

As her spiral of downward thinking continued, she casually rolled over on her side to check the time, 2:43 AM, she sighed, beginning to realize she might not be getting any sleep tonight. The change in position made her more aware of her bladder, which was beginning to more full by the second. This was a bit of an unusual sensation, as she was normally fast asleep by the time this occurred, leaving her bladder to empty itself before morning came. For a brief moment, Raquel considered just going in her diaper, but she quickly decided against it—a wet diaper certainly wouldn’t help in her struggle to fall asleep. Besides, it might be good to get up and stretch her legs for a change, she thought.

As she sat up and pushed her covers to the side, she felt a bit light headed and realized just how tired her body actually was. Reluctantly, Raquel reached for her robe and began to make her way through the darkness with nothing but the screen of her cell phone to illuminate her path.

When she flipped on the bathroom light, it blinded her so much that she could barely keep her eyes open more than a squint. It was almost a challenge to undo the twin tapes of her unused diaper. It took a moment, but once she finally succeeded in removing her protection, she carefully folded it up and plopped herself down on the toilet to empty her bladder.

On the way back to her bedroom, Raquel noticed that someone had turned a light on downstairs. Curious, she crept down the stairs to investigate. There she found Sarah standing in the kitchen—she appeared to be making something on the stove. Her foster sister took notice of her almost immediately, “Hey Raquel, you’re still up too?”

She nodded, “Uh-huh, I couldn’t sleep”

“I’m making tea,” Sarah said as she lifted a boiling, stainless steel kettle off of the stove. “You want some?”

“Sure, thanks.” Raquel said amiably as she sat down on one of the nearby bar stools.

“You’re not having bad dreams again, are you?” Sarah asked as she carefully placed a cup in front of the other girl.

She shook her head, “No, not tonight at least—just thinking about stuff…”

“Like what?”

There was a short pause. Raquel wasn’t ready to talk about Mr. Cooper and his mistress yet, but she decided that it couldn’t hurt to talk about Kelsey. “Last year—when you were head cheerleader—did you ever meet Kelsey’s family?”

“Nope. I never really hung out with Kelsey at all though.” Sarah admitted.

“Really? Never?”

“Well, I mean—she was always there at practice so I talked to her sometimes. But other than that, no one on the squad really wanted to hang out with her.”

Raquel took a tiny sip of her tea, “how come?”

“Probably because she’s a bitch” Sarah said bluntly, “But I don’t have to tell you that. Even though she wasn’t the captain last year, she still acted like she was—always trying to boss the lowerclassmen around, always trying to be center of attention. But she was never a team player; she only focused on making herself look better, usually at the expense of someone else.”

Raquel listened intently, her emerald green eyes as soft as a doe’s. “I guess you don’t make a lot of friends that way…”

“Right.” Sarah nodded in agreement. “It was probably the highlight of her year when I graduated and she became captain. Too bad she never realized that you can’t scare people into liking you.”

“She seemed pretty scared when she saw you today.” Raquel pointed out, recalling the look on Kelsey’s face when Sarah entered the football stadium earlier in the day. It was a look of fear and helplessness, as if she knew what Sarah was capable of saying or doing.

She stared morosely at her hands. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t always very nice to her. Like most people, I could be pretty immature in high school.”

I wonder if anyone’s ever been nice to her, Raquel thought.

“Hey, if Kelsey is what’s keeping you up, you don’t have to worry about her. She can’t hurt you now—not anymore.” She reassured her.

“I know” Raquel nodded, “I just feel like—maybe kicking her off the squad was too harsh?”

“Too harsh?” Sarah couldn’t have been have been more astonished if an elephant had just walked into the room. “Raquel, she threatened to tell everyone that you still wear diapers!”

“But she didn’t though,” Raquel replied quickly, “She had her chance, but she didn’t take it.”

“Maybe. I still think that you did the right thing though.”

Raquel gave a shrug as she played with her teabag. “Yeah, and you know how glad I was to see you today. If you hadn’t shown up, Britney and I would’ve been in a whole lot of trouble. I just wish… things could’ve ended differently.”

She smiled at her. How Raquel could be so young and naive some days, yet so mature and compassionate at times like this, Sarah could never comprehend. “One thing’s for sure sis, you’re going to make a great captain.”

“Thanks Sarah,” Raquel smiled, then stood up to hug her foster sister. “I hope so.”