“Oh, fuck!” he blurted out loud. He had fucked Brionna. His heart racing with panic, JP stared over at his bed. Sure enough, the sheets were all crumpled, the pillows strewn about the room. It couldn’t have happened; it had to have been some sort of a nightmare. But the memories came flooding suddenly into his head – the feeling of his cock inside of her, the look in her eyes as he pounded her, the smell of her perfume as he lay on top of her. It all made his head ache even more and he felt like he was going to throw up, but then another thought entered his mind.

How would Matt react if he found out?

This can’t be happening, JP thought. What am I going to do? Devastated, he slumped to the floor against the wall, his hands in his face, and began to cry.

“Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Angelakis,” Erin called as she stepped out of the car in front of her house.

“Anytime,” the woman answered back, leaning her head out the window. “You know you’re always welcome at our home.” Nick’s parents couldn’t possibly have been any nicer. They knew she and their son were completely taken by each other, so they almost treated her like another member of the family…although part of that might have been because she spent so much time at their house.

Erin spent last night at Nick’s mainly because she knew Ryan was going to throw a party and she wouldn’t be caught dead at it. She did this quite frequently, but she could have never imagined what a night this particular night was going to be. She had broken her virginity and – contrary to what many of her more experienced girlfriends told her – it was everything she had dreamed. Nick was so gentle and so loving that she felt like she was floating on air as they had sex. In fact, it almost was too good to be true – like some sort of a dream – but the next morning, she woke up with Nick lying right next to her, holding her in his muscular arms. And what muscles they were! A warm chill went down Erin’s spine every time she thought about her boyfriend’s body. He seemed to get bigger each time she saw him. And his eyes…wow, they were so beautiful, they hypnotized her on sight. She could only imagine how big and strong and gorgeous he would be by the time he entered high school.

A smile still on her face, a twinkle still in her eye, Erin walked through the front door, but almost dropped her bag at what she saw. Cups, beer cans and garbage littered every bit of the house. And the stench of alcohol made her eyes water. She was in shock; JP usually had the house cleaned up – no thanks to Ryan – by the time she got home, but what happened this time? Where was he?

“JP?” she shouted, wandering into the kitchen. The counter was covered with trash and one of the dining room chairs was overturned in the middle of the floor. Erin bent down to pick it up when she saw the back of her brother’s head on the couch in the den. “JP,” she headed toward him, “how come you haven’t cleaned up? You know mom and dad will kill you if—” Her rant came to a halt as she saw JP’s face. His eyes were red and puffy, streaks of tears flowed down his cheeks. He was only wearing a wife-beater and jeans – which were disheveled – and his hair was a mess. His body was splayed haphazardly, like he had just plopped down. “JP,” she gasped, her voice suddenly changing to worry, “what happened?” Her brother’s eyes lethargically met her stare and he swallowed hard before turning away.

“Go away,” he muttered hoarsely.

“What happened, JP?” Erin repeated.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said louder, his voice cracking with emotion. Laboriously, he got up from the couch and began to stagger toward the stairs. It then became obvious that he had a hangover. Erin blinked.

“Did you get drunk?” she asked, not believing her own words. JP flung around and glared angrily at her, fire practically shooting from his eyes.

“I said, I don’t want to talk about it,” he yelled, making Erin jump. Never had he raised his voice to her like that. He winced as if the outburst hurt him. She stepped back and let him go upstairs. Looking around once again, she realized that she had no choice but to clean the house up herself.

Nick felt so nervous, he was almost vibrating out of his shoes, standing at the Maloney’s front door. All Erin told him on the phone was to come over immediately…and she sounded extremely upset. The whole bike ride over he wondered what was wrong. Last night had gone so perfectly – that morning had been so peaceful, waking up with her in his arms – what happened to make her so distraught?

“Are you alright?” he blurted as soon as she opened the door. Her eyes were aflame with exhaustion and anger; her hair was slightly out of place. Without a word, she pulled him into the house, shut the door behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him desperately on the lips. Instantly, Nick could feel Erin relax as if the kiss was a much-needed release.

“Thank God you’re here,” she sighed, leaning her forehead onto his right trap and nearly collapsing into his chest.

“What happened?” he pleaded. Erin looked up at him and looked like she was about to cry.

“It’s JP,” she explained. “I don’t know why, but he got drunk at Ryan’s party last night and he’s acting really weird.” Nick’s jaw almost hit the ground.

“JP got drunk?” he cried. “But that’s not like him.” JP was his idol and he knew he would never get wasted at some party. It just didn’t make sense.

“I know,” Erin answered. “But he did and…I think there’s something else.” Nick raised his eyebrows questioningly. “He wouldn’t tell me, but I think it’s pretty bad.”

“Don’t worry,” Nick assured her, giving her a comforting smile, “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He took her into his arms, brushing her hair tenderly. For the first time, he looked around at the mess from last night. “You want me to help you clean up?” he asked her. Erin nodded silently against his pecs. She knew he would always be there for her; that’s why she called him.

Billy climbed out of the shower and wiped the steam off his bathroom mirror. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he then stepped onto the scale – 196 pounds. Wow, he was up six pounds from a month ago. He really was still getting bigger. Even though Tyler had gone away to college at Penn State and no longer supervised his workouts, Billy continued lifting weights and exercising religiously…and the results were showing. Only a year ago, Tyler’s gigantic 275 pounds seemed unattainable, but now it was definitely within reach – Billy was more than halfway there! He flexed at himself in the mirror and scrunched up his face like his idols on the high school football team always did. His traps bulged upward and his thick lats flared outward. Man, I’m getting huge, he thought. He’d make the varsity football team for sure next year.

Proud of himself, he made his way back to his bedroom to get dressed. Flipping his towel onto his bed, his big dick sprang up to meet him, enormously thick and as hard as a steel rod. Curiously, Billy held it in his hand, its girth filling the space between his fingers. This was something that was new to him; he seemed to have a hard-on 24/7 and it was tough to conceal it. How come other guys didn’t have that problem? Quickly, he slipped on a pair of boxers, the flimsy material doing little to hold back his rock-solid piece of meat. This wasn’t going to work. Billy searched through his closet frantically, pulled out a pair of jeans and began to pull them over his tree-trunk thighs. After much tugging and wrestling, he finally got them up to his waist, but now they felt tight around his butt, the fabric hugging his quads snugly.

“Damn it,” he muttered to himself. “Mom!” he called into the hallway.

“Yes, dear?” his mom answered, scuttling toward him. Red-faced, he opened the door wide to show her his jeans. “Those are not the ones I just bought you,” she exclaimed. She folded back the tag and bit her lip. “They are! You’re growing too fast, Billy. I can barely keep up with you anymore.”

“But what am I going to wear to school, mom?” he asked, starting to get a little worried.

“You might have to wear those sweats,” she answered, placing her hand on her hip and looking up at her son. That was another thing Billy still hadn’t gotten used to – looking down at his mom. “At least until I can go to the store and get you new clothes…again.” She smiled and turned to walk out. Billy frowned at her, but as soon as she was out of eyesight, his face changed to a broad grin.

Eagerly, he pulled off the jeans and dug through his drawers for a pair of his favorite sweatpants – the navy blue ones with SPARTANS written down the side. He got it at football camp when he saw all the high school linesmen wearing them. He knew they wore them because their massive legs couldn’t fit into regular pants, they were so big. Now, Billy was becoming just like them.

The elastic band stretched easily over his thighs and butt. He looked at himself in the mirror; there was a slight bulge where his dick was, but at least it could sort of be hidden by the bulkiness of the material. Billy puffed out his chest, making it as full as he could. He looked like a football player! Eyeing the two 20-pound dumbbells on the floor next to his bed, a smirk came across his face. And he was going to get even bigger.

Then, in one easy swoop, he picked them up in his hands and began curling them…one right after the other. Almost immediately, he could feel his biceps pump up. Yeah, he was going to be massive! He was going to be the biggest football player Central High School ever had.

Nick walked into school Monday morning and headed directly to his locker. It had been such a long weekend, he was almost happy to be back in school. Cleaning up the Maloney house after Ryan’s party had taken Erin and him the better part of Saturday and Nick was exhausted when he returned home…though he still put in a few sets on his bench press that evening. He called Erin the first thing Sunday morning to see how JP was doing. She told him he was still down, refusing to even get out of bed, which worried both of them because it was not like JP to do something like that. All she could get out of him was that something had happened with Brionna, Ryan’s girlfriend. Knowing what kind of friends JP’s brother hung around with, Nick immediately began thinking the worst, but he didn’t dare mention any of his thoughts to Erin…though he was sure she had thought of them herself.

Was it possible that JP had somehow cheated on Matt with Brionna? It would certainly explain his mood. But if that was true, how did it happen? JP was gay; he wouldn’t simply sleep with a girl…though he was drunk and Nick remembered from health class that judgment was the first thing to go under the influence. It all made him so confused…which was why he was glad to be back at school. He didn’t have to think about life outside of the building for a few hours every day.

Nick opened his locker and began unloading his books from his backpack when he spotted Billy strolling down the hall toward him. He wasn’t hard to miss since his nearly six-foot frame towered over all the other students; if it wasn’t for his still-boyish face, you’d think he was a teacher or something.

“Hey, Nick,” he greeted his friend. Nick smiled; Billy’s cheerfulness was always infectious.

“G’morning, Billy,” he returned. “I see you’re wearing the sweats again today.” Billy had on his favorite Spartan Football T-shirt and sweatpants that he had gotten at last summer’s football camp.

“Yeah,” the larger boy looked down sheepishly. “None of my clothes are fitting me much anymore, so…but I was 196 this morning!” he proclaimed. Nick grinned appreciatively.

“Wow! I guess that means you’ll hit 200 by Christmas easy!” He looked over Billy’s broad chest and thick arms. Nick wasn’t sure, but he swore he could actually see the muscles underneath his skin, where before he had just been bulk. Those muscles were beginning to outgrow the fat, it seemed. “You look really great,” he commented, punching his friend lightly on the shoulder, instantly noting how it didn’t feel as squishy as it used to. Shit, Billy is really buffing up, Nick thought to himself.

Just then, a cute girl passed by the pair and giggled as she looked at them. “Hi, Nick. Hi, Billy,” she waved, eyeing their bodies with attraction. Billy blushed slightly and waved back at her. Nick grinned.

“What are you turning red about?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Billy shrugged. “I guess I just never had girls notice me like that before.”

Nick laughed out loud. “Well, no one can miss you now. You’re huge!”

“By the way, can you help me study for my geography test at lunch,” Billy asked. “I have it sixth period.”

“Sure,” Nick nodded, “though I’m sure you’ll do fine without me.” Billy immediately beamed. And Nick wasn’t just saying that. Billy’s grades had gone up dramatically since he started training. It was as if his self-confidence had grown along with the rest of him. “I’ll see you later?” he said, gathering his books for first period.

“Yeah, later,” Billy waved as he turned to leave for his class. Nick watched his friend’s wide back make its way through the crowded hallway and smiled to himself.

“Yo, Nick!” a voice shouted from behind him. Nick turned and saw Ian sauntering toward him like he owned the place or something. His black hair was spiked with loads of gel and he wore a tight T-shirt with “Italian Stallion” emblazoned on the front. You could easily see his pecs pushing through the fabric and his biceps filled the sleeves. Nick bit his lip, but answered back obligingly.

“Hey, Ian.”

“Dude, why didn’t you come to Rick Stevens’ party on Friday night,” he immediately drawled, nonchalantly rubbing his pec, his triceps flexing impressively as he did. “Man, it was awesome!”

“I didn’t feel like it,” Nick returned with a slight smile. He had known about the party, but he knew what kind of party it was…and he would rather spend the night with Erin anyway.

“Man, you missed it,” Ian went on. “I did, like, two chicks at the same time – Kim and this other one named Jessica or something. You so shoulda been there.” Nick peered at his friend with a suspicious look as he gushed.

“Did you get drunk?” he asked. Ian looked at him with a peculiar expression.

“Of course,” he answered with a smirk. “There were, like, six kegs of beer. I got wasted, man. Rick sure knows how to throw a party.”

“What’s gotten into you, Ian?” Nick suddenly blurted. Ian stopped talking and stared back with a look of shock on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since last summer you’ve been acting like a total jerk,” he answered incredulously. “All you talk about now is how big you are and how much sex you wanna have.” Nick didn’t say it, but he was starting to act a lot like Ryan Maloney. There was a moment of silence between the two, but then Ian started laughing.

“You’re just jealous because I’m more popular than you,” he chided. Instantly, Nick could feel his blood begin to boil, but he kept his calm. Instead, he leaned in slightly and hissed through his teeth.

“I have nothing to be jealous of.” That took the smile off Ian’s face; he just stood matching his friend’s stare, their noses only inches from each other. Nick could see the fire in Ian’s eyes. Then suddenly, Ian slammed Nick’s locker closed with a bang that made Nick jump. Ian’s bulging arm was right in front of Nick’s face and he could see the dense network of veins pulsing, the muscle fibers twitching with rage.

“Fuck you,” he growled. “You’re nothing to me.” And with that, he moved past Nick with a shove to the shoulder. What was that all about, Nick thought. He swallowed hard and took in a deep breath before picking up his backpack and heading to his first class.

Meanwhile, Ian didn’t bother going to his class, instead making his way to the bathroom. He glared at himself in the mirror, his jaw muscles clenched in anger. God, he felt like punching the glass. How dare Nick treat him like that! He simply didn’t recognize what Ian had become. He was a god! That’s what all the girls said at the party. Ian tightened his fists and looked down at his forearms, admiring how his thick veins snaked around the tendons and fibers. Nothing to be jealous of, my ass, he said to himself.

Ian opened up a pocket of his backpack and pulled out the bottle he had stolen from Luke’s house. He unscrewed the cap, shook out a couple pills and, without hesitating, popped them into his mouth. Then, he closed his eyes and felt the power surge through his body. Opening his eyes again, he stared at his reflection. In his mind, he could almost see his body getting bigger and stronger. Smirking to himself, Ian dug his hand into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

“Hey Ian, what’s up?” Rick Stevens answered on the other line.

“Yo, you told me you’d get me into the high school weight room…”

“Yeah,” Rick laughed, “you still up for that?”

“Yep,” Ian could already feel his muscles buzzing at the prospect of lifting.

“Great, I’ll see you after school.” And the two hung up. Ian glanced at his reflection in the mirror one more time. I’ll give that dweeb Nick something to be jealous of, he said to himself, and headed to class. •