He was about to head back upstairs when he stopped. JP’s breathing sounded strange; it was short and fast. And there didn’t seem to be a rhythm. Wait, was he…? Ryan cautiously made his way toward the doorway of the gym, curious as to which girl his virginal little brother was fooling around with. But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

JP was not with a girl; he was with Matt Andersson! They were buck naked, their sweaty bodies pressed deliriously against each other, Matt’s cock up JP’s ass. JP’s huge pecs bounced wildly as Matt pounded him, his face screwed up in total ecstasy. Ryan froze as he watched his little brother’s mouth gasp for air, his erect cock flailing, his hands clutched to Matt’s hips, urging him to go faster and harder. Matt seemed to be worshiping JP from behind, his face all over the back of his thick neck and traps. Ryan couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“What the fuck?!?” he said out loud, not even sure his words were heard. But almost instantly, JP noticed his big brother standing in the doorway and stopped in mid-hump. Matt, obviously sensing the change, opened his eyes and realized what he was looking at. Fear immediately spread across his face. “JP,” Ryan went on, “what the fuck is this?” All Ryan could do was glare at JP, trying to find some kind of reason for what he was seeing.

“Ryan, I can explain—”

“Explain what?” he roared, the reality of the scene slowly coming to him. “I can see everything right in front of me!” His little brother was having sex with another guy! What the fuck was that all about? Ryan glowered at Matt; the kid looked like he was about to piss himself. Who did this fag think he was, he thought.

“Leave Matt out of this,” JP yelled, stepping in between them. “He has nothing to do with this!”

“What do you mean?” Ryan smirked. Then, it suddenly dawned on him. Holy shit! JP was gay! His little brother was a homo! He curled his lip in disgust. “Oh, my God!” he hissed. “You’re…” He couldn’t bring himself to say it; his head was a whirlwind of emotions. There was no way this could be true. His own brother – a Maloney – gay? “All those years of pushing you and making you into something dad could be proud of,” he seethed, “and this is what you become…a fucking fag?”

“Ryan,” JP stammered, “that’s not how it worked.”

“Or was it this fuckin’ homo who turned you,” he went on, feeling the rage boiling inside of him.

“I said,” JP suddenly shouted, “leave him out of this!” And then, he rushed his naked body at Ryan like a linebacker. He didn’t have a chance to brace it and felt the impact of 220 pounds of solid muscle. The wind knocked out of him, he was sent flying into the dumbbell rack, his back hitting hard against the weights. Quickly shaking off the pain, he immediately pushed back, throwing his huge little brother to the ground. JP’s head hit hard against the floor with a thud. He seemed dazed for a second, no doubt seeing stars; Ryan took that as his chance to show who was the man.

“Is that all you got?” he barked, kicking his brother hard in the stomach. He doubled over and grimaced on contact, but Ryan kept it coming. He was sick of having to fight for the top spot, he was sick of having to constantly look behind his back. And how dare JP spit in his face by being a homo! “You think you can take me, faggot?” he taunted. “You’ll never be stronger than me!” With each kick, Ryan could almost see the tears begin to well up in his brother’s eyes. Yeah that’s it, he thought, cry, you faggot.

Suddenly, something jumped onto Ryan’s back. Matt! He looked down and saw a forearm wrapped tightly around his chest and instinctively grabbed it hard. He heard a yelp and then the sound of his body falling in a heap on the floor.

“Get off me, you fag!” Ryan shouted down at him. The little prick couldn’t touch him. But then, he felt himself being pulled down by the neck. JP had recovered and was fighting back. It happened so fast, even Ryan didn’t know how his brother had done it, but he somehow ended up with his back on the floor. JP straddled his body, his bruised face hovering above him. WHAM! JP’s huge fist met his cheek and he saw white flashes. WHAM! He punched him again.

“Who’s the weak one now?” he sneered. “Huh, Ryan? Who’s the sissy now?” Ignoring the sharp pain in his chest, Ryan gritted his teeth and shoved his brother off of him. But JP seemed to know what was coming and bounced back against him with tremendous force, throwing him against the wall. CRACK! Ryan felt the sheet rock give way; dust filled the air. His whole body throbbed with excruciating pain, like his insides were coming apart. It was hard to breathe and he could only see out of one eye. He could barely focus on JP, who was now sitting directly across from him.

“Not so tough now, are you?” he spat. “I guess your modeling career is over, bro.” He seemed to love this moment, but it scared Ryan to death. “Too bad, since that seems to be all you had left.”

“Stop,” Ryan muttered, wincing at the pain it caused to get that one word out. He was starting to feel dizzy; he could barely move. JP got up and crawled over to his brother’s helpless body.

“I’ve had enough with all of your jackass comments about how great you are,” he continued. “You’re nothing but a conceited, narcissistic, self-loving prick.” With each word, JP punched him in the stomach; each time, the pain shot up through him, blinding him for a brief second. Ryan had never felt this way before; something was wrong. But JP didn’t seem to care; he just kept going:

“All your girlfriends, your jock buddies, all those people don’t care a shit about you.” Ryan began to cough, his lungs feeling as if they were about to collapse. “They only loved you for your looks. They didn’t care about anything else. Fuck, even Brionna said I was better than you.” JP’s words began to sound like they were coming from a distance as the coughing – and the pain – grew worse. Suddenly, Ryan felt as if something was clogging his throat and he involuntarily fell face-first to the floor in a violent fit and it felt like he was throwing up. But he couldn’t see; he couldn’t feel anything but pain – more pain than he had ever experienced in his life. And that was the last thing he remembered before passing out.

The next thing Ryan knew, he woke up in a bed, surrounded by beeping machines. A sterile smell hit his nose that almost made him tear up. Shit, a hospital! What the fuck happened? Then he remembered the fight he had had with JP and he felt like he was going to throw up again. How long ago was it? How long had he been here? He moved to see if he could see some sort of calendar or at least a clock, but there was suddenly a sharp pain in his chest. He winced and the monitors began beeping faster. Immediately, a nurse walked quickly into the room.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she hushed in a frantic, yet calm, tone. “You shouldn’t be moving around yet. You have a broken rib.” She gently laid her hand on Ryan’s shoulder, easing him back down. Ryan looked up at her. She was pretty, maybe only a few years older than he. In normal circumstances, he would’ve tried to fuck her – and she would’ve liked it; no girl ever said no to Ryan Maloney – but something else entered his mind first.

“Where’s my brother?” he asked, his words coming out a little more weakly than he would’ve liked. The nurse smiled. It was a pretty smile and it calmed Ryan down immediately.

“Dr. Miller is outside talking to your family right now,” she soothed. “You’re lucky. Your injuries aren’t as serious as they could’ve been.” She glanced down at his chest. “You’re in pretty good shape.” Her eyebrows arched in a way that meant she was understating the truth. “Are you an athlete?”

Ryan nodded. “I used to play football,” he said, feeling a slight tinge of sadness. The nurse instantly showed a face of recognition.

“Oh, you’re Ryan Maloney,” she grinned. “I knew your name sounded familiar. We all had a crush on you in nursing school.” Ryan blushed. Why was he reacting this way? A comment like that usually was a turn-on for him. “Anyway,” she continued, “other than the rib, you only have some bruising, but…” And then her voice trailed off. “You were coughing up blood.” She looked at him forlornly like she wasn’t sure how to go on. Shit, Ryan thought, she knows about the bulimia. He wasn’t stupid, he knew any doctor or nurse knew the signs when they saw them – teeth marks on his knuckles, the enamel on the backs of his teeth worn away, vomiting blood. And surely, his family had been told by now – including his dad. Ryan closed his eyes imagining what his dad would say about that.

The nurse looked over her shoulder. “Your parents are coming now. I’ll leave you alone with them.” She walked away and disappeared out the door. No sooner had she left, then Ryan’s parents hurried in. His mom had the worst look of worry on her face; he didn’t dare look at his dad.

“Oh, Ryan,” his mom sang. “We were scared sick about you.”

“I’m fine, ma,” Ryan uttered, trying not to let her eyes get to him. Mr. Maloney leaned forward abruptly, a scattered expression on his face; it was obvious he wanted answers.

“What is this I hear about you getting into a fight with JP?” he demanded.

“Paul,” Mrs. Maloney laid her hand on his shoulder, “now is not the time. Let him rest.” Ryan’s dad heeded his wife’s words and sighed. He was really worried about his son. Just then, a doctor poked his head into the room.

“Mr. and Mrs. Maloney,” he said. They turned to see him. “Can I speak with you a moment?” Silently, they made their way out of the room – but not before Ryan’s mom planted a kiss on his forehead. Ryan sighed as they left. They probably didn’t know yet about his bulimia, but surely that’s what the doctor was about to tell them now. He didn’t know how this would play out.

Then, the door opened once again. Ryan looked over to see a hulking figure fill the doorway…JP. He closed his eyes for a moment, his mind racing. He barely had time to process what had happened; he wasn’t quite sure he was ready to see his brother. But something in him kept him surprisingly calm. He didn’t feel any more anger toward JP, not even a bit. It was as if his body had realized the truth even though he was still confused. JP came toward him slowly, apparently nervous, unsure of how to start a conversation. Ryan couldn’t stand the awkwardness.

“Hey, little bro,” he finally spoke up, smiling as best he could.

“I’m sorry,” JP immediately began, but Ryan stopped him.

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.” He looked up at the ceiling and swallowed hard. This was harder for him than he thought. “You shouldn’t have to apologize,” he croaked. What followed was a long silence; JP didn’t know exactly how to respond and Ryan couldn’t figure out how to continue.

“Is my being gay going to be a problem?” JP blurted, getting right to the point. He always did. Ryan shifted uneasily in the bed and bit his lip. Shit, now what was he going to say?

“Well,” he smirked, “at least I won’t have to worry about you stealing anymore chicks away from me.” JP smiled – humor always worked with him – the awkwardness was gone now. Ryan tried to laugh, but the pain stabbed him in the side. “Ow, fuckin’ rib!” He looked up at his brother; his eyes were big and scared. Ryan knew JP hadn’t meant to beat him up like he did; surely, hiding his homosexuality was eating him up inside and it was all let out at that moment. Ryan cringed internally, imagining his own brother – a guy he’d known almost his whole life – being gay all this time. It would take a while for him to fully accept it…but JP was his little brother. He’d find a way. “I’ll have to get used to it,” he said. And with that, JP’s eyes softened as he realized his big brother had just forgiven him.

Ryan had always been the bigger brother in every way; JP looked up to him. He knew his little brother wanted to become just like him, wanted to follow in his footsteps. That was probably why JP started to get interested in lifting. At first, Ryan encouraged him in the weight room, but it never occurred to him that he could possibly make the gains that he did in such a short period of time. Soon, JP – who until then had been a scrawny little kid – was quickly morphing into a strong, muscular teenager. His muscles grew at alarming rates, he steadily gained popularity at school and his lifts came dangerously close to Ryan’s own personal bests. That’s when Ryan began to get scared.

Gradually, he removed himself from his brother’s workouts, afraid that one day he would no longer be the big brother. Once at college, this fear became an obsession. Ryan was never big enough, he was never strong enough, never powerful enough. He had to have bigger muscles, heavier weights, more friends. He constantly needed someone to tell him how amazing he was, even though he knew he was probably the most gorgeous guy on campus…and that still wasn’t enough. It didn’t matter how many girls he fucked or how many guys he beat up. Pretty soon, he became obsessed with himself; he closed himself off to everything he was before. He didn’t care about anyone else except Ryan Maloney.

But that was when – at what he thought was his highest pinnacle – Ryan was at his lowest. He had all but completely forgotten the big brother he had been those years ago when JP looked up to him. Now here he was, looking up to JP from a hospital bed, closer to death than he ever thought possible. This was the wake-up call Ryan needed. What JP had told him so heatedly was true; Ryan was headed toward a life of loneliness and disappointment. He could never become the person he wanted to become and in trying, he would eventually have pushed away everyone who truly loved him. But JP refused to be pushed away, even if he never realized it. He would always be there for him no matter what. And at that moment, Ryan made a vow to himself that he would never abandon his brother again.

Rick stared across the table at Ian in awe. The kid scarfed down the last of his Gigaburger and dove into his second one with no signs of stopping – Rick could barely finish one. To many teenagers in the area, Five Guys was the place to go for the biggest, greasiest hamburgers. And the most colossal of their burgers was the Gigaburger. Only the guys with the most voracious appetites dared to eat the whole thing – the record was five, set by Tyler Backton a couple of years ago, but then again, Tyler was 275 pounds of bulk.

“What are you, starving or something?” Rick said, stupefied. Ian didn’t answer, his mouth full of meat. Rick had known Ian Antoncelli for only a few months, but was blown away by how massive he was getting. He was only a 14-year-old eighth grader, but already he was bigger and stronger than Rick…and he was still growing. Every day in the gym, he seemed to push heavier and heavier weights and he never seemed to stop eating…except when he would fuck Kim over and over again.

Rick couldn’t help being a little envious. They had just come back from a grueling workout at the high school with Ian blasting his body to ridiculous lengths. He never seemed to get tired and all that lifting and eating was going straight to his muscles. I mean, he had to be pushing 170 by now – maybe more. His body was getting wider by the day it seemed, his arms were covered in thick, snake-like veins and none of his old shirts fit him anymore. Right now in fact, he wore a T-shirt with the sleeves torn off to display his bulging shoulders and arms. The front, which stretched tightly across his huge chest, read “Got Tickets to the Gun Show?” and had arrows pointing to his biceps.

“You gonna finish that?” Ian asked through the food in his mouth, pointing to Rick’s partially-eaten burger. He shook his head and Ian instantly grabbed it off his plate and shoved it into his mouth. Then, after a long gulp of soda, he let out a loud burp, leaning back in his chair, satisfied. “Damn, that tasted good,” he grinned, moving his hand up his shirt, revealing a peek of his chiseled six-pack. Rick was always amazed at how Ian could amass so much bulk, yet still be so cut. Rick was ripped, too, but he was nowhere near the size of his friend.

“So, what you wanna do now?” Rick asked. Ian shrugged.

“Is there a party goin’ on tonight?”

“Not that I know of.” Ian stood up and began to strut out of the restaurant, attracting a few looks from the other teens there that no doubt were impressed by his body. Rick got up and hurried after him.

“You think Kim and Jessica are home?” he smirked, eyeing a particularly hot girl sitting at a nearby table. She was ogling him lustfully, gazing at him dreamily.

“I think so,” Rick answered, digging into his pocket for his cell phone. “I can call.”

“Good,” Ian smiled. “I can use a little fucking after tonight.” Rick saw in Ian’s eyes that he wanted sex. Frankly, Rick was a little tired, but whatever Ian wanted to do, he’d go along. So, he dialed up Kim and his girlfriend Jessica to see if they were around. They were. So the two jocks exited the restaurant into the crisp December air, Ian’s thick cock already bulging out of his shorts, ready for a night of wild sex. •