A metabolism will only get you so far

chapter 3

"I'd better weigh myself right?"
Matt didn't really have an argument against it so he was forced to agree and followed Austin into the bathroom.
Austin quickly dropped the shorts to his underwear and gingerly hopped on the scale, the number flew right past 130 and finally flickered onto 138. Matt was quick to try and laugh it down
"Well there you go, you've gained like nothing man, and you're still lighter than me"
"It's still 8 pounds up though dude, and I'm not that sure anyway man"
"Honestly I wouldn't freak out man, it looks fine on you"
Austin looked towards Max and said
"That's easy for you to say, you carry a few extra pounds alright but they are really obvious on me, look at my stomach man, it's so sloppy.
"I don't know what to say man, yeah I mean you've gained a bit of weight and yeah it shows but it happens you know just calm down"
" I guess so.. but still"
"You need to stop freaking out, it'll go away"
"Yeah, I guess, maybe I should start running again or something though - can't hurt right"
Max knew that Austin would run once, maybe twice before giving up so he didn't hesitate before answering.
"Yeah easy, now just find some different shorts and you'll be fine"
"Alright, yeah I guess I just freaked a bit"
Max heart pounded slightly in his chest but it would seem that he'd navigated this issue quite well, Austin seemed to have swallowed what Max had said, and had jumped right onto his excuses with a vengeance, and he could only hope that Austin wouldn't change his diet, though it may be too late to go back.
Just as expected Austin donned his running shorts and a shirt and went for a run, around the block only once. Probably a half mile at the most. And that was it but to Austin it meant that he was active again, and active boys can really eat whatever they want.
Eventually it came time to return back to college, obviously not overly cheerful Max got himself up and to college with a huff. He noticed Austin running towards him slightly red in the face running late. With sighs of resignation they got ready for the first day back. Class quality like always varied greatly but luckily he got placed with Austin in three meaning that for most of the day he had someone to talk to. He noticed Austin occasionally fiddling with his shorts under his bigger shirt, sucking in slightly and readjusting obviously they were a little tight and causing a bit of discomfort. Max smirked to himself as he refocused at the front.
The cafeteria as expected was a friend to Max's little quest, the cheap lunches were big and pretty junky. And as Austin found out there were seconds to be had if he asked really nicely. As Austin worked his way through the second tray of pizza and chips Max looked around their table, luckily none of their other friends seemed to be noticing that anything was up, the shirt Austin was wearing was pretty good at hiding anything. They needed to go clothes shopping, last thing he wanted was Austin not fitting in anything and having the weight noticed as an incentive to try and lose it.
The weeks of college rolled on and the two boys quickly found themselves under the increasing weight of work. It didn't take Max much to make Austin associate studying and stress with having a break and having a snack, even taking the snack with him while studying. Austin was eating himself through his homework and stress and it was adding up in terms of extra calories though he wasn't quite at holiday levels of overindulgence despite his weight gain containing perhaps even quicker. Max started to see flashes of it showing through clothes, at certain angles and lighting it was undeniable that there was a bit more of Austin these days. He had to be pushing over 140 surely by now, probably even more. By the end of first month back at college Max hadn't really seen Austin shirtless for a while and it was a bit harder to estimate his weight especially since Austin was wearing shirts that were a little too big.
Max got an update however when he went over to Austin's one afternoon, Austin answered the door already stripped to the shorts he had worn to college Max was caught in a bit of shock for a few seconds before recovering and trying to engage in normal conversation and not stare. The shorts were tight as hell, Austin obviously had to struggle to get them on and they were not fitting in a flattering way. His sides stuck out slightly over the top of them, with small but definite lovehandles of pure flab, his gut stuck out in front of him and probably overlapped the band of the shorts by a solid three quarters of an inch, maybe even a full inch if he was fully relaxed. His chest had really grown out and he had a soft pair of moobs getting bigger and competing with his gut for attention. His legs has softened slightly and as Max walked behind him he noticed Austin had a bit of wobble both in his butt and lovehandles. This was much more than he had been expected, he had to be at least 145 pounds.
Austin and Max hung out like the normally did, Max trying desperately not to look at Austins belly sitting well over his shorts when he was sitting down. Austin eventually caught him looking and blushed and tried to suck in
"I think I might of gotten a little bigger again, a few things are getting a bit tight"
"Yeah maybe, I reckon you just need some new shorts, those look a little sore"
Austin was forced to agree and undid the shorts which made him look a little bit less chunky and bulgy.
"Yeah, we should go pop up to the shops and maybe pick up a few things"
"If you want man, might be a good idea"
So the boys got ready to set off and Austin forced himself into of all things, a pair of skinny jeans. He jumped up and down but managed to get the 28 inch pants done up though it was a struggle.
At the shops Austin went straight for the 30 inch jeans which fit alright though not really loose, though they were a little big Max managed to sell a 32 to him. The 32's had a bit of room to grow but weren't that big on him, a fact that Austin found concerning. He didn't even want to lift his shirt to show the waistband of the jeans and show of his waistline in the busy shop. Eventually a little embarrassed Austin bought the newer bottoms and the boys left. Austin declared he was going to watch his eating so that he didn't get any bigger as he grab a thick roll of flab on his waist. However as he said this he was sucking down a large McDonalds thick shake so Max wasn't exactly that worried.
Austin now weighed 144 pounds apparently, at least that's what Austin admitted the next day. For about a week Austin was a little better with eating but then his resolve faded and he was back to stuffing his gut every and all day. A few other people were starting to notice though no one was really commenting on his weight, only how much he was eating and that maybe he should skip the seconds.
As Austin walked up the hall with Max he noticed something, the faint outline of his belly button on his tighter white shirt, Max couldn't believe it, Austin was really showing through his clothes now. At lunch he got one of the first real comments about his weight. Sam, head of the track team told Austin pointedly that he might want to consider joining the team to shed some of the off season weight. Austin laughed it off but Sam was fully serious and was looking at Austin's mid-section. Austin blushed and changed to subject but his denial had opened the gates of comments. Before long a few other friends had made a few comments to the former twig.
"Might want to skip that second helping man, can't stay on bulking season forever you know"
"Have you gained a little weight man, you just look a little different"
"Look at you bro, is that a little baby belly I see there, looks like someone's metabolism finally caught up to them"
"Look at you dude, you've porked up a little bit haven't you, used to be such a stick"
Austin was trying to take the comments with a straight face and laugh them off but he was quite embarrassed about his weight. His belly was showing through about half of his clothes and even his face had softened up slightly now.