chapter 1 - matt makes a friend

Matt was 17, never the athletic type. He was more into playing video games in his room then sports. At 5'6, 140 pounds and not much muscle mass, you couldn't really blame him. He wasn't fat but definitely not fit either. He had discovered beer and his parents either didn't notice or didn't care that six packs would go missing from the basement fridge. Over the last year, he had grown a bit of a beer belly. He had an awkward shape for a guy, a little big in the hips. But he wore lose fitting jeans and shirts so it didn't look that bad. He hadn't dated much since 7th grade. Everybody had grown tall and he never really outgrew his insecurity about his height.
One time, as he was walking down the halls of his high school, he noticed that a girl she used to date happened to be walking by. She didn't even notice him. Or pretended he thought. He stealthily walked behind her and got close. He wasn't trying to get her attention. He was comparing heights. He wanted to see how tall she had grown. She was tall. Her ex, who was his height a few years ago, was a good 2 inches taller than he was now. Matt walked away quietly, blaming his genes.
He was pretty good at his academics however. He had skipped a grade and got accepted to a very reputable college. So at the tender age of 17, he was ready to ship off.
He thought that it would be a great opportunity to invent himself. Go somewhere where nobody knew him. He could start working out, get fit, dominate the dating scene. Or so he liked to fantasize.
He had lucked out. He had a room all to himself. The first day he arrived on campus, he bought a couch and a TV from the guy moving out. He had a real nice pad. He set up his PC, and filled his mini fridge with Mountain Dew and hotpockets. Like a true gamer.
Freshman courses proved to be no challenge to Matt. He may have not been tall dark and handsome, but he definitely excelled at academics. It had only been a few days since courses had started but he knew that he would have no trouble.
Matt had benefited from a full scholarship. So his meal card was filled to the brim. He would often go down to the cafeteria and gorge himself on whatever was available. one of the few things he did enjoy other than video games was meals. He enjoyed eating. A lot. Food didn't judge him. It made him happy. It wasn't allowed to sneak food out of the cafeteria, but nobody really enforced it. He would pile on a bunch of food in his lunch box to take back to his dorm. And nobody really took notice, or simply, didn't care.,

He was in Chem 101 one day.
The professor asked the class: ''Can anyone tell me What determines the degree of completeness of a reaction?'' The class was silent.
The professor repeated the question and again was met with silence.
''C'mon kids! You need to know this stuff. This is basic.''
''equilibrium constant'' said Matt.
Everybody in class was looking at Matt, wanting to see if he was actually right.
''Very good!'' Said the professor.
Matt had actually felt confident for the first time in a long time.
He buried his head back in his laptop as everybody went back to focusing on the lecture. Little did he know, there was one person still staring at him.

Matt was sitting alone by himself after the lecture, eating alone. He was reading game reviews on his phone and he was going at a pile of mash potatoes, gravy and fried chicken.
Suddenly, he heard a voice:
''Hi!''
Matt looked up from his phone.
''Mind if I join you?''
It was a gorgeous girl. She had a typical college look about her. Sweatpants, Ugg boots, the whole nine yards. She was hot. Too hot for Matt he thought. She was also about 5'6 maybe about 130 pounds. Then again it was hard to tell under all that bulky sweats and Uggs. What was sure that her black hair and gorgeous face made her a 10.
''not at all'' said Matt.
''I'm Jen''
''Matt''
''nice to meet you Matt. I was just in Chem 101 with you.''
''Oh you're a freshman too?''
''Oh no. I'm a senior, I was just auditing the class''
''Auditing?'&a pos; Asked Matt.
''Yeah, I like to go to lectures when I don't have anything to do. It helps me think. I find it relaxing'' said Jen.
''Going to lectures to relax? Hah! Ok, each is own I guess.''
''You don't like going to lectures?''
''Nah, I get bored out of my skull''
''You seem to know what you're talking about though.''
''Yeah'&apos ; replied Matt. ''I know my subjects. That's why they bore me.''

Though Matt had never been quite the ladies man, he was feeling confident. He stood up straight, even his deepened. At least he thought. Even though Matt couldn't believe that a Senior girl, one this hot would show any interest in Matt. But he wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth. That was for sure.
Matt and Jen got to talking and they got along swimmingly. They walked out together.

Matt went back to his dorm after seeing her off. He was feeling cocky. He took off his shirt and looked into the full length IKEA mirror. His confidence was shot down all of a sudden.
He was pale, skinny fat with a small belly. He took of his pants too. His hips were wider then they should have been. He always had a bigger butt. It jutted out to the back. He didn't think Jen would like that at all. He flexed his biceps and there was barely anything there. No pecks to speak of. He had the body of a 12 year old boy who had hadn't moved off the couch in years.
Still riding off the confidence of talking to Jen, he figured, now was the time. He would go down to the gym.
He didn't know anything about working out but he knew the basics. You grab a weight and you lift it up. How hard could it be?

Luckily, the gym was empty. The last thing he needed was superior specimens making him feel inadequate. He made a mental note of the time of day so he could come back the same time and work out without being discouraged.
He walked up to the rack of freeweights and remembered that he had never used freeweights before. Or any weights really.
He stepped up to the 40 lbs. and tried to grab it.
''OOFF!'' he exclaimed and put it right back. It was way too heavy.
''That's ok. I'll start light'' he thought.
Tired the 35 lbs. -No way. Still too heavy.
Went down to 30 lbs. - Nope still heavy.
Went to the 25 ponder. He could actually pick this up. But when he tried to curl it, the weight wouldn't come up. He was standing in front of the mirror and doing half curls, sweating up a storm.
''20! I should be able to do that!'' He thought.
He put down the 25's and picked up the 20's.
He could indeed at least lift the 20's.
Even though that was no heavier than his backpack. He was barely doing it. He was sweating up a storm but he did manage to do 10 reps. Exhausted, he sat down on the bench.
''Well, maybe it's enough for today'' he thought. He went back to his dorm, pooped open some hotpockets and Mountain Dew and reheated some cafeteria food. He fell asleep to reruns on netflix.

He woke up the following day, his arms so sore, he felt like somebody had beat him with a baseball bat. He took his shirt off again and posed in the mirror. Again, there was no change. If anything, he looked more bloated from all the food he had binged on last night.
Disappointed, he went to class.

Class was a breeze for him. It was like going back to kindergarten. Most of the time he didn't even pay attention but he would surely pass the exams with flying colors. After the 3 hour lecture, his stomach was growling. It was back to the cafeteria for Matt.

As Matt was eating with his face buried down in his phone a familiar voice called.
''Hey there stranger!''
Jen sat down with her own tray which put a smile on Matt's face. They got to talking again. She always put a smile on Matt's face.
She invited Matt to this party that she was going to tonight. Matt hated parties. He was never the social type. But it meant that she would be there, so he agreed.

Matt showed up to the party. He was too young to buy beer so he had to rely on the keg. He was overwhelmed with a sensation of anxiety as he stepped into the house. These kids were clearly older. He didn't know anybody which didn't help. ''Damn it!'' He thought. It was going to be another night of standing in a corner by himself.
However he rejoiced to when he saw Jen's face staring back at him. She was with a few of her girlfriends. Jen came over and grabbed Matt.
''Glad you came''
''Wouldn't miss it'' said Matt.
She introduced him to his girlfriends who were all biochem majors.
They got to talking about chemistry and other subjects which looked like was a hit with this crowd.
Jen kept feeding Matt drinks all night long and Matt, being the lightweight he is, got absolutely blackout drunk.
A few hours had passed and Matt decided he was way too drunk. He stepped outside.
''Where are you going?'' asked Jen.
''Oh, I'm completely ***d. I godda go home!'' replied Matt.
''Aaaaww!'' said Jen. ''Well, come here before you go!''
Jen leaned into Matt's face and gave him a kiss on the lips. Short but to the point.
''I'll see you later'' Said Jen and walked back into the party.
Matt couldn't believe it. He had actually gotten a kiss. It was pretty clear now that Jen wanted Matt. A dream come true.
He didn't bother asking himself why. He was ecstatic. He went back to his room and collapsed on the bed.

He woke up the following day, more hungover than he had ever been. He checked his phone and say he had a message from Jen.
''U up?''
''Am now! Sooooo hungover'' replied Matt.
''Mee too! All I wanna do is eat pizza and watch shows!''
''Well, I have a TV and a stocked ridge!''
''OMG! Coming over.''

under any other circumstances, Matt would have been so nervous, he would have found a way to lie his way out of it. But he was too hungover for that. A little while later, there was a knock on the door. It was Jen. She looked hungover but she still had managed to put makeup on.