chapter 3

Morning. Loud beeps. The garbage truck outside. Light piercing her eyelids. Olivia frowned and moaned at the invasive elements rousing her from rest. The rational section of her mind had yet to boot up when she wondered why anyone would ever wake up for anything.

Her eyes shot open. Oh shit. What time is it?

She snatched her phone off the nightstand.

8:17 AM.

With a shriek, Olivia threw back the covers and whimpered at the extra smidgen of effort it took to rise into a sitting position. She felt weak and heavy; like she was hungover, just without the headache. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and lowered her head. Olivia began to redirect her energy to the parts of her body required in standing. But before that happened, she opened her eyes and saw it.

Pudge.

Sure, Olivia's belly collapsed into rolls when she sat (like any healthy woman's) but this wasn't that. Her belly had thickened into two thick rolls of flesh.

"Oh no," was all Olivia could say. "Oh no, oh no, oh no," she continued as she rose and hurried to the restroom. Her momentum carried her right into the sink and cabinet, but she gathered herself and checked her body out in the mirror.

She looked...bloated. Full. Her hard edges smoothed.

In some ways, this was comforting. Olivia was familiar with the damage the Munchies could do in a single night. Thankfully, they were quite reserved in last night's stuffing. But Olivia knew she wasn't entirely out of the woods yet. She can always tell when they have something up their sleeves, even if she isn't always able to resist it. And if last night wasn't a dream, then she knew they had plans for her.

Olivia kicked the bathroom scale from the corner and stepped onto it, awaiting the digital read-out's consensus.

177. Forty pounds. Overnight.

She stumbled off the scale and leaned against the edge of the sink. Here she was, thinking forty pounds in a single night was indicative of the Munchies "going easy" on her. She ran her fingers over her new chub and gave it a squeeze.

Yep. Real.

"Oh no," she repeated one more time to her reflection before refocusing on getting ready for work.

She grabbed a pair of pants out of habit, single-mindedly trying to prepare for work, not considering how much a difference forty pounds could make. Pulling the pants up her thicker legs, they began to give her resistance around her fuller ass. Determined to pretend nothing had changed, she pulled harder. Reaching behind her, she hooked her thumbs under the waistband caught on the underside of her butt and gave it a firm tug. The pants slid upwards gradually and she was able to get them around her waist.

After allowing herself a couple of moments to catch her breath and feel relieved her pants still fit, she realized something felt off. Looking down, she noticed the gulf between the teeth of her zipper. Her fly was wide open with the corner flaps dogeared beneath the curve of her budding muffintop. Olivia moaned at the new hurdle, taking the flaps of her fly in her hands and desperately trying to make them kiss, her chub getting squeezed in the attempt.

With a gasp, she let go, panting from the exertion. Trying not to think about how this sort of activity shouldn't tire her out, she decided to try again, lying on her back; an obvious excuse to lay down and collect herself, but it was worth a shot. This proved to be no less futile, as her new pudge intervened with her attempts, squishing between her fly and fingers. Taking quick, shallow breaths, she glanced at her closet and reconsidered her approach. Today was going to require garments with a bit more...stretch.

After a gentle dusting of makeup and an expedited wardrobe pick (opting for flats over heels), Olivia was on her way out the door, passing through the kitchen.

It was a disaster.

Empty pots and pans, stacked dishes, a smattering of cupcake skirts, crumbs, and a myriad of remnants from an epic feast of the most decadent dishes.

"Why can't they at least *urp* clean up after themselves?" Olivia wondered while surveying the damage. She placed a hand on her rounded tummy, feeling the churn of treats being processed within. Her memories of the night before were hazy but the one thing Olivia knew with absolute certainty was that every calorie that had passed through that kitchen was now in her belly. And the chub she woke up to this morning was only the beginning.

The rain moved in during Olivia's drive into work. This particular morning, she reasoned with herself that the rain was why she drove in instead of biking, but since it didn't show up till after she was nearly at her job, the reasoning didn't really hold up under scrutiny.

Her belly gurgled, last night's feast percolating within. And with that, Olivia remembered one of the inevitable side effects of a visit from the Munchies: excess gas. She could feel the pressure swell until it cracked, breaking into pockets of fullness, all moving toward the pit of her stomach, gathering deep within her hips.

Outward force pushed against her rear from inside, the bloating sensation expanding into her ass. Olivia focused and was able to push back the mounting excess away from its exit and back into her lower belly, where it swam in circles, seeking an escape. She sighed heavily, keeping the beast at bay and trying not to think about a long-term strategy.

She swung into a parking spot in the garage and sat there for a moment to prepare herself for the day to come. Taking one final deep breath, she exited her car, tensing her stomach muscles to retain her grip on the growling beast stirring inside.

She swiped her badge at the panel of the parking garage elevator. The new extra weight made finding an outfit quite the challenge, but here she stood, decked out in black leggings and a large, loose, business-casual shirt with an elegant scarf; the type of outfit usually worn by rich Instagram stars sporting large sunglasses and stepping off private jets, recreated with a few trips to Marshall's and Target. Olivia always knew how to dress to her body's strengths and that included doing so on the kinds of days that no one ever thinks to account for. She was versatile and she was going to work with her nascent curvature.

But her fashion skills weren't enough to compensate for her waning confidence as she hoped to get to her desk without bumping into any social coworkers. Fortunately, very little of her added poundage had found its way to her face, but she was only prepared for passing glances. If anyone was able to corner her for even a few minutes of morning conversation, they were certain to notice her extra padding.

Not used to starting her daily elevator ride from the parking garage, Olivia accidentally started to step off on the wrong floor, at the lobby of her office building. Doing so, she bumped into Jake as he was getting on, jostling the contents of her stomach.

"Oh, I'm sor-Olive!" he interrupted himself when he realized who he had crashed into.

Thankfully, the impact jarred Olivia out of her haze and she used the backwards momentum to remain on the elevator till her proper destination. "Jake! Sorry, I was trying to get out of the way," she lied, hoping it wasn't obvious she was out of sorts this morning.

"Good job," Jake quipped sarcastically with a mischievous grin.

Olivia smiled inwardly, a fan of his harmless, playful jabs.

"You look amazing today, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is," Jake blurted, perhaps after an internal struggle over whether it was a statement that should be said aloud at all, evidently landing on the side of "what the hell."

"Thanks!" Olivia replied, perhaps a bit too loud. She suddenly realized there were a couple of other people on the elevator as well and cleared her throat in an attempt to stifle her dorky enthusiasm.

But even if Jake didn't know what "it" was, Olivia knew. He may not have been consciously aware, but his brain was picking up on the altered dimensions of Olivia's form. Never before had Olivia felt the energy of external attraction coming from Jake; at least not to this degree.

The elevator ride lasted a thousand years. Olivia focused on the hum of the machinery, desperate for a sound to fill the space. Unfortunately, she got her wish.

With her guard down, Olivia felt the swelling force in the pit of her belly expand, then tumble through her tummy, deeper into her pelvis before the pressure got to be too much and slid out into the air. A soft, yet audible fart hummed from her cheeks. Her heart sank and her face went pale.

She noticed Jake's head jerk in surprise but restrain itself when he pieced together what happened and pretended not to hear. Olivia glanced at the other elevator riders, a man and a woman, as they avoided eye contact but subtly covered their noses. Olivia wanted to die.

Finally, the elevator came to a full stop and the doors to their floor opened. Jake exited first, followed by Olivia.

"See you later," Jake half-mumbled.

"Yeah," Olivia replied before skittering away towards the solitude of her office. She fumbled with the keys, but got the door opened and slammed it shut behind her.