Chapter 20 - two pronged

Laci and I had only communicated sparsely during our few weekly meetups, but when it came time to put our plan into motion, we were surprisingly coordinated.

Maybe we were both leaning on our feeder impulses and following our instincts. Either way, we were shaping out to be the perfect team.

Madeline was doomed from the very moment we had laid out our strategy; there was no escape. Every shift Madeline and Laci shared she pushed food on her mercilessly. Something must have snapped in Madeline after that night in the basement. Normally she would be adamant in her limits, but now she had become soft and pliable, completely under Laci's spell.

The reason for this change of mind soon became clear, however. I found that Laci was now more than pulling her weight, offering Madeline car pools every night. Not only did it give Laci the chance to keep Madeline away from the gym, but Laci also dragged her to that damned basement after work to keep her stoned and stuffed.

It was almost like a lioness dragging her prey back to its den. God, nature is beautiful.

Laci wasn't the only one putting in work, of course. Now that Madeline was burdened with Alyssa's former closing shifts, she was all mine for the last 3 hours of the day.

Admittedly, I didn't develop any new tricks. But I was more than ready to adapt what had served me so faithfully with Alyssa. I'm sure you guessed it; I was bring back my patented valerian roots weight gain shakes, but with a twist.

After what was essentially four straight hours of Laci shoving food down Madeline's gullet and tempting her with treat after treat, our pudgy project was on the brink of a veritable food coma by the time it was just the two of us.

"Ugh... you know, Michael, these late shifts are killing me. I need the money, but I'm half dead."

"Yeah, I understand," I offered in return, "I barely have enough energy to get to the gym most nights."

I laughed warmly, secretly hoping to pump our soon to be plumper for some information on her gain. Poking. Prodding.

"Oh, no," Madeline shifted uncomfortably, "I've been kinda bad about that. Laci insists she drives me home anyway, so we usually hang most nights. Not that I'd have the stamina to work out at this hour even if she let me go to the gym."

"Wow, I didn't realize Laci had that kind of power over you," I joked.

"No! Well, I mean, she's obviously not the kind of girl that would... fit in at a gym. Besides, I mean, we have fun together. It's nice to unwind after work..."

She trailed off, probably eagerly anticipating spending another night completely faded.

"Well, you can at least hit the gym in the morning, right? Not that you need to, but it sounds like you miss it."

"Ummm... thanks! I guess I do sometimes, but..."

She trailed off again, not entirely willing to reveal her nightly food and drug binges to me. I didn't mind. I already knew.

"I, uh, guess I'm just not a morning person," she said with a nervous chuckle. "Once September starts I'm back at school and I doubt I'll have the luxury of sleeping in, even as a senior."

"True, true! If you really wanna get through these night shifts, though, I do have a little trick I could show you," I grinned.

"I'm all ears," she said as she returned my grin, eyeing me almost flirtatiously. Although it very well could have been the oncoming food coma, and not an attempted seduction, that turned her eyes heavy lidded and hazy.

I slipped into the cooler and fished out a special weight gain shake I had been saving for when I popped the question.

Ah, but the twist! This baby was not, like its predecessors, loaded with valerian root. Instead, this concoction was brimming with Monster energy and pure sugar. She'd get about three hours of boundless energy before the crash claimed her at the end of the night, just in time for Laci to swoop in and stuff her silly.

"It's my own recipe," I explained as I held the bottle up to catch the light, "all natural, goes down smoothly, and most importantly it'll get you through the night."

Although I was lying through my teeth, the poor girl was too tired to notice or care. She cautiously plucked the shake from my hands and took a careful sip.

Then a gulp.

Then she tipped the bottle back and chugged, her eyes closed in what I imagined, and hoped, to be ecstasy.

"Shit, Michael, you're right, that hits HARD."

"I hope it's not too heavy; I wouldn't want to spoil your supper for you."

"Whatever," she laughed, "Let's get our shit done and get out of here so I can hit the gym. Laci's been a pretty bad influence. I just can't say no to her..."

Madeline lost herself in thought, and I was in no rush to rouse her from her reverie. As long as the crash hit before Laci arrived, Madeline would be putty in her hands.

"You... you don't think I've gotten chubby, do you? I was never one for dieting, but now I barely make it to the gym. And with class starting back up, well, I don't know..."

"You look amazing, Madeline," I said soothingly; this was one of the few moments of genuine sincerity I offered her. "I'm sure it's just the end of summer jitters, you know? The stress is just a speed bump, and it's throwing you off. Once you have a structured schedule again you'll stabilize. Definitely. So don't be so paranoid, yeah?"

Well. It didn't take long to start shamelessly lying again, huh?

"I guess, I just don't think seniors are supposed to still have baby fat," she giggled, still on edge.

"Yeah, yeah, I can't even notice it," I rolled my eyes, "if there even IS any extra of you, it'll be melted off once next summer rolls around. It always does."

Baby fat? Her legs looked like mini sausages stuffed into her tights, and I could tell that her thigh gap was not coming back. I could see the subtle softening just beneath her jawline, and her once perky tits, now plump with fat, drooped with their weight even within the confines of her bra. The fledgling belly beneath their shadow pushed modestly forward against the tight fabric of her tiny tee, but it was an infinity away from the abs she had when I had first met her.

Her bubble butt, more than anything, had ballooned. While she was still far less hippy than Alyssa, the jiggly orbs of her ass now pulled her tights taut, skin tone visible beneath. Her pale skin gave them the illusion of twin full moons, nestled in the darkness of their fabric prison.

I had only been half listening to her tentative thanks for me quelling her fears of getting fat, and I was quick to accept and get back to work as to not linger on her insecurities.

I tried to lose myself in closing the shop, but couldn't help but sneak glances, or occasionally the prolonged stare, at Madeline's ass jostle and jiggle as she flew around the shop, riding her all too temporary burst of energy.

Our plan was in motion and, soon enough, would have too much momentum to stop. With the double whammy of caffeine crashes and a mental cannabis induced haze, Madeline would be completely malleable and her brain far too dull to even notice the pounds pile on with increasing rapidity.

But we would soon see how that would play out, wouldn't we? For tonight, I was simply counting down until she'd crash.