chapter 4

The next morning, Scott started by devouring the rest of the food he'd ordered. There were two large meatlovers pizzas that he made his way through as slowly as he could manage. Scott was aware enough to know that he needed to slow down. He tried his hardest to prolong the time between bites, as much as his hypnosis would let him at least.

It was no use. Every time Scott started eating, he pushed himself further than before. He wanted to stop but it was just so much easier to give in and eat.

Monday morning was a struggle. It wasn't until he was half way through his first binge that he remembered he needed to go to see Phoebe. He ate until he was about to burst and then waited a few minutes for the food to settle. He knew he would probably have about an hour (if he pushed it) to get to her. He walked into Ryan's room and found some clothes for him to wear. He was lucky; Ryan was taller and broader than he'd ever be so his clothes fit fine. They were loose enough to hide the massive bulge that Scott's stomach had become from the two days of constant eating. His jeans stayed up without pressing into him and the shirt looked pretty presentable.

He left quickly and started to walk the quickest route to the store. Half way there, he knew he might have miscalculated how long it was going to take him to get there. Maybe he was walking slower because he was so full but he knew he was cutting it fine.

Scott sped up as much as he could. He passed a McDonald's and tried his hardest to ignore the scents wafting towards him. It was no use. He wasn't in control of his body as he crossed the parking lot and walked into the restaurant. It was still early in a college town so there were only two people inside and nobody in the queue. I walked straight up to the counter and began to order.

"Uh hi can I get two Big Breakfasts with Hotcakes, a biscuit with egg and cheese, three sausage and egg biscuits and four orders of hash browns?" he asked.

Even as he was saying it, Scott knew it was an insane amount of food but his mouth wouldn't let him stop. He hoped it would be enough to let him move on to the store.

"Is that to go?" the woman behind the counter asked?

She looked shocked when he said no, that it was to eat in.

She took his money and he stepped aside to wait. He wished he'd ordered less because the amount of food made the wait longer than normal and he was starving. It took every ounce of self control he had not to jump the counter or walk up to another customer and eat their food. Scott was glad he hadn't managed to keep walking. If he'd gone longer without food, he didn't know what he would have done.

After a few minutes, his food was handed to him on two trays. He took them over to the nearest table and started to eat. Scott tried his hardest to ignore the looks he was getting but the woman who served him kept looking over at him. He couldn't blame her. She was probably wondering if the mountain of food was even possible to consume.

It was. He managed it, if only just. His breathing was laboured by the time the last morsel passed his lips and he couldn't help but cradle his aching belly with both hands.

Scott couldn't get out of there fast enough. He took his rubbish to the trash, (because he's not an animal) and then left immediately.

The rest of the walk was painful. His stomach seemed to lurch with every step and he felt more and more tired the further he went. When the door to the store came into view, he felt so relieved for more than one reason.

"What can I do for you today?" the man in the front of the store asked.

"Uh, -huff- is... is Phoebe in?" Scott asked. "I -huff- need her -huff- help."

The man nodded and pointed to the back room.

"I'll call her down for you."

Scott walked into the back room, still cradling his stuffed belly. He was embarrassed to be so out of breath but the man didn't seem too bothered. Scott thought to himself that they must get all sorts.

Phoebe, on the other hand, looked a little more surprised.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, looking him up and down.

"Yeah," Scott said quietly. "I broke my phone."

"Oh!" Phoebe said. "Oh no, I didn't even think of that as a possibility. I haven't done anything like this before... have you just been..?"

"Eating non-stop?" Scott asked. "Yeah, kinda uncontrollably."

Phoebe pulled out her phone and played the second chime. Almost immediately, Scott felt relief. His stomach still hurt, a lot, but he felt more in control. Food was the furthest thing from his mind. He collapsed into a chair and breathed slow and deep.

"Thank you so much," he said.

"No problem, this was a bad oversight on my part." Phoebe said. "I guess I wont be trying that technique again without some kind of failsafe."

Scott nodded and closed his eyes. He'd never been so full in all his life.

"Are you comfortable with me... undoing the base hypnotism?" Phoebe asked. "It's not usually something I do but I think in this case it may be necessary."

"Please do," Scott said. "I can't risk this happening again."

Phoebe got him to relax, which was easy with the waves of exhaustion washing over him. Scott listened to her gentle voice, hearing words like "control" and "chime". It was, again, as if no time had passed at all when she was bringing him back to the waking world.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Fine," he said. "Well, still really full and sleepy, but otherwise fine."

He stood up and she nodded.

"I think you'll feel like that for a while," she said.

He felt his face flush red. He knew it wasn't his fault but he felt a little embarrassed. He must have looked a mess. Even under his looser shirt, Scott knew his alarmingly bloated belly would still be very visible.

He thanked her profusely before leaving.