Chapter 4 - Sophomore Year

Haley's heart was beating with anticipation as she walked. Finally, she was going to be able to see Mark again. The excitable girlfriend of Mark was clad in a pair of yoga pants and a crop top.. or at least she thought her top was a crop top. She hadn't remembered buying this particular crop top.. and it was such a weird style. It looked like a button-up she used to own. However, she found that the style was a crop-toppy look where the bottom button wasn't supposed to button, and her navel was supposed to be exposed. It was something that was easily shrugged off by Haley, who was laser-focused on getting herself to Mark's new apartment a few blocks from campus. Her legs were getting very tired, and her inner thighs hurt. Every step she took, there was an audible swish sound of the fabric of her pants rubbing together. Haley ignored it. The summer had not been as fun as she wanted, and she just wanted to get things back to normal here at college.

The hot summer vacation between college semesters had been a challenge for incoming college Sophomore. Within a week of returning home, Mark texted Haley letting her know that he was going to be hiking the alps with his guy friends all summer long and would be nearly impossible to get a hold of. This had certainly put a damper of Haley's spirits. She had hoped that she would of at least been able to text, call, and even sext Mark over the near four months period they were going to be apart. After a painful little argument over the phone, Haley had finally accepted that this was going to be the reality, crying a bit after her final conversation with Mark.

If that wasn't bad enough, Haley's parents acted weird towards her all summer. When she first returned home, Haley's mother and father were in shock by their daughter's weight gain. Sure, they had seen that she had been a little softer over the holiday break, but now she was getting seriously chubby. Not wanting to make their daughter insecure, Haley's mother stressed that they shouldn't directly call out their daughter's size, but instead influence her to make healthier choices. Anytime, Haley was home for a meal, they cooked her healthy small portions. Any type of snack was purged from the kitchen cabinets. Finally, Haley's father bought her a membership to a gym in town and encouraged her to go whenever she could.

From Haley's perceptive, she had gotten fed up with being at home with her parents. They had been extra pushy about getting her to eat what they wanted her to eat and go work out when they wanted her to work out. Any chance to get out of the house, Haley took. She had taken a job at a local restaurant as a waitress to get some extra money. Even though it meant that she had to constantly be on her feet, Haley did enjoy the perks of working as a waitress. Since she could get free meals at work, Haley ate as much as she could after her shift ended and then lied to her parents about not having dinner. Whenever Haley's father harped on her to go to the gym, she'd instead borrow his car and go to the nearest fast-food drive-in. She didn't like him constantly telling her what to do, so she did this to spite him. Since her parents didn't have any snacks in the house, Haley bought countless sweets and junk food of her own and snuck them into the house. She hid her prizes in her room, and would constantly sneak snacks late at night and when her parents weren't around.

In the small town that Haley had grown up in, people started to take notice of Haley's figure. Suffice to say, Haley's freshman gain was the top gossip of her graduating high school class. People couldn't believe that the former high school sports star had completely let herself go at college. Sure Haley still was getting invited to get-togethers and parties. However, the majestic prowess Haley had once had in high school to dominate everyone's attention had waned significantly. Haley's former friends now felt empowered to be quite catty to her behind her back. In high school, Haley and her friends had always been a somewhat bitchy group, sometimes even making fun of some of the fatter girls in their class. That summer, her former friends weren't sure if they wanted someone with an ass as fat as Haley's to be hanging around them at the mall, so they often excluded her from their hang out sessions. To everyone, Haley just seemed like she wasn't at all self-aware of the changes that had happened to her body. Frankly, it was weird.

As Haley approached Mark's apartment, she wondered to herself if she would go back home again for the summer next year. Mark was a senior and graduating this year after all. Maybe he'd have some plans post-graduation that she could be a part of.

Haley insistently knocked on Mark's door, anxious to see him. When the door opened, and she saw his face, she jumped to hug him, nearly knocking him over. When the hug broke off, Mark's eye's scanned Haley's lower body and bulged. His jaw nearly fell open, but he kept his composure.

Haley started, "Sweetheart, it's so good to see you. How was.." As Haley reached out to rub Mark's arm, he flinched away.

Befuddled, Haley tried to touch him again, and Mark took a step back, his face grew gloomy.

"Mark!" Haley shouted, half playfully, half concerned, "What's.. " she took a step towards him, and he took a step back. Her face fell, and her voice was pure concern. "Okay. Tell me, right now! What's the hell is wrong?!"

There was a heavy sigh from Mark before he spoke. "Haley.. I'm really sorry.. but we have to.. we have to split up."

All of the wind was sucked out of Haley. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, she couldn't think straight. All that she could do was breathe out a single word. "Why?"

Mark seemed uncomfortable, "can we just.. can you just go. It's not you, it's me. I'm sorry."

The answer was unsatisfying to Haley, who now had tears in her eyes. "Why?!" she said, taking a step towards him.

Mark retreated a step, "I just.. I need my space. I can't be in a relationship."

Haley pressed the attack, sadness turning to anger. "Why!?" she yelled, pressing closer towards Mark. "Why!?" she yelled again, closing the distance. "Why!? Why!? Why!? Wh...."

Running out of patience, Mark frustration with his girlfriend boiled over. "It's because you got fat, okay?!"

Haley froze in her tracks, confused. "Wh.. what?"

"You're fat, Haley. You got fat last semester, and it looks like you got even fatter during the summer. I just can't be with someone I'm not attracted to."

The denial that Haley had had up until this point clung on for dear life, finally confronted. "I'm not.. fat. I'm.. maybe I put on a few pounds.. but.." She was starting to notice how tight her clothes were and how hefty she felt.

"Haley, it's more than a few pounds. You've gotten really big.. I mean, look at the size of your thighs. And that belly.. it's spilling out of your clothes."

Haley took a few steps back, confused and frightened of Mark's words. With each step, she was now hyper-aware of the fat on her body as it jiggled uncontrollably. Her thighs quivered as if they were made of gelatin, her belly bobbled up and down, and ripples ran over her now fat ass.

Haley bit her lip, searching for any sign that all of this was a farce. "You can't do this, Mark. When we last had sex... everything was great then. Just.. let's just go upstairs and.."

"When we last had sex, I took a Viagra." Marks words stung. Haley's mouth was dry, she could sense that there was nothing she could do to change Mark's mind. Her thoughts were crippled by the new reality she was starting to accept.

Mark continued. "And even though you still have a pretty face for a fat girl, there is no way I'd ever do that again. You're even bigger now then you were then, so sorry, but no, we're done. Please leave."

Haley felt like crumpling on the floor, right then. All she could do was weakly protest. "Mark, please. I didn't understand that I had gotten this way. Please, Mark." tears were welling in her eyes.

Her pleas did not affect Mark's final decision. He walked past her to the door and opened it. "We're through, Haley. Please leave." When she didn't move, he threw in an extra jab. "I don't date fat girls."

That sent Haley over the edge. Humiliated, she ran from Mark's house, not looking back. She only managed to make it two blocks before she doubled over, completely exhausted. The extra realization of how out of shape she had let herself get hit hard. She had been a runner for god's sake. Now she could hardly make it break a brisk jog without feeling immediate fatigue. All of it, everything, sucked.

By the time Haley made it home to her dorm, her tears had dried up. Morbidly curious, Haley made a B line for her bedroom mirror. She truly looked at it for the first time in a long time and nearly started crying all over again. Mark had been right. She was a total fatty now. She peeled off her pants and saw just how terribly out of shape her lower half had gotten. Gone were here muscular runner's legs, replaced by massive soft tree trunks. Everything just seemed wider in general. Her hips were caked with fat, her ass had blown up like a balloon, and her belly oozed out of the bottom of her shirt like a hanging sack. Reluctantly, Haley ran her hands over her belly and felt how much they sunk in. Finally acknowledging the existence of this excess fat that she had never had before felt incredibly awkward. The feelings she felt were so foreign and strange to her, yet still, they were all a part of her. The fat was hers, whether she liked it or not.

Haley continued to stand there observing herself, completely awestruck and afraid as to what all of this meant. This semester was already off to a terrible start, and Haley had no idea how she was going to handle this crisis.