Chapter 8 - 5-2

'Wow- I almost didn't recognize ya man!' Jim called as he drove up next to Ben on the side of the road. If Ben was the one in the car he probably would have thought he was a funny sight. A miserable looking borderline obese dude with far too tight clothes desperately trying to keep his shirt pulled over the curve of his pale gut, a small pile of athletic and living gear splayed out next to him.


Jim hopped out of his sedan and shuffled towards the dejected looking young man. 'Hey I'm sorry dude I didn't want to make you feel bad, it's just- there's so much, more-' Jim went red and looked away. Ben grunted and started shoving his belongings into his roomates back seat. 'I get it man.' Ben said flatly. He turned to Jim and did his best to smile. 'Thanks for picking my fat ass up.' Jim winced as he tried to comfort his longtime friend. 'You're not like, fat, fat dude... But you caught up to me pretty quick..." Ben flashed him a glare as he continued his task. Every movement caused his skin tight shirt to ride up further and further, his jiggling orb of gluttony on full display to the students nearby. Flushed red and covered with sweat Ben flopped into his friends Civic with the last of his energy, panting while crossing his hands across his heaving stomach. Jim turned the ignition but paused before shifting into drive. He leered over carefully.


"So... how much has it turned into..."


Ben looked to his buddy, a look of concern earnest across his face. He figured he would give it to him straight. He looked down at the roll of fat protruding out from his shirt. He pinched it and jiggled it, the feeling of looseness still so surreal.


"55 pounds." Ben put flatly. "I'm up to 190." Jim just whistled. "The semester started like 4 months ago man, that's close to 15 pounds a month!" Ben frowned. He mumbled weakly, "I know..." Jim scoffed, incredulous. "Ya gonna blow up into a freaking balloon at this rate man!" Ben folded his arms across his soft chest and glared forward. 'I know.' Jim continued on unabated. 'Like, you of all people, you were such a twig!"


Ben lost his patience.


"I know alright! I've eaten more over the last few months than some entire years!" Ben flung up his hands in dismay. "I've been cursed or something, I have no idea! I just can't seem to ever, EVER get full. I just feel starving all the time! It's crazy!" Silence followed as Ben crossed his arms once more, still getting used to resting his hands on his newfound roundness. At that moment the both of them heard the thunder like grumblings of Ben's belly. At this point Ben tried his best to ignore it for as long as he could, knowing he would eventually be overpowered and binge again later anyway. This only made him more upset, Ben lamented. "It's ruined everything! My grades, my fitness, and Sarah... And the worst part is that people think I just can't control myself.."


The both of them got quiet as they drove back to the dorms. Ben's grumbling belly was the only thing to break the silence, the growling slowly growing louder. Jim took a different route it seemed to Ben, and before long the strained Honda pulled up into what looked like a shopping center. Ben looked to Jim quizzically.


Jim sighed and gave Jim's protruding paunch a jab. "I know you're feelin down, but we can't have you walking around all exposed everywhere. We got to get you some clothes!" Ben's face turned crimson as he scratched his head nervously. "Well the thing about that is... Sarah bought me all my clothes, I only have money in campus dollars." Ben looked ashamed. Jim clasped his friend's shoulder and gave him a reassuring look. "That's ok man, I'm here for you in your hour of need. I won't turn and run like that coward Ray Allen to the Heat.." Ben did his best to ignore the irrelevant sports analogy, and felt really relieved. The fact that his good friend was really going out of the way like this meant alot.


The two strode to the center of the center. Ben walked awkwardly, his added pounds were starting to affect his gait. Carrying around a new belly was hard enough, but the incessant shaking and jiggling of his jello like ass, thighs, and especially moobs added a whole new difficulty to the equation. The walk was further than Ben had realized, and by the time the pair reached their destination Ben's feet were starting to hurt, and the inside of his thighs were starting to chafe.


"Here we are!" Jim said brightly, "your personal style experts." Ben looked up, unsurprised but a bit reluctant. Jim sensed his friends discomfort. "Hey, I know Goodwill isn't Adidas, but I'm not made of money either!" Ben nodded and thanked Jim once more as he shuffled inside. It was beginning to dawn on Ben just how much losing Sarah would hurt. She dressed him, and helped him in so many different ways. Now he was going to be fat, drab, and poorer than ever.


"Try on a few different pants and shirts, I'll be checking out the weird trade-in section." Ben nodded as his friend went to the odds and ends of the store. Ben looked around at the pants first, and grabbed a few pairs that didn't look overly terrible. This was an odd feeling for Ben. The only way he had outgrown clothes in the past was when he was still getting taller. He had never gotten too fat for a pair of pants in his life, it felt incredibly embarrassing. Since he had outgrown size 30's Ben figured a 32, or at worst a pair of 34's would do the trick. He took his selections to the changing room, along with a 36 for laughs, and peeled off the tight 30's that constrained him. His belly surged forward, and Ben rubbed all his soft parts that had been so cruelly constrained earlier. Red marks dotted his waist and sides, outlining his clothes many seams and buttons.


Trying to ignore the image of the increasingly corpulent image of himself in the mirror Ben slid the pair of 32's up slowly. Alarmingly he found he needed to tug the slacks up around his rear with force, the fabric seemingly reluctant to go up any further. After finally getting them up Ben tried getting the button, but much to his dismay the two sides were not even close to meeting, pale flesh separated the two buy more than an inch. Beads of sweat reached his brow as Ben struggled again and again with the pants. Grunting unhappily he rested his hands on his hips in resignation. Ben was incredulous, just how fat had he gotten? He stared ahead, looking at himself. Even in these 32's his gut still prominently popped over the waist, a big ball of dough that was increasingly getting in the way.


Realizing he still needed to properly clothe himself Ben tried the 34's with a growing sense of panic. They slid up far more easily, but still felt a bit snug around the middle. Ben's frown deepened. The button technically clasped, and he could get away with it but deep down he knew in a week these would be too tight. His thighs and ass already seemed to strain the seams. With resignation Ben slid on the 36's, and with relief found they fit just fine. Ben picked up a couple more pairs of 36's, baggy shirts, some underwear, and reluctantly grabbed one pair of 40's in case of an emergency. With luck they got the total under the 20 dollars Jim had left. As they left and headed to the car Jim tried talking up his long time friend, telling him that he would get over this thing soon enough, that Sarah was a total bitch, and that the Bronco's would definetly win the Superbowl this year. Ben tried to appear as receptive as possible, and hearing Jim wish that anyone but the Patriots would win the Superbowl really showed Ben that he cared, but it wasn't enough. Each moob jiggle, each step his meaty ass cheeks wobbled back and forth, each bounce of his belly, each chafing thigh only reminded Ben of the predicament he was in, and that he wasn't any closer to getting out of it.