chapter 1

"I'd suggest pizza, but I'm trying to go on a diet." Cameron grins sheepishly as Alice's eyes instantly shoot down to her stomach, seeking out the tiny roll of pudge that is trying to poke its way out from under her sweater. Cameron puts her hand over it self-consciously and Alice rolls her eyes. "Fine, /don't/ get pizza at a pizza place, then."

It's no surprise when Cameron orders pizza despite her earlier statement, though Alice does raise her eyebrows a little when Cameron orders an entire one for herself. It's fine, though, she can start dieting tomorrow. She knows the drill.

Ever since the freshman fifteen, Cameron has had trouble keeping her weight down to her skinny high school build. The freshman fifteen was more like twenty for her, so when she worked it off, she was still left with about five pounds that refused to budge.

And then she got a little lazy in the following years, to the point where she's gained those twenty pounds all back. And maybe a little more. Cameron doesn't know; she's ashamed to weigh herself, but she does know that her favorite jeans are getting harder to button. Like right now, they're digging into her stomach. She exhales and feels the extra fat on her stomach push against her waistband, telling her she's starting to get chubby.

It's more noticeable when she sits down, though, so when she gets up from lunch, it slips her mind.

Three weeks later, and Cameron decides this time she's /really/ going to start her diet. Her favorite jeans have gone from snug to tight. She has to suck in her tummy when she buttons them and when she releases, it spills over the top of her pants. It's not /too/ bad, but it makes it harder to breathe and when Cameron puts on her sweater, the tiniest little bit of chub hangs out the bottom. She pinches it between her fingers, then pokes her stomach, cheeks going pink when she feels how far her finger goes in. The muffin top isn't helping her case, either. Cameron refuses to think that she's getting out of shape, but it's getting harder to ignore the facts.

Another month goes by and Cameron still hasn't worked out or started cutting back on food. Her problem is realized in full when she tries to pull on her favorite jeans. Key word being /try./ On her first attempt, they don't button, even when she sucks in. This isn't the first time this has happened, though, and so she gives it another try. Still, no luck. Five tries later and she hikes her pants up higher, sucking her tummy in as much as she can, straining the flaps of her pants as she forces the button together. When she finally gets her jeans closed, she's panting hard, stomach pressing hard against her pants with every breath. "Fuck," she gasps out, and then it's time to zip her tummy in. It doesn't want to go, and when it does, Cameron is feeling like she might really be getting a bit of a belly. It's hard to call taking ten minutes to button her pants 'no big deal'. But when Cameron slips her sweater on and sees that her stomach isn't that much more visible than it was a couple weeks ago, she shrugs and decides to worry about it later. No one has commented on her weight gain yet, so she must be overthinking it.

Cameron spoke too soon. The second she sits down to lunch with Alice, her stomach gets way more obvious, like it's trying to punish her for shoving it into these jeans. She shifts uncomfortably, sucking in a deep breath and tugging her sweater back down to cover the pale strip of skin that was exposed. Sitting down like this, Cameron's thighs feel like they're about to split the seams on her jeans. Her ass is angry, too, begging Cameron to get into something with a little more give. But it's too late. She's here in public and Alice is watching her quietly. It's not like she can just unbutton her jeans, or turn around and go home so that she can change into sweatpants.

Alice's voice cuts through her thoughts and settles like ice in her veins. "Hey, Cameron, didn't say you were going on a diet?" Blunt as always, that's Alice. Cameron's cheeks go pinker than they already were and she averts her gaze.

"Yeah, why?"

"I dunno, I just thought you were trying to lose weight, but it looks like you gained some."

Her cheeks are on fire. "Uh, yeah, well..." Cameron trails off, swallowing hard. She shifts in her seat and takes in a deep breath, feeling it swell against her waistband and making her even more uncomfortable.

"I guess," she admits after a second. "Maybe I gained a couple pounds. But it's fine, it's not like I'm getting fat or anything." She laughs nervously after, praying Alice will agree. There's a voice in the back of Cameron's mind telling her to stop lying to herself.

"Not fat," Alice agrees, "Just chubby."

Well, that's not the best outcome she could've hoped for. "You think I'm getting chubby?" she squeaks, then lowers her voice, crossing her arms over her belly to try and hide it. She should've brought a jacket to cover up with.

"Aren't you?" Alice asks, eyebrows pinching together in a slightly confused way that is so genuine that Cameron can't deny it any longer.

"Maybe a little."

Alice nods, changes the topic, but Cameron doesn't miss the way her eyes linger on the bulging fat at her midsection. She sucks in self-consciously, but only regrets it when she breathes out and feels the way her stomach strains against her waistband.

She orders a Caesar salad and a diet coke, except it doesn't leave her feeling full. Ugh. Clearly, she's going to have to wean off this appetite of her. On her walk home, she stops in at a fast food place and gets a burger and a chocolate shake, but decides against fries. That's better. She has to start small, right?

The only problem with this diet method is that it isn't very reliable. Cameron takes walks, drinks more water, cuts back on the occasional dessert, but that's about it. She goes for a jog a couple times, but always rewards herself afterwards with a big meal.

And so it catches up to her. Those too-tight pants? They're getting tighter. Her friend Alicia notices, slaps her ass and laughs when she blushes, tells her she's getting pretty 'thicc'. Cameron appreciates the compliment, but then wonders if it's just a nice way of telling her that she's getting fat.

One day her pants literally don't fit. But that's okay, she has other pants. It's only really bad when her biggest pair of jeans (her "fat day" jeans, a whole size larger) are getting too small on her. She's started to get a little bit of a jiggle in her belly when she walks and it's only made worse when she forces her chub into her tight, tight jeans.

At this point, she's stopped wearing button-downs entirely. She can never seem to get the bottom buttons to stay shut. It's oversized sweaters all the way. Luckily, it's winter now and she can get away with this. If her shirt rides up and someone jokes about her getting fat, she calls it winter weight. Everyone gets a little of that.

The final bit of denial that Cameron has been clinging to goes out the window when the day comes that she can't button her fat day pants. It's after a delicious breakfast of pancakes (ten, actually).

She sucks it in to no avail, so then she lies back on her bed and wiggles the denim up over her legs. She makes it up to her thighs, then it's all forcing. But she's practiced at this, so she shimmies the right way and gets the pants up her thighs, then an extra tug and they're over her ass. She's heavy breathing by the time she's approaching her stomach. It's full, but not all the way, and so she can manage to suck it in until her fingers force the button together. Cameron thinks she might explode out of her pants, lying there staring at the ceiling, panting as she feels her stomach rise, fall, rise, fall against her straining waistband.

The zipper doesn't go up. Cameron tries and she tries but it doesn't go up. Her stomach is too fucking big. She's about to be late for work, but she can't go in like this. So she puts on her best congested voice and calls in sick to work.

She has to deal with this today, and she does that by first putting on some sweatpants. Thank god. It was impossible to breathe in those jeans. And then she drives to Target to buy two pairs of jeans in the next size up. She can't make eye contact with the cashier as she checks out.

But when she gets home and puts on her new pants, only to find they fit, but are still tight, it's time to face facts: Cameron has gotten fat.

----

Cameron eyes her shirtless body in the mirror. Her boobs have gained some cuppage, which is nice. They're much rounder than they were before, filling out her bra like it's a pushup. Alice will like that when she gets back from visiting her family. Her ass, too. Plump and jiggly.

Then it's the stomach. See, this is where she's having an issue. It's /big./ Even empty, it puffs up at her waistband and sags over the front of her jeans. She sneezes suddenly, and then catches sight of it in the mirror. Oh. Cameron wants to see that again. She grabs her stomach with both hands and jiggles it gently. Feels kinda nice. Warm. Soft. If she puts on a loose shirt, no one can even see it. It's just her cozy little secret.