Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* Starting Weight: 9 stone 2 lbs

Charlotte had been working at the supermarket for about 5 weeks now. She was 19 years old with a pretty face, dark hair, a friendly demeanor, and plenty of confidence. She hoped her very first job would help her meet new people as well as try to find a long-lasting relationship with a man. The store had plenty of people working there around her age, but most of them were already in long-term relationships, and no one was really all that social. She had hoped this job would help her meet someone special, but she was starting to think it wasn't working out.
Charlotte had just finished college and worked part-time on the checkouts. She neither liked nor hated the job; she just turned up and got on with the work like most people there. She lived at home with her mum, who was always on her back to find a man. Charlotte couldn't help feeling pretty lonely while all her friends had boyfriends of their own.
One day, Charlotte's shifts changed. She no longer worked mostly morning shifts and instead took on evenings. She sat there on the till, realizing how quiet the store became during that time of day. It was just coming up to 8:00 PM, and while Charlotte sat at her empty checkout serving no one, the night staff walked in ready to swipe in and get to work. That was when Charlotte saw a guy in the store's uniform walk through the doors. She instantly felt attracted to him-he was good-looking, with brown hair and an average, athletic build. She stared right at him as he walked past. He glanced at her slightly with a half-smile, looked down at the floor, and carried on walking. For the next two hours of her shift, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She wanted to know his name and whether he was single.
When it got to around 10:00 PM, the store's closing time, Charlotte got off the till and spoke to Allison, the checkout manager, who was finishing up paperwork.
"Who was that young guy who walked in with the night staff?" Charlotte asked, trying to dig for information.
"Oh, you mean Ben? He works night shifts at the moment. He's a nice guy, 24, a bit shy," Allison replied.
Charlotte wanted to ask if he was single, but didn't want to make it too obvious. She turned around to go swipe out since her shift was over, but Allison added, "He's single, if you're interested."
Charlotte smiled as she turned back around, trying to act innocent and pretend she wasn't digging. She said goodbye to her boss and swiped out. As she walked to the locker room from the shop floor, she passed the aisles trying to catch another glimpse of him. When she reached the drinks aisle, she saw him working down there, stocking shelves. She debated walking down the aisle to get his attention, but worried she would look desperate or obvious, so she took a different route instead. Charlotte swiped out, left the store, and walked home, still thinking about Ben and the smile he had given her. She finally had a reason-other than earning money-to look forward to going to work: seeing him again.
When she got home, she had dinner, went up to her bedroom, and pulled out her phone to search for Ben on Facebook. She found his profile, looked through his photos, and found herself even more attracted to him. His profile confirmed that he was single.
She went to work the next day hoping to see him, but after checking the rota, she was gutted to find it was his day off. Looking ahead at the schedule, she saw that Friday would be the next time they were both working at the same time.
Friday evening arrived. Charlotte sat on the tills looking outside, and sure enough, she spotted him parking his car and walking into the building. She watched him pass by, disappointed that he hadn't noticed her. Half an hour later, Charlotte went on her break. She got up from the checkouts, headed toward the drinks aisle, took a deep breath, and walked down.
Ben looked up, saw her, and gave her a smile. Charlotte smiled back, offering a bright, "Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. You're new here, right?" he asked.
It was just small talk, but she loved talking to him, even though he seemed a bit awkward because he was technically supposed to be working. The pair chatted for four minutes, with Charlotte mentioning she had just finished college and started working there. They joked about how tough it was to work at the store before Ben ended the conversation, saying it was nice to meet her and that he had to get back to work.
Charlotte finished her break and headed back to the tills, replaying the conversation in her mind. Near closing time, Allison came over to her till with a cheeky smile.
"I saw you having a chat with Ben," Allison said.
Charlotte smiled shyly back. "Yeah, he seems like a nice guy. I was sort of hoping he might ask me out."
"Well, I'm not sure you're his type," Allison said, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening.
Charlotte was shocked. "Why? What is his type?" she asked, her face falling.
"Well, I think he likes bigger girls. I've seen him have three girlfriends, and each one was chubby. He won't admit to it, but he definitely likes a girl with curves."
Charlotte didn't know how to react. The guy she liked didn't seem interested in her because she was too thin and didn't have the size for him. She got off the till to swipe out, and as she did, Ben walked past. He just offered a quick smile without saying anything, leaving her completely gutted. She left work, went straight home to her bedroom, and sat on the edge of the bed scratching her head. Being rejected for not being fat? It completely confused her. She went to bed, but struggled to fall asleep.
Hours passed, and sleep refused to come. She really liked Ben and wanted to go out on a date with him. She kept looking at his Facebook pictures, wishing he would ask her out.
Then an idea crept into her mind. Why don't I just put on weight? she asked herself. She had been pretty slim all her life, but she no longer had college or sports to keep her busy, and she had never experienced being overweight or pigging out on junk food. She had heard men like a girl with curves, and she didn't really have any to show off. She wondered if what Allison said was true, though she couldn't exactly ask Ben without exposing her intentions.
Right then, Charlotte made a decision: she was going to put on weight to find out once and for all if Ben really liked a bigger girl. If he didn't, she could always just lose it again. It was the ultimate excuse to let herself go, eat whatever she liked, and experience what it was like to get big. This was the start of her weight gain journey.