The second day, Neil decided he was going to go to the gym. He entered the front door dressed in a white tank top and shorts, shifting awkwardly in place before walking in as confident as he could manage. He didn't know if he was going to see the typical squad here today, but he decided that he just didn't care. He wasn't going to let them affect his fitness and willingness to hit the gym any more.
He had two reasons for this. The first was because he knew it would impress Sandra. She was an exceedingly attractive young woman who just...blew Neil away. He remembered going back to the dorm and talking to some of the other guys about her, and he could tell they were getting rather annoyed by how much Neil went on and on about Sandra. Gabe Wysen even said that she could not possibly be as hot as he was building her up to be.
But Neil was confident in that.
The second reason was because he was tired of guys like Bradley just treating him like he was a lodestone. He knew what that "fine" really said. That he considered helping Neil to be a burden. And Neil had decided he was not going to let people perceive him that way any more. Matt had picked on him long enough that he wasn't gonna let himself be the small guy in the room any more. Not that he had any reason to know or believe that such a thing might change any time soon.
There was however something Neil had noticed just before he left for the gym that day. It had been after classes, and he was stocking his gym bag with a gallon jug of water, a pre-workout he'd selected, and some new workout gloves. He'd just taken his shirt off to put on a new one for the gym when he saw it.
"It" being something that made Neil tilt his head at his reflection. His chest looked more defined than usual. Definitely more defined. His shoulders looked slightly more rounded, the muscular parts to his shoulders standing out all the more.
His biceps seemed to produce a bit more of a bulge at the head, and he could even see some tricep development.
Whereas Neil's stomach before had just been pasty, white, featureless and basically "skinny-fat", today Neil could see his stomach looked tight, strong, toned and with a few hints at tone to come. He prodded at the side of his stomach, "...Never saw anything like that before..." He looked down and saw that his glutes looked slightly fuller and tighter too, and there was more substance to his legs and calves. "Ahh...I-I think these beginner gains are kinda crazy!" He'd said, right before nodding and getting ready for the gym.
So now here he was ready for his next day in the gym.
He went ahead to the treadmills for a warm up after checking in and being told Bradley would be seeing him "shortly". Neil breathed and got ready in case he needed to stop it to catch his breath...but as he got the treadmill started he was surprisingly feeling like the level that had previously knocked the wind out of him when he tried it before was actually...kind of manageable now. It was giving him a lot better a feeling than he usually felt.
"I-I dunno how...but I like this!" Neil said with a beaming smile.
He found himself starting to carry his posture differently. His arms, usually slumped forward, pulled backward, his chest usually pulled together began to spread, shoulders wide and his movement with his legs went from narrow to shoulder width. It was somewhat amazing what a simple change of posture would be able to do for Neil. He honestly started to feel...better. Almost a sense of better confidence just from changing up his posture!
"Alright man, you ready for day two?" The loud, masculine voice rang out and Neil realized before long as he looked down he'd gone for 6 minutes and 35 seconds. Whereas before, he found it a challenge just to get to 5 minutes flat on that level. He shook with exultation and glee, eagerly bounding off of the treadmill;
"Yeah! Yes! I am!" Neil almost led the way into the weight room, a rather weirded out looking Bradley shrugging and figuring that Neil just...found his mental space for this. Though as Neil got a better look, and the two set up first for some dumbbell chest press, Neil realized that just as much as he was looking better today, it seemed the same applied to Bradley. But in a different way still - he looked more moisturized, muscles looking more pumped and powerful in a certain way. Like he'd not only been lifting more, but using some...additional candy, so to speak.
Neil almost couldn't believe a guy like Bradley even could get better looking than he was already. But that was the basic truth. The guy who'd started off as just a huge, muscled personal trainer type was now looking more and more like he was readying himself for some kind of competition. Neil didn't know what yet, but the look was really impressive. He'd been a bodybuilder already, but it was clear he was probably getting serious.
"Alright, enough mirin," Bradley said with a teasing tone, "If you wanna get more like me and bring in the chicks, you gotta put in the work."
"...Yeah, you're right man!" And with that Neil started doing the weight that had made him struggle the previous day...and found that while it was still a good pump, the weight just wasn't as overwhelming as he found it the prior day. He was handling it so much better!
"There's the form you were lacking yesterday!" Bradley started actually encouraging him! "Yeah, all the way down all the way up, you can do it - now let's bump up the weight here!"
Neil gulped when Bradley said that and brought out a new weight that was about 12.5 lbs heavier than his last...but rather than run away or give up, Neil went ahead and started pushing himself to do it. He knew there was a hot girl who was showing him a preponderous and strangely enticing amount of attraction, and he didn't want to give her any reason to look past him at anyone else. Especially not back at fucking Matt!
"Grrrr....aaaaaaaaargh...fuuuuuck me!" Neil had never made noises like that in the gym before, but here he was - grunting and groaning and gritting his teeth like a minted gymbro pushing a heavy weight. He didn't even realize how many reps he was going for, but he just kept going until Bradley would tell him to stop. He couldn't let himself end this too soon. He knew that the old Neil would've tapped out by now - and that wasn't how he wanted to be any more!
"And that's twelve fucking reps! Nice!" Bradley helped him set the weights down, helped him up, and clapped him on the shoulder, "Whoah! And where was all this motivation just yesterday?"
"I uhhh...I just...I guess I needed to find it in myself!" Neil said with a dorky smile, deliberately putting on as much of the gymbro energy as he could in that line. He didn't know how genuine it was, but it felt good to just...say something like that. Maybe...he thought, maybe Sandra would go out with me if I just got even more swole? Proved I could keep all my school work going AND smash it in the gym. I gotta keep going!
Neil had no idea what he was setting himself up for, but he figured he was just going to keep his gains going. Not that he really believed he COULD have just put on noticeable amounts of muscle so quickly. It was after all as far as he knew with his understanding of science physically impossible. It would HAVE to be magical!
As the workout went on, and Neil found himself starting to do a heavier bench press than he thought he might be able to do, he saw the typical squad walking in. And immediately, as soon as Matt saw that Neil was in the gym again, his mood seemed to sour. He started pacing back and forth and---was that dude chewing his fucking fingernail? Still, Neil didn't break too much of his focus. After he saw that he diverted entirely back on to his workout.
Gotta build me some more muscle!
Neil found himself actually leading forward after bench was done right over to shoulders. Doing some barbell shoulder press, Neil didn't know if he was going to be able to put on a similar amount of definition and size like this morning...if that was what he was seeing. He hadn't weighed himself. But if there was any chance, on some hitherto unknown capacity, he---he wanted it. He really wanted it. Not that he knew what "it" was at this rate.
It was after all just his second day.
But Neil really truly was getting into the spirit of things at least for now.
---------------
Matt Brooks was nothing if not frustrated.
Not only did Sandra blow him off - him! - and he had to go and get a "condolence fuck" from one of his many hook ups, but she was really, truly it seemed interested for whatever reason in the fitness of that nerdy bitch Neil Booth. Booth just pissed Matt off on every conceivable level. The guy was not only showing Matt up in the classes he had to take because for whatever reason the coach refused his folks' offers to "smooth things over" with the teachers, but he made it look so goddamned effortless.
And nobody but nobody made Matt Brooks look bad in ANYTHING. Even in things he was honestly kinda bad at.
"Dude, did you just bite your fingernail?" Brock casually asked, and Matt wondered if there was something up with Medina's steroid stash. Whatever he was doing it was making him look older. Not by much. But the effect was definitely visible. But even still, Medina looked definitely roided up and impressive. In fact, Matt swore that he was looking like his muscles had muscles - like there were places he was toned Matt didn't even know someone could BE toned.
But still.
The oddball older look was definitely not a good one. Matt didn't even think twice on why he was evaluating his friends in such a way. He just figured it was part and parcel of his place in the school.
He decided he was just going to...to try and ignore the nerdy half-weight and let him make as much of a show as he wanted. At the end of the day, the Sandras of the world didn't care for the wimpy little Neils of the world. They cared... Matt thought as he pumped iron, watching his arms flex as he roughly hit some hammer curls... for the big, buff, sexy and gorgeous Matts of the world!
Another thing Matt hadn't even noticed. As handsome as he was before, and he was a handsome, hot fucker usually...but he was looking really good today. Something seemed to really make him look good. Though it seemed it might be his lack of stubble. He hadn't even needed to shave that morning! Usually, Matt had to shave to make himself look good when he inevitably swaggered around the campus with his awesome, fit group of friends and went to parties.
But today it seemed something was removing that necessity. So Matt could just be the effortless, hot guy he knew he always was. He beamed at his reflection. Today it seemed he was really feeling how much he liked himself.
"Dude," Lucas Peyton spoke up as he started his own workout, "You're really preening hard today bro."
"I got a lot to preen about!" Matt jovially responded, "If you're gonna get on MY case about it, Mr. "I love my abs", I'm gonna tell you to fuck off, bro." He didn't exactly include any hostility in that this time, though he meant it.
"Yeah yeah, you got a point." Lucas readily flexed for the mirror as he, Brock and Matt went about their usual fitness routines. Matt did find himself wondering as he looked at Lucas if the guy was starting to grow his hair back out - and it seemed that he looked more tan than usual. Was he getting ready for some kind of thing? Matt wondered if he and Bradley might end up rivals...nah. It seemed both were aiming for different sorts of body types.
Still, Matt wondered about how much Lucas tanned, and whether it was just him noticing these things now when they became really...obvious. Well, he saw nothing to really get upset over. After all, they were feeling amazing today. And Matt in particular was looking forward to trying his luck again with Sandra as soon as she arrived there. Surely she just needed to see for herself how great he was looking and feeling today to see how Neil was smallfry compared to him.
Matt found himself thinking again about his usual line of attack on Neil, I bet he's actually muscling up cuz he wants to impress ME. Bet the gay boy thinks I'm heteroflexible or whatever. Fucking hell, I bet he's really gonna try and go for it. I bet he's gonna try and make some sorta gay move on me today. Or tomorrow. Or whenever! Well, I'm gonna tell the fucker how things are in that case!
Matt felt so sure, so confident, so eager to undertake his "plan" he didn't even notice Sandra watching from outside the weight room. Seeing him and the still exercising Neil - and the smile that lit up her face as she contemplated her next move.