Leo walked around the weight room, looking for his father in a bit of a daze. Every time he looked at a machine or weight, new information on how to exercise and lift properly flooded his mind. It made sense as he needed to build up his strength, especially if there wasn't a pool available for him to swim in. Man, all of this was just so surreal. He was just a kid this morning, but then he grew up, got so big and strong, and even got a girlfriend. Leo should have been more freaked out about this. Kids don't just grow up in the blink of an eye... Well, not literally, but perhaps it was because of his new adult brain that he instead felt excited about all of this.
Soon, another distraction stopped Leo from the search for his Dad. A gym mirror. It gave him a better look at his new appearance than the gym window, so the swimmer couldn't help but examine himself in it. The first thing he noticed was how much he looked like his Dad. Obviously, there were key differences like his eyes and the fact that he was younger, but the resemblance shocked him. Then his focus shifted over to his body. Even when wearing a shirt, he could tell how nice his body looked. The way his arms looked in a short-sleeve shirt, the way his pecs stuck out. But he could do better than this; he needed to do better than this if he wanted to get into the Olympics. Jason Lezak was 6'4 and over 200 pounds; Phelps wasn't that far behind either. He needed to get bigger! Stronger! And maybe not just for swimming either.
Wait, no! Now was not the time to get distracted! He needed to find his father; however, when he turned to resume the search, he ran into another distraction, literally. Leo had run into another man with enough force to make both of them fall to the floor, their belongings scattered across the floor.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" apologized the other man. He was a tall but scrawny young man. Probably around Leo's new age. Yet despite that, Leo noted that he was wearing a tank top. If he had to guess, the man in front of him was at the gym trying to build some muscle.
"No, I should be the one who's sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," the swimmer then picked up a water bottle that was not his and handed it to the other man. "This yours?"
"Yeah, it is, thanks. My name is Neil, by the way," Neil was a bit surprised. This man looked like another jock, but he seemed nice. If anything, it was a nice change of pace from Matt and his gang of jock bros. "So, I haven't seen you before. Is this your first time coming here?"
"My name is Leonardo, but please call me Leo. And yeah, this is my first time here. I'm a swimmer, and I heard the pool was pretty good, and it was close to home too." Once again, Leo's new brain filled in the answers for him, though he did leave out that his father also came here to burn some fat.
"Oh, really? Well, I hope you enjoy coming here then." The two young men then finished picking up their stuff. It was nice meeting Neil, but Leo really needed to go find his father. Actually, now that he thought of it, if Neil was working out here, maybe he'd seen his father.
"Yeah, oh, by the way, I'm looking for my Dad. Have you seen him? He looks like me, but older and a little taller. Oh, and he has a bit of a gut too." Neil closed his eyes to try and recall if he had seen someone of that description before. To his surprise, he actually did remember seeing someone like that.
"Yeah, I think I saw him working out with one of my professors. I believe I last saw them heading to the basketball courts over there." The college student pointed to a pair of double doors near the back of the weight room.
"Really? Thanks, man."
"No problem, anyway, I have to get going. I'll see you around, I guess?" The two of them said their goodbyes. However, when he decided to double-check his stuff, he realized he had an extra pair of earbuds. Damn it, Leo must have picked it up by mistake! He turned to see if Neil hadn't left yet, but he was gone. Well, at least Leo knew where to find Neil, so he could return it to him later. Right now, he needed to go to the basketball courts.
Once he arrived, Leo quickly managed to spot his father from the crowd. That man that his father was with, he recognized him. He was his Dad's friend that would sometimes visit Leo and his father. The professor would do things like give Leo gifts for his birthday and ask Leo to call him "Uncle Luis." Strangely though, any memories the swimmer may have gained about Luis from growing were a bit fuzzy.
As he walked closer to where his Dad was, Leo couldn't help but notice that his Dad was looking different. His gut seemed to be smaller than it was before, and that wasn't because Leo was bigger now. Stefan's Arms also seem more muscular than they were before, as well. Not to mention, did he seem younger?
This made Leo worry. What if his father didn't recognize him? Were they even father and son anymore? With each step Leo took, more and more dread filled him. He was afraid to find out the answers to his questions.