While Brad was signing up for the contest, Janet was at the school library, searching for anything that could help her learn more about Vertael. Honestly, she had her doubts that she would find anything useful here, but it didn't hurt to check. The last thing Janet wanted to do was scour the town for information, only to find out later that it was here the whole time.
As she was searching the shelves, Janet couldn't help but think about Vertael and the situation she was in. Why was a demon like Vertael changing her boyfriend into a bodybuilder? What could they gain from that? What was that demon's end game, and what was the catch? Hopefully, some of these books could have some of the answers Janet wanted. She felt that she was partially responsible for all of this, and while she loved the effects it had on Brad's body and muscles if anything bad happened to him, then she could never forgive herself.
Hmm, nothing yet so far that looked like it could be related. Maybe it was time to change her tactics. Maybe instead of looking for more information on Vertael, she should find more information on the tapes themselves. There was an AV club, or whatever they were calling themselves now, at the school. Maybe one of the club members could help her out.
Hmmm? Wait, could this be it?
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Later on, Brad headed to the weight room during his gym period. It was a free day today, so after a warm-up and a run, everyone was able to do what they wanted, provided they were exercising, of course. Anyway, Brad wasn't going to the weight room to work out. He was already planning to hit the gym with his dad after school, after all. Didn't want to over-exercise, but Brad did want to check out the competition. While he already knew that Doug was going to be his biggest rival, Brad wanted to see who else was participating. In fact, for some reason, he was excited about seeing the guys he was going to be competing against.
Unfortunately, once he entered the weight room, he found that the only person there was Doug. Great. Of course, he would be the only one here. He must have scared everyone else off, or no one wanted to work out with Doug in the same room. Not wanting to deal with Doug's shit twice in one day, Brad was about to leave, but then he got distracted. He had noticed that Doug was shirtless and covered in a layer of sweat. The way his biceps bulged as he curled...
"What?! You again? Isn't seeing you once enough for a week?" Crap, Doug noticed him. Maybe it would be better to ignore Doug and just leave, but Brad couldn't just take an insult like that.
"I could say the same thing about you. It's my PE period too. I'm allowed here as much as you are." Brad retorted, apparently forgetting about why he was distracted before.
"Tch, and that's where's your wrong. This place is for people who want to get stronger because they want to. Not so that his girlfriend will continue to suck his dick." Okay, that one hurt. Mainly because that statement was true, so he couldn't refute it. "In fact, why don't you spot me. I'll show you some real muscle."
"You know what. Fine, I'll do it." Brad might not be able to deny the reason why he decided to muscle up in the first place, but he was going to prove he wanted to get stronger because he loved how he looked and felt. After Doug had his turn, Brad was going to show that he wanted to compete because he wanted to be stronger. After Doug was done, Brad was going to switch places with him and... Wait, no, this was a bad idea. Brad did not trust Doug to spot him. In fact, he expected Doug to just drop the bar onto his neck. Damn, looks like Brad's plan wasn't going to work, but he already agreed to spot Doug.
Begrudgingly, Brad approached the weight bench where Doug was loading up the plates. Brad estimated there were around 250 lbs on that bar, maybe 265 lbs? It was impressive, but let's see if Doug could lift that. Brad got into position and watch in disappointment that the other man was lifting the heavy weight. Although that disappointment quickly morphed into a feeling of distraction. It was Doug's pecs that drew Brad's attention. Those damn pecs! He thought they looked good before, but damn, did they look good pumped. Sure, they were a bit untoned, but that didn't detract from how beefy they were.
Once again, though, before Brad could process what he was thinking, he was interrupted by Doug finishing his reps.
"Ah, that felt good. You see that? That's why I'm going to win the competition. Not you, puss-boy. Hell, I might even win Janet back from you." Brad gritted his teeth when he heard that. It took all his willpower not to start a fight with him. The last thing he wanted to do was get removed from the competition, after all. Still, Brad moved closer to Doug to give him a piece of his mind.
"Listen, you can insult me all you want, but keep Janet out of this! I'm your opponent, and I'm going to wipe the floor with you. Just wait!"
"Heh, I'll admit you'll might be able to get third, maybe second if you try really hard, but second place is still for losers."
"Sorry, the only loser is going to be you meathead!"
...Wait a minute. Since when were the two of them standing so close to each other? They were so close, they could feel the other's breath on their face. Both of them should have moved away, but the two men were attracted to each other like a magnet. Neither of them remembered who made the first move, but before they knew it, the two were making out. Brad was shocked at what he was doing. He shouldn't be doing this especially with Douglas, of all people! But the rational part of his brain was quickly getting burried under the feelings of lust he was suddenly feeling.
After what seemed like forever, Doug was the first one to come to his senses and quickly pushed Brad to the ground and then pivoted to the exit. The stockier athelte only looked back once to yell at the other man.
"T-This didn't happen!" before running out of the room and leaving Brad on the floor. There Brad was silently wondering what had just happend.