The three teens and the man sat at the abandoned gas station. Dave and Ross drank, smoked, and made raunchy jokes. Will was content to sit by, smoking his cigars and he made sure they all were reminded constantly how masculine and adult he now was. Sasha just sat by, taking it in. Her bottle of beer sat at her feet, unopened. Jake's pleads ringed through her head. She stared at Will, or the man who claimed to be Will. The situation was so impossible, yet here was some pretty damn convincing proof. She swore if Will came out from behind some bushes with a camera crew she was going to murder him.
Will glanced over at Sasha. He smirked and swaggered over to her, cigar in hand, the smoke tailing behind him. He sat next to her, smirking cockily.
"You've been quiet," said Will, sidling up to her.
Sasha looked away uncomfortable. "Not much to say, I guess."
Will shrugged. "A lot to take in?"
"Just weird is all," Sasha replied. "Not something that really happens that often, your boyfriend suddenly aging a decade or so."
"No," said Will. He put an arm around Sasha and drew her close. "But, we can take advantage of that. What say I show you what a real man can do..."
Sasha suddenly ripped herself out of Will's arm and put several feet of distance between them. "Hold the fuck up!" she shouted.
Will, stunned, merely stood there wide-eyed. "What?" he asked.
"Did you seriously just fucking ask me that?" Sasha's eyes blazed with anger.
"What the hell?" Will exclaimed. Now he was angry. "You don't have to fucking act like that!"
"I am thirteen years old! Hell, I'm not even in high school, yet. You, on the other hand, look old enough to have graduated college!"
Will shrugged. "So?"
Sasha sneered. "You really are Will. No matter how old you look, you always act like an entitled child on the inside. You're fucking disgusting."
Will bared his teeth in rage. Nobody talked to him like that. "You're not exactly queen of the universe yourself, you fucking bitch!"
Dave and Ross watched from the sidelines. Seeing Sasha and Will go at each other was rare. Seeing Will as an adult yelling at Sasha's full untempered rage was downright terrifying.
Sasha gave one last glare before grabbing her bike. "Fuck you," was all she said.
"Yeah you wish!" Will shot back. "Where do you think you're going? Huh?"
When Sasha didn't answer, he picked up her still unopened beer bottle and threw it in her direction, not trying to hit her, but only wanting a reaction. The bottle hit the pavement several feet to her right and shattered, splashing glass and beer. Sasha climbed on her bike and rode off into the night, never looking back.
"Whore!" Will shouted into the night.
He stood there seething for a minute or two. When he turned back to Dave and Ross, he saw they were also mounting their rides.
"Where the hell are you going?" Will asked.
Dave looked panicked for a moment. "Uh, we, uh, forgot we have a... a thing to do, at the place. Right, Ross?" Ross nodded vigorously.
Will glared for a moment before answering. "Fine! You know what? Fine! Just go. Who needs you?"
Dave and Ross took off into the night as well, pedaling as fast as they could manage. Will sighed deeply to himself and went to collect his things. He could see Dave and Ross had taken the remaining beer with them, along with the box of cigars. It was then Will remembered he had a still somewhat fresh cigar in his mouth. Funny, he'd forgotten it was there.
He needed to go somewhere to take his mind off things. Somewhere to forget his troubles which had quite suddenly popped up. He knew just the place.
After stashing his bike in a secluded spot at the abandoned gas station, Will walked the few blocks to the place where the grimy scum of town gathered, Denim's Bar. Will and his friends used to secretly get booze from the place. Will had ready access to his father's money (he'd never miss it) so there was always some low-life willing to buy a six-pack of the light-weight stuff for them. They'd bum a few cigarettes while they were at it. Now Will was on his own and an adult. He didn't worry about not having ID here. They wouldn't card him. If they tried, he'd use some cash he'd had the foresight to bring to convince the barkeep otherwise. It was that kind of establishment. And, judging from the number of rusty pickups and shiny motorbikes, it looked to be a busy night. Will could hear the faint sound of country music, billiards being shot, and the general rabble from out of the street.
As Will was about to go inside, he stopped by the parking lot to look in a truck's side view mirror. He brushed his dark hair back and got a good look at his familiar yet strangely mature face. His goatee and sideburns looked to be in order, though his cheeks looked a little puffy for some reason. He had yet to notice the small curve that had appeared at his stomach. He considered his looks good enough and strode into the Denim's Bar, cigar firmly in the corner of his mouth.
The smell of smoke and cheap beer greeted Will like a brick wall as he stepped inside. The air was hazy with the smoke, and the patrons were hazy with the beer. Off in the corner a pool match was taking place while patrons lined the bar, several of which were glued to the small television displaying one sport or another. Will made his way through the small crowd and took a seat at the bar. He was a little uncomfortable. He tried his best to look like he belonged here, but it was his first time actually sitting at a bar. He just hoped he didn't look too young.
"Hey..." slurred the man sitting next to him. "Have I seen you here before?" The man was in his fifties, had a pot belly, and clearly had been drinking too much. Will recognized him as a man they'd had buy booze for them once.
"No, first time here," Will answered. Half of that was true... in a sense.
"No, no," said the man, squinting at Will. "Your face looks familiar."
Will shook his head. "Sorry, can't help you." He hoped the man would drop it and the barkeep would get to him.
"You weren't a student of mine, were you?" the man asked, swaying slightly.
Despite himself, Will found himself curious. "Teach?"
The man smiled, showing he was missing more than a few teeth. "Yessir! I used to teach down at the middle school here in town. I taught Biology. Or... was it Chemistry? They laid me off a few years ago." The man raised his beverage. "Been here ever since."
Will shrugged. "Yeah, that must've been it." He found himself kind of feeling sorry for the man. He brushed it aside. He was here to feel sorry for himself, not this old, fat, drunk guy. But still...
Suddenly, the barkeep, a large man with a very serious face was in front of Will. "What're you having?"
Will shrugged and gestured to the man sitting next to him. "I'll have what he's having."
"And put it on me!" said the man, grinning.
"Oh," said Will. "That's not."
"I insist," said the man, clapping Will on the shoulder. "I'm not spending it on anything else... The name's Herman, by the way."
Will nodded, shaking the man's hand. "Will."
The bartender set a bottle identical to Herman's in front of Will, then left to take care of the other patrons. Will picked it up and hesitantly sniffed the contents. The inside of his nose burn and he felt a little dizzy. Well, there was no point being here if he wasn't going to partake. Will put the bottle to his lips and took a swig. He immediately had to resist the urge to spit the contents right back out. He instead forced himself to swallow, and ended up coughing and nearly hacking up a lung.
Herman was laughing. "Wow! You act like you've never drunk anything that strong, before!"
Will shook his head, catching his breath. He then took another swig.
The more Will drank, the easier it got, and the less foul tasting the drinks got. He and Herman really got to talking. He was a nice guy to talk with if you just shared a drink with him. Herman told Will about how he'd gotten let go from the school due to budget cuts and gotten divorced from his wife, who took everything. Will made up some story about how he'd been wandering the countryside and settled at Denim's for the time being.
As Will sat there, the curse once again began taking effect. Will was aging another three years from twenty-four to twenty-seven. The stubbly shadow on his cheeks between his goatee and sideburns grew out, darkening a little bit. He physically matured slightly, though he was still a man in his twenties, so he still looked quite young. The curse once again began affecting one of Will's attributes given the context, and once again it was his weight. However, instead of a little belly fat and general softening like last time, Will began to put on the pounds. His stomach progressed from slight curve, to small gut, to beer gut, pressing out at his shirt which grew to accommodate. His abs had completely disappeared beneath the hair and fat. His pectorals did not fair much better, becoming rounded and soft. The tone of his arms and legs suffered as well, becoming soft. There was still muscle there, it was just hidden. His face softened, becoming rounder. The soft flesh under Will's chin drooped, forming a small second chin. Will's rear end also expanded, making him adjust himself on his stool uncomfortably. However, he didn't really seem to notice. By that point he was fairly drunk, as was Herman. The process had caused Will to gain between forty and fifty pounds, putting him in the vicinity of 220 to 230 pounds.
Will put down his empty bottle next to the others. "...and then she jusht left! I couldn't believe it."
Herman nodded, drunker than before. "Women, eh? Did I tell you about the time my wife divorced me?"
"Yesh..."
Will belched. He didn't feel quite right. He put his hands down to his stomach, and encountered his new beer gut.
"Holy fuck?" he muttered, his usual response. "One minute, Herman. I'll be right back..." Will got up and stumbled to the men's bathroom, trying to compensate for his new weight. When he got there, he peered into the grimey mirror at himself.
"Holy shit..."
He patted his hands on his stomach, which jiggled slightly. His hands went to his face, where they patted his rounded cheeks and his drooping second chin. He was by no means a tub of lard, but there was no mistaking the fact he was a man who'd put on some weight.
Perhaps there were some downsides after all...