Kyle slowly wandered along the board-walk, amazed at the true power of the watch. There was an eerie stillness, his footsteps and breathing being the only sounds he could hear. The absurdity of the situation had him overwhelmed. Stopping time in the antique store felt contained and believable. Being outside where even the ocean waves had stopped lapping on the beach was harder to take in. Everywhere he looked was like a photograph. He begun to feel anxious about the situation and made a move to restart everything. But he couldn't unpause the watch on a whim, how would people react if they suddenly saw him appear out of nowhere, from their perspective? Kyle quickly walked back towards the antique store and came across a small patio with a few tables and chairs secluded from the pathway. After making sure nobody could see him, he restarted time. The sudden appearance of noise and movement startled him but it felt comforting at the same time. Kyle collapsed into a chair with relief and took several deep breathes. The watch was powerful alright. He instinctively twiddled the dials around the stopwatch in thought. They were still a mystery to him and they didn't seem to have any effect on stopping and restarting time. However, there was the other button he hadn't pressed yet. After experiencing frozen time first-hand after pressing the left button, he was cautious of what might happen if he pressed the right one. But he was also very curious, wanting to figure out everything the watch had to offer. After a minute of thinking about what to do, he decided to through caution to the wind, yet not before settling on a pattern of symbols to try. Ultimately, he settled on an arrow pointing down, a plus symbol, a globe, and "1mi=4y" in the box. He took a deep breath and clicked the button. He immediately felt a hot sensation flow up his arm and throughout his body, filling him with an uncomfortable warmth and a dull ache in his bones. The hands on the watch had started to move around the clock face, the small hand moving faster than the big one. Kyle put the watch down on the table beside him and gave a long stretch from fingers to toes in the hopes it would alleviate the ache he felt.
He noticed something was up once he relaxed his muscles as it looked like his body had taken the stretching thing literally. His arms and legs looked like they'd lengthened. Not only that, but the hairs on both were darkening and multiplying. His brow furrowed in concern, it had to be the watch but what was it doing? One thought came to mind, but he dismissed it quickly. He stood up from his seat but immediately fell flat on his face. Groaning, he pushed himself back up and carefully stood back to his full height, which he noted was at least a foot taller than before and still growing. Everything in his view of horizon was lower like he was on stilts and it made him feel queasy. Looking down, he was surprised to find his shoes still fit despite how much bigger his feet had grown, like they had stretched to accommodate them. In fact, his shorts and shirt even fit him, hanging looser on him than even before his continuing growth spurt. "I can't beLIEve tHIS is hAppenINg" Kyle groaned, cringing at the sound of his voice breaking. He brought a hand up to his throat and felt a lump protruding from it. He flinched and pulled his hand back before staring at it. It was almost twice the size, with small hairs sparsely scattered across his knuckles and the back of his palm, trailing up towards his longer, hairier forearm. It was more than obvious what the watch was doing, yet he couldn't accept it just yet. He still felt that warmth and ache throughout his body, now topped off with a headache from the weird changes. He rubbed his forehead and dragged his hand down his face. He froze and suddenly, his hands were patting and racing all over his face. It was bumpy, pointy, and not at all like his face usually felt. He fumbled in his pocket with a shaky hand to grab his phone, turning on the camera. He squealed and let go of the phone, narrowly catching it at the last minute and hesitantly looked at the screen again. "Oh my god, I really aM getting oLDer..." he muttered to himself. He didn't see the face of a 12 year old, the reflected image was of a teenager closing in on his college years. He was looking less baby-faced by the second, as his jawline grew more square and chiselled. His skin looked greasy, which was likely to blame for the various pimples and zits that dotted his face. He had wispy hairs above his lip and the weak beginnings of a goatee. Grimacing at his face, he noticed braces had appeared across his teeth. Kyle threw his phone on the table and made a grab for the stopwatch. The small hand was still spinning around the clock face and the big hand had moved. Where it was between 10 and 15, it was now between 15 and 20. As the small hand made a full rotation, the big hand moved a tiny bit. Counting the small lines between the numbers, Kyle figured it was on the number 17. It clicked inside his head, the watch must have been on the number 12 before he started. Which meant he really was aging!
Kyle fell back into his chair, still staring at the watch. As much as he'd often fantasized about suddenly growing up, the actualisation of this fantasy wasn't how he planned. Namely because in his in his fantasies, he imagined himself looking like a hollywood teenager instead of the average teenager. Maybe if he stopped the watch now, he could fix things and return back to his normal age. But a big part of him didn't want to stop the watch just yet. His teen self was nothing special but everyone was awkward as a teenager right? Maybe he just had to wait until he'd finished growing, which wouldn't take that long given the rapid speed the small hand spun. Kyle closed his eyes and thought over the pros and cons. Having the ability to control his age was everything he'd dreamed of but it could end up being a nightmare. He still didn't know the full potential of the watch. There were other symbols he hadn't tried yet. It couldn't hurt to let it run a bit longer before stopping. If the watch could age him then certainly it could do the opposite too. But what if it couldn't? He'd be stuck as an adult with no experience or money. Sure he'd have the freedom to do the things he wanted without his dad breathing down his neck but what good was that without the means to live his life? Would anyone even recognize or believe him about who he really was? However, his clothes had grown with him so there was more to it than just his body aging. In fact, it was as if his mind was maturing along with his body, as he'd never had these thoughts and concerns with his fantasies before. He sighed loudly, sounding more like a deep grumble. Whatever the outcome, he decided it was best to just stop the watch and deal with the aftermath sooner rather than later.
Kyle opened his eyes and glanced at the watch. His indecisiveness had cost him as he saw the big hand tick over to 25. But he was distracted by the arm holding the watch, followed by the rest of his body. He'd always been a thin weakling, which seemed to continue as he went through his teen years all noodle-limbed and lanky. But it looked like he'd discovered the gym while contemplating as he'd definitely outgrown that label. His clothes looked skin-tight as they seemed to mould across his muscular torso and thighs. Distracted, he put the watch on the table and grabbed his phone. He turned the camera back on and gasped at the image of a man well into his twenties. He had a box-like jaw coated with a couple week's worth of dense stubble-verging-on-beard. His hair was lengthy, shaggy and dishevelled, a few shades darker than when he was a kid. He spotted more hair sticking out the collar of his shirt in tufts. The only part of himself he really recognised were his coffee brown eyes, now closely guarded by some intense eyebrows. He rubbed his chin with a devilish smile, free of braces, and said in a rumbling bass "Damn, what a few years can do...". He stood up, reaching his full height without a problem this time around. If he had to guess, he was at least 6 foot tall. His limbs were even hairier than before. His arms looked especially bear-like with the hair travelling undisturbed up into his sleeves, which looked ready to rip around his biceps. He poked at the muscle and laughed giddily at how solid it felt. He yanked his shirt off and threw it onto his chair. His eyes widened at the sight of his bare torso. He had a robust, athletic body with meaty pecs and defined six-pack. But he could tell that much with the shirt on. What shocked him was just how hairy he was. Black hair substantially covered his chest and stomach, spreading over his shoulders and around his waist to areas unseen. But in hindsight, it wasn't too much of a surprise. All of his male relatives were on the hirsute side, but to have so much of it just grow and spread in minutes was invigorating. Kyle cupped both of his pecs, feeling both the firm muscle and dense, wiry hair under his palm, then he dragged both hands down his body and stroked his abs with a dorky chuckle. Finally, with a slight bit of hesitation, he pulled on the waistband of his shorts and peeked inside his underwear. His smile grew wider at the sight of his package and it took some restraint from whipping it out in case someone saw him. He snapped the waistband shut and patted the bulge.
In all the excitement of examining his new-found muscular physique, Kyle had forgotten that the watch was still ticking. It wasn't until he absent-mindedly scratched his belly that he remembered. He was shocked to find his six-pack had disappeared under a small layer of fat. He still had a relatively flat stomach but it came with a couple of inches added to his waist. He frantically grabbed for the watch just as the small hand completed a rotation. He quickly slammed the right side button and the watch hands stopped moving, the warmth and ache immediately vanished, leaving him at the age of 32. He was so caught up in how he looked that he'd let it go too far. Kyle grabbed his phone for a third time and looked at the damage. His hair had significantly shortened down to a sharp crew-cut. Meanwhile, his beard had grown out considerably, looking like he hadn't shaved in several months, yet it was well groomed and not a hair was out of place. He stuck his hands into the bush with a dumb grin before smoothing it back into shape. Other than a few barely noticeable silver strands in his beard and hair, plus his skin looking slightly weather-beaten, there wasn't anything to really worry about, looks-wise. And despite the lack of abs, he still looked quite strong and brawny. Especially as his pecs stuck out further than his waist. His stomach didn't feel too soft and It wasn't like his abs were that visible through the dense forest covering him in the first place. But he still felt like he had a lump in his throat, one that wasn't his Adam's apple. He was 32 years old, that was 20 years older than he should be. His dad was 35, that was now only 3 years older than him. Could he still call him his dad if they were almost the same age? Would he even believe this lumberjack-like guy was his son? Kyle was struck with a sense of melancholy. Sure he had a body many people would admire and envy but now he was a man, would anyone even recognise him? He slumped back into his chair and thought things through with the watch in hand. What else could it do, he wondered, and would it help him?