Jeff and I made our way up to where Dan and Kent were sitting. I was having a hard time looking away from our formerly athletic friend. His large, round gut stuck out form his torso and onto his lap. His once chiseled jaw was now accompanied by a second chin and chubby cheeks. Looking at him, you would never have guessed he was the kind of guy to visit the gym at least once a week, if not more.
Jeff sat next to Kent and I sat on the end. I glanced over at Jeff. He was staring at Dan as well. I recognized the look on Jeff's face. It was that look he got whenever he was getting a stupid idea.
"Jeff..." I whispered.
Jeff turned to look at me, his mouth cocked in an awful grin.
I leaned closer to him, trying to keep our conversation quiet. "What are you planning?"
His grin broadened. He turned back to Dan and Kent. "You know, Dan, if you ever wanted to get rid of..." he gestured at Dan's prominent stomach, "all of that, you could always join me at the gym. I've been doing some pretty hardcore workouts. Who knows, you might even get buff like I am."
I glanced down at Jeff's somewhat soft form, his small belly rounding out the shape of his shirt. Off all the people that were in shape, Jeff was not one of them.
Dan lifted an eyebrow in Jeff's direction. "Thanks, but I think I'll be fine." He then opened a box of chocolate-covered raisins and began popping them into his mouth, one by one.
"Jeff," I whispered. "What are you doing?"
Then I noticed that he'd begun to change. His soft belly began to shrink as the soft fat on his face and arms melted away. Suddenly, his biceps began to quickly fill in with muscle, straining at the sleeves of his shirt. His pecs began to enlarge with muscle mass, and I could make out his hardening abs as his clothes re-sized themselves, becoming large enough to compensate for his larger muscles, but tight enough to showcase them.
Jeff the couch potato had become Jeff the gym rat. He looked down at his bicep, squeezing the muscle. His grin broke into a full blown smile. He pulled up his shirt revealing his toned abs. I could hear him chuckling to himself.
Kent frowned at Jeff. "Um, do you two want to be alone?"
Jeff looked up. "Wha? Oh, no, I'm good. Like I was saying, you guys could have a body like mine if you come to the gym."
Dan shrugged. "Yeah, well, I was never really into that kind of stuff, anyway. I mean, you have to spend all your time maintaining a body like that. I'm surprised you even had time to come watch a movie with us."
Jeff flexed another bicep. "Totally worth it."
Dan and Kent glanced at each other, visibly annoyed. Dan offered Kent some raisins, which he happily accepted.
Jeff glanced at the pair, a curious expression on his face. He must've had another stupid idea. He shrugged. "I'm surprised you see it that way. I mean, you guys play video games just as much as I go to the gym."
I had known Kent and Dan to play games, but only every so often. I looked over at the pair and saw them begin to change as well. Kent's polo shirt shifted in shape, becoming a black t-shirt. A strange stain spread across the front of it that transformed into the Minecraft logo, along with some of its signature blocky characters. A pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses manifested on his face, his eyesight apparently damaged by so many hours in front of a screen. His skin seemed to grow a shade paler, which only served to make his red hair more vibrant in comparison. Other than that, he looked the same.
At the same time, Dan's shirt changed into a black t-shirt proudly displaying the logo for the latest Halo game across his rotund torso. His usually clean-shaven face sprouted a short, somewhat messy beard, and his short, dark hair grew out a little. He also seemed to become a pit paler. I couldn't be sure, but I thought he might have gained a few more pounds, but it was unnoticeable alongside his current weight.
I felt a tingle suddenly run across my body. I looked down to see my own shirt turn black and a yellow smudge appear at its center. The smudge quickly grew into a yellow circle missing a wedge, the classic PAC-Man. He was my favorite video game character. I loved retro gaming. I was actually quite good at all the 80's classic retro arcade games. I shook my head at the new memories. That wasn't right. I was terrible at video games. Besides, I was too busy for them. But my new memories told me otherwise. I played games constantly. I couldn't get enough of them. I spent long hours inside, in front of a screen, trying to beat my old scores. I felt an odd, bloated sensation as my stomach increased in size, visibly rounding out under my shirt. I now had a slight belly, though my new memories told me I'd never been in the best of shape due to my video gaming lifestyle. I guessed I'd gained about 20 or so pounds.
I turned at glared at Jeff. He looked back at me, stupid grin still on his face. Before I could chastise him, a new voice interrupted us.
"Oh, my god! Is that KentMan?" A young girl in her twenties wearing a Minecraft shirt was staring up at us from the row below.
Kent grinned and sat forward in his seat. "Yeah, I am."
The girl laughed and a few other heads turned in the theater. "I'm sorry if I'm totally fangirling right now, but I just love your YouTube videos! You're so funny!"
Kent laughed. "Thanks! That means a lot."
The girl looked over at the rest of us, her eyes widening. "Wait, does that mean...?" She pointed at Dan. "DanTheMan256?"
Dan nodded. "That's me." He shifted forward in his seat to shake her hand. As he did, she tried, but failed, to suppress a squeal of delight.
She turned to look at me. "And you're CaptainGamerGuy?"
My new memories informed me that was my YouTube username. Apparently Dan, Kent, and I made a living by making YouTube let's plays. They were actually fairly successful. We often played together, with Kent heading the whole thing. He had quite the following, with over a million subscribers.
Realizing she was still waiting for my response, I nodded. "Y-yeah. That's me." I shook her hand as well, which were clammy and a bit shaky.
"Oh, my god. I never thought I'd meet my favorite YouTubers here! Um, would you mind if I could get a picture with you guys?"
Kent shrugged. "Sure. That'd be fine. Um, would you mind moving for a bit, Jeff?"
I glanced over at Jeff. He had the sourest look on his face. I felt an odd sense of satisfaction seeing his attempt to knock us down a notch backfiring. As he begrudgingly moved out of the way and the three of us and the girl posed for a picture, I began to wonder. Perhaps that was exactly how the curse was designed, in the way of a genie's wish. Perhaps our statements were designed to backfire against us. Anything we changed would always change against us.
As the girl finished taking her pictures, the house lights began to dim slightly, signaling that the previews were about to start. I glanced back at Jeff, who was sitting in the row behind us, still looking sour. He and I now effectively had the ability to haphazardly edit reality. I worried just what he might do with it.