Luckily, we were able to watch the movie without further incidents. Though, I'll admit I didn't pay it much attention. I was a little distracted by the fact Jeff and, presumably, myself were able to warp reality. Of course, my current theory was that whatever changes we made were designed to work against us. I was also distracted that my entire lifestyle had changed, along with those of my friends. We were now all internet gamers, and pretty popular ones at that. Well, Kent was the most popular one, with over a million subscribers. Dan and I only had half a million each. Still, before all this, half a million subscribers sounded astoundingly high. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about my life being completely rewritten. Not only was I a semi-famous internet personality, but my new memories kept trying to inform me I had to previous life, so nothing had been lost. But my old memories told me otherwise. The duplicity of it all was beginning to give me a headache.
After the movie ended, the four of us left the theater. Kent was quickly ambushed by the girl from earlier, who'd brought some of her friends who also enjoyed our videos. We took a few pictures before finally taking our leave. Of course, Jeff was fuming the whole time. To be honest, I was surprised he hadn't said anything to try and alter reality again. Perhaps he had also realized that changes he would attempt to make would not necessarily work in his favor.
As we left, Kent turned to the rest of us. “Don’t forget, guys, we’re recording Minecraft at 6.”
Dan frowned. “Minecraft? I thought we were doing Counter Strike. We’ve done nothing but Minecraft for the last few weeks!”
Kent shrugged. “The Minecraft videos are by far the most popular. You could always record and post Counter Strike videos on your own channel, Dan.”
Dan sighed. “Yeah, but I’d like to do them with you guys, not some random people on the internet.”
Kent thought for a bit before eventually nodding. “Alright, alright. Next week can be completely dedicated to FPS games. How’s that sound?”
Dan grinned. “Works for me. I’ll see you guys at 6.” He patted his large gut. “I need to get something to eat, first. I’m starving.”
Eventually, Jeff and I finally returned to our shared apartments. We’d been roommates since we moved out of our parents’ houses. We got along pretty well, despite Jeff’s propensity for scheming and questionable activities.
Opening the door, I noticed things had changed, somewhat. Half empty containers of protein powder littered the counter space. Gaming themed magnets covered the surface of the refrigerator door. There was now a weight set in Jeff’s room for when he couldn’t make it to the gym. My room had a top of the line gaming computer, so I could join in with Kent and Dan while they recorded videos. The latest generation in gaming consoles was also hooked up to the television, complete with recording equipment and microphones.
Jeff sneered as he walked into the living room. “Ugh! Your YouTube crap is everywhere.” He picked up a Wii U controller and turned it over in his hands.
I plucked the controller from his grasp and used a nearby cloth to clean his fingerprints off its surface. “This ‘YouTube crap’ pays for this apartment. Besides, what do you care? It’s not like you’re here that often, anyway. You’re always at the gym, if I recall correctly.”
He looked at me and smirked. “At least I’m in shape.” He swatted me in my small belly.
I held my hands up defensively. “Whatever. I was fine before that gypsy did… whatever she did to us, and you said… certain things.”
Jeff gave me an odd look.
I sighed. “I’m trying to be careful with my words. One wrong phrase and I could accidentally change reality, and probably not for the better.”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah, I noticed that. If I can figure out how this curse works…”
I glared at him and snapped my fingers to break him from his scheming. “Don’t you dare! The first thing we need to do is find that old gypsy woman and convince her to remove this curse. The more we try to take advantage of it, the worse it’s going to be.”
Jeff frowned at me, and then rolled his eyes. “Ugh, when you’re right, you’re right.”
I nodded. “Well, of course I am. Technically, everything I say is right.”
Jeff glared at me. “Don’t you have a gaming thing to get to?”
I glanced up at the clock, seeing it was almost 6. “Right. They’re probably already set up.”
Jeff rolled his shoulders and cricked his neck. “Well, you go do your nerd stuff. I’m going to be in the other room, working on some lifts.” He flexed a bicep as if to prove a point.
I rolled my eyes and left him for my gaming set up.
On the Minecraft server, Dan, Kent, and I were getting ready to record another installment for out YouTube channels.
“I was not expecting those girls to show up,” Kent said over Skype. “That was kinda cool.”
“You’re a big time internet celebrity now, man,” said Dan. “You’re going to be recognized, now.”
Kent chuckled. “Oh, by the way, how’s Jeff doing? I think we might have annoyed him a little making him move.”
Dan grumbled. “You don’t have to apologize to him. Did you see the way he was showing off his muscles? He needs to be humbled every once in a while.”
“Dan!”
“Well, it’s true. I used to be in shape in high school. I knew guys that were just like him.”
I kind of felt sorry for Dan losing his physique due to Jeff’s careless words. Perhaps I might be able to fix things if I phrased my words correctly. I had to say something that wouldn’t sound odd in conversation.
I looked over and saw a picture of Dan, Kent, Jeff, and myself sitting on my desk. Dan was big and round, Kent was still rail thin, Jeff was fairly muscular, and I had a slight belly. I decided to go for it.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Dan,” I said. “Of all the guys on this server, you’re the most athletic.” That should put him close to where he was before all this happened.
“Thanks, man,” Dan said.
As we continued to prepare for our recording session, I felt a tingling envelop my body. Looking down, I saw the arms beginning to soften and plump up. My small belly was quickly beginning to enlarge, rounding out and drooping over the waistband of my pants. I looked over at the picture of my friends, and saw that Kent, Dan, and I were all changing.
Dan’s large figure was shrinking, soft roundness of his face melting away as his belly became smaller and smaller. He did not end up looking like he had before. He was still somewhat soft, a belly visible under his shirt, and his body retaining some of its softness, but he did have a hint of muscle. He looked to only have lost half the weight Jeff had given him.
Kent, for the first time in his life, wasn’t rail thin. His skinny body was quickly bloating up, his thin face gaining chubby cheeks and the first hints of a second chin. A definite gut formed on him. Before long, he was chunkier than Dan, weighing about 30 or so pounds more than him.
I kept on gaining, my new gut enlarging and my body becoming wider. My face rounded out and a second chin drooped into existence. Abandoned snack and food wrappers manifested in my room, along with empty soda bottles. Eventually, I ended up being about as big as Dan had been a minute ago. I hadn’t been wrong. Out of the three of us, Dan was certainly now the most athletic.
As if nothing had happened, the other two kept on talking.
“So what does Jeff do besides going to the gym, anyway?” Dan asked.
At this point, I was feeling very annoyed with Jeff. Granted, it was my mistake that made me a much bigger individual, but I had been trying to fix what Jeff had changed.
“All Jeff does all day is sit around and do nothing,” I growled.
“Harsh,” Dan muttered.
“Okay, guys,” Kent chimed in, trying to ease the sudden tension. “Let’s start recording.”
I suddenly heard Jeff shout from down the hall. “What the hell?!”
I sighed inwardly, regretting my recent actions.
“What was that?” Kent asked.
I stood up, struggling a little with my larger body. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll be right back.”