Heavy Exercise (Patreon)

Hello everyone! So in the last few newsletter posts I've teased that I've been working on something special, and now it's time to show it off! I stepped out into something new and wrote a story with my OCs Chloe and Nat. It's my first time doing something like this so it's far from perfect, but I'm happy with the result, and regardless of the story quality there's still some artwork for you all to enjoy in here as well. I hope people take the time to read! Let me know what you think!

Last thing before the story: I'd like to thank Undertaker33 for giving really helpful feedback through this process with in-depth reviews. His work is great and he really knows his stuff. I couldn't have done this without his help. He offers reviews through his patreon here for anyone interested:  www.patreon.com/Undertaker33

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“You want… to go to the gym?”

Chloe’s reply came through a mouthful of cereal. “Yep.”

“What, is that the name of some new buffet? Or some weird sweets shop?” Nat asked, sarcasm dripping off every word like the milk off her spoon.

“No, you dumbass. It’s where people go to work out. Are you trying to act dense?”

Nat stared across the table at her roommate in disbelief. Her spoon hung loosely in her pale hand, the cereal on it falling back down into her bowl with an unheeded ‘plop.’

In the two years they had lived together, she’d never heard Chloe even so much as mention exercise. No sports, no hikes, the most strenuous activity the young pink-haired woman performed was walking a block with arms laden by groceries. Nat was extremely curious to know what had brought this on.

As if she had read her mind, Chloe continued. “Listen Nat. I say it all the time, but you’ve completely let yourself go. You’re big as a damn hippo, so I’m trying to get you off your fat ass.”

A light pink blossomed across Nat’s snowy cheeks, coloring her pale skin to resemble her bright red hair. She should have known this was going to be Chloe’s angle. “So that’s the reason you’re going with, huh?”

“Yeah. What, are you gonna try and deny it?” Chloe spat back.

Nat sighed. Weight was a topic often brought up between the girls, but it never got much deeper than jabs. Attempting to discuss it seriously made Nat’s head hurt. Glancing down at Chloe’s body, the sheer irony of the girl’s last statement was almost too much to bear.

Of course Nat knew she was fat. It was obvious. All she had to do was look down to see how months of not giving a shit about the quality or quantity of the food she shoved down her throat had molded her body. Her stomach protruded forward, forming a wide round arch before resting like soft dough upon her Lap. Additionally, while she couldn’t see them from her point of view, she could feel the weight of her barrel-like thighs hanging halfway off the sides of her seat.

There was no getting around it. She was, like Chloe accused, a hippo.

But if she was a hippo, her roommate was a whale. A whale that did nothing but lazily hang in the water and let a constant stream of krill filter through her eager gullet.

The difference between the two girls wasn’t just noticeable, it was extreme. Nat’s pillow-like paunch was eclipsed by Chloe’s mattress-sized gut. But while the smaller girl was more than aware of her size, the larger was blinded either by gluttony, or her hotheaded pride.

Nat knew from experience that Chloe would keep her eyes shut, no matter how soft she grew or how heavily she wobbled. A skinny princess trapped under the thick layers of a royal bitch.

As frustrating as it could be, it made her incredibly fun to tease.

The semiaquatic beast stood up and waddled around the table towards her ocean dwelling friend. “You know what? Yeah, let’s go. It’d do me some good to put on a little muscle.” She reached around Chloe’s chair, gripping her roommate’s exposed love handles and giving them a firm jiggle. The ripple spread through her whole body with an audible wobble.

Chloe’s chair let out a loud squeal, a desperate cry for help.

“I’m sure you could show me the ropes, right Chlo? I wanna get firm muscles like these!”

Chloe’s face went bright red, expression changing from a look of shock to anger. “Hey, hands off!” she barked aggressively. “For your information, they’re my lats. But I wouldn’t expect a flabby ass like you to know that! Touch me again, and I won’t spend my precious time helping you fix your stupid diet!”

Nat pulled her hands away and Chloe began pouring herself a third bowl of Crispy Cookie Clusters, her favorite brand and the best way to start a fat girl’s morning. “Yeah,” Nat rolled her eyes. “Guess I should follow your example.”

“Dahm righ,” Chloe responded proudly through a monstrous mouthful of cookie-shaped grains.

The snarky pear reached for her bowl and let out a resigned sigh. There was nothing for it now, once Chloe latched on to an idea it was impossible to talk her out of it. Wrestling a pig into a dress would be easier, even pink haired ones who preferred to wear tank tops and shorts.

She sank an elbow on the table, leaning onto it with her fleshy white cheek. Her scowl deepened as the hungry sow scarfed down several more spoonfuls of cereal before lifting the bowl to her lips. A single drop of milk dribbled down the side of Chloe’s mouth and followed the smooth arc of her thick chin. Her grand gut throbbed with each deep guzzle before, with a satisfied breath, Chloe placed the bowl back on the table.

Nat grabbed Chloe’s empty bowl, stacking it on hers and flashing a sardonic smile. “I appreciate you wanting to help poor little me,” she intoned. making no attempt to mask the ice that crept over her grin.

Chloe opened her mouth to answer, but was silenced by a low rumbling from her chest. She moved a fist to her milk-covered lips as she swallowed the belch, letting it out as a tired “Oof… That was good.”

Nat’s face was flat as if Chloe had sat on it. She stood up from the table. “I’ll go get ready. See if I can find my old gym clothes or something…” she muttered, placing the bowls in the sink and stalking off towards her room.

She really wished Chloe would drop the whole weight issue and just let her be. Who cared if she was fat? Life was good, the food was great, and the thought of exercising was downright repulsive. She considered just shutting the door and catching up on her show list, but she knew how her roommate was. She’d barge in, block the tv, and nag her for hours until she gave in. She’d done it before.

A smile crept across Nat’s lips as a thought occurred to her. Going to the gym wasn’t a death sentence on its own. Once she was there, she was sure there would be opportunities to get out of exerting herself.

Sifting through the bottom drawer of her cabinet, she pulled out her old gym clothes as well as an old swimsuit. She had no idea if the bikini would fit anymore, but she’d heard the local gym had a pool. It was worth taking as a possible excuse.

With this strategy in mind, Nat wouldn’t even mourn the loss of her show watching time. 

If Chloe was so intent on working out, the waddling whale could provide plenty of entertainment all on her own.

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“Do you two have membership cards?” the man behind the counter asked, his tone suggesting that he already knew the answer.

The girls were standing at a crescent-shaped counter in the middle of a large well-lit lobby. Several gym staff sat behind it, most of which were awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the pair. All around them there were hallways and doors branching off to different areas of the enormous building.

The lobby was clean and relaxing, but Nat knew it was all a façade. Through any of those doors was a different Hell. To her left, the sound of dribbling balls and squeaking shoes. Past the counter, she heard Zumba music and the yells of a woman giving instructions. And to her right, a cacophony of clanks and whirrs that she assumed were from large, demonic workout equipment.

Her friend’s voice cut through the background noise. “You really think she’s ever set foot in a gym before?” Chloe mocked, gesturing to her rotund companion. The man glanced over Nat, then back over Chloe, clearly of the opinion that neither had.

“Ok, so how can I help you? Are you looking to sign up?”

Nat could already feel herself beginning to sweat. She was on a strict budget! Sure, most of that was takeout, video games, and streaming services, but like hell she’d give up those things for something as torturous as exercise!

“Actually, we aren’t sure we want to just yet,” Nat interjected. “Is there any way we can pay just to try things out today?”

“No need!” the employee exclaimed, clearly rehearsing a line on his pitch. “We offer a one-week free trial so people can try out our facilities. No obligation. Only the pool is premium access.”

“Makes sense,” Chloe nodded along as if she already knew that, even though Nat was sure she’d seen her swimsuit poking out of her gym bag. 

Nat let out a small grumble, trying her best to mask her disappointment. She’d been hoping to get herself and Chloe crammed into their swimsuits and floating lazily in the pool. The pink doughball would have been an easy sell, laying on her back with her belly sticking up was practically her profession.

Even so, her grumble turned to a self-deprecating chuckle. The other swimmers had nothing to fear, as the hippo and whale were officially landlocked.

“Well, that all sounds great!” continued Chloe. Scarily enough, she actually sounded excited. “No room to weasel out by complaining about the price, Nat,” she said with a devilish grin.

Nat gave a begrudging nod.

A couple of the staff members finally broke, glancing over and receiving an obese profile view of Chloe. They looked skeptical of her commitment, and Nat couldn’t really blame them. It wasn’t every day you saw a girl as big as Chloe getting excited about exercise.

“Ok. Normally we’d scan your ID’s, but for the trial you just need to write your names and email addresses on this sheet, and you can go ahead,” the host directed, passing the girls a notepad. He then gestured towards the right side of the room to a short staircase. “The main workout area is right up those stairs. We have a very large selection of equipment that allow for most types of exercise. If you like what we offer and decide to sign up, just come see me at any time.”

“Thanks,” the girls politely replied, signing the sheet and waddling in the direction the man had instructed.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Nat squirmed uncomfortably and adjusted her black tights back over her partially exposed love handle. She said a silent prayer that the waves sent through her body by the simple motion wouldn’t set the other roll free.

Calling the garment ‘tights’ was currently the understatement of the century. They were downright constricting. As she wobbled down the hallway it seemed as though every part of her was desperate to free itself from the fabric bonds.

Her top wasn’t much better. The vibrant teal tank was stretched thin, just barely reaching the waistline of her bottoms. It was snug in some extremely uncomfortable places, hugging her chest and making her breasts pop out of the window like bright white melons sitting atop a large pillow.

Despite the discomfort, Nat was thankful that her clothes still met across her middle. Just because she was indifferent towards her size didn’t mean she wanted to expose a ring of her pale flesh to the rest of the world.

Not like the girl who trudged along beside her…

Chloe was showing more skin than anyone else in the gym. Granted, nobody had as much to expose. Large expanses of jiggling flesh were laid bare for the world to see, and she didn’t even bat an eye at it. Her head was held high, radiating the confidence of a woman who could run a marathon.

Quite the delusion, considering the labored breathing that escaped her nose as a result of their twelve-step climb.

Chloe reached behind herself, gripping the waistband of her red shorts and giving them a tug upward. Not that it changed much. They did very little to cover her ass, top or bottom. And that’s not to mention her massive apron gut that hung over her waistband at the front.

Nat didn’t think it was possible to cover so much clothing with flesh. Obviously, she had seen Chloe’s exposed gut hanging so brazenly before, with it being impossible to convince her to buy clothes that actually fit. But something about the way she almost completely obscured the short shorts from the front gave off the odd impression that her belly was intended to cover her clothing rather than the other way around.

Her top was also losing the battle for coverage. To onlookers it appeared to be a normal, albeit very large, black sports bra. But Nat knew better. She’d seen Chloe wear it as a tank top back when they first met, several years and a few hundred pounds ago.

She had to admit, it wasn’t until seeing her ever-expanding friend squeezed into it today that Nat truly realized just to what extent Chloe’s body had changed. Not only that, but how deep her delusion must be to still own the damned thing. Any thought given to the idea that there might ever be a chance for Chloe’s waistline went up in a puff of smoke. 

Too bad there was no stopping her from thinking she could still help Nat.

They opened the large double doors, waddling side by side like a pair of cows into the devil’s slaughterhouse. Every sense was immediately overloaded.

Fluorescent lights shone down from the high ceiling, illuminating an expansive room crammed with countless machines of various shapes and sizes. The two far walls were lined with mirrors, making the room appear to go on ever further. People were sprinkled all around, hopping on and off of the equipment, performing actions and flexing muscles that Nat either didn’t know of, or had forgotten even existed. The light from the ceiling fixtures reflected off their sweating bodies, proving for a fact that Hell really was blindingly bright.

The area was louder than Nat anticipated, making the tubby introvert wince at every clatter of weights. Along with the sounds of spinning pulleys and exasperated breathing, everything blended together like a 5-year-old unleashed on a set of drums. Her plump body quivered just from the vibrations that permeated the air.

And on top of all that, Nat could just barely make out the popular song of the week emanating from the scratchy overhead speakers. This was probably the noise that Nat hated most.

Only then, as the rancid cherry on top of the pile of trash, did the smell finally hit her. Nat put her hand over her nose. “Ugh, this place smells awful!”

“That’s the smell of exercise,” Chloe responded.

“Exercise smells awful,” Nat remarked as her arm fell back to her side.

The girls spotted an array of lockers in the corner straight ahead. They made their way across the room, passing several other gym-goers going about their regimens. There were people of many different shapes and sizes, in different stages of their exercise journeys. 

The more people Nat saw, the more it dawned on her that despite it being fairly crowded, not a single person was anywhere approaching her size, let alone Chloe’s. It wasn’t something that bothered her at face value, but it did make her worry about how they might fare on the equipment.

They reached the lockers, placing their bags together inside a free one. Nat could hear a slight pant in Chloe’s breathing, and had to admit that she too was already feeling a slight jump in her heart rate.

With a foreboding feeling, she thought back on the pitifully short distance they had traveled to get here from the car. She let out a deep sigh.

This was going to be a shitty day.

“So Nat, what do you want to try out first?”

“How the heck should I know?” Nat snorted. “I don’t know how to handle…” she waved her paws at a nearby machine that looked like something from a castle dungeon, “any of these things!” The admitted novice twisted to her pink-haired companion, flashing her a cheery thumbs up. “It’s all up to you, Chlo! My fate is in your chubby little hands.”

Chloe shot Nat an angry look. “Chubby? Seriously? You won’t be calling them that when I choke you out for your dumbass comments.”

A mental image appeared in Nat’s mind, a pleasant thought of a heating cushion wrapping around her neck to cradle it comfortably. She couldn’t see Chloe’s hammy fingers being capable of anything worse.

“Let’s see… Um…” 

Nat was brought back to reality at the sound of Chloe’s muttering. Looking over at her face, she could tell that the girl was totally lost as her eyes scanned each of the exercise machines. She probably didn’t know what a single one of them did either. Well, except for the-

“Treadmills! Let’s warm up with a bit of cardio,” Chloe exclaimed in a self-satisfied tone.

Nat let out a loud groan. There was no way she was getting on one of those, not in a million years. “Go ahead. But I’ll stand by and watch for a bit first. I… want to make sure I know the proper form.”

Chloe scoffed. “No wonder you’re such a fatass. Don’t even know how to run…” She waddled over to the row of treadmills, all lined up facing one of the mirrored walls. About half were occupied by decently fit members jogging at different speeds. It made Chloe look all the more out of shape when she let out a loud grunt while hoisting her mass up onto one of the middle machines.

A light laugh escaped Nat’s lips when she noticed how close Chloe’s hips were to touching the handlebars at either side of the machine.

The deluded grouch whipped around and shot the chuckling redhead a stern look. Apparently she determined it wasn’t worth a comment, because she silently turned away and set her attention to the little display before her. After a few button clicks that seemed mostly random, a massive groan rang out and the belt slowly began its acceleration. Chloe’s legs began their waddle to keep pace, each step causing one of her massive hips to brush against the side of the machine.

Nat watched from behind as the belt continued to rotate at a faster rate. Her eyes widened when suddenly, she witnessed something she would never have thought possible in a million years.

Chloe began to run.

So badly did Nat want to look away, but it was like witnessing a train wreck. Her eyes couldn’t help but take in every last detail.

Every inch of the enormous girl’s form heaved up and down. Sections of flesh that shouldn’t even jiggle were bouncing furiously in time with her footfalls. Large round masses of back fat, each the size of one of Nat’s breasts, clapped down hard against the shelf that was her enormous bottom. Little ripples flowed through her legs as they crashed down onto the moving belt.

It was like ocean waves hammering the shoreline, and yet they were mere ripples in comparison to the tsunami of flesh that was bouncing over Chloe’s front.

Between every step, for a mere moment, her shorts that were previously so well hidden would be entirely revealed before quickly being blocked from view once again with an accompanying slap.

The clapping of flesh on flesh should have been loud, but it was drowned out by the awful, cringe-inducing sound of a machine just barely resisting total destruction. With each of Chloe’s titanic footfalls came a thud like a 100-pound bag of flour dropped 50 feet onto solid concrete, accompanied by a harsh mechanical whine.

Thud after thud after thud echoed through the gym. Nat scanned the room nervously. Most eyes, even from people on the opposite corner of the room, were now firmly locked on Chloe’s bouncing form. Some people tried their best to look away and ignore it, but kept casting glances, others were leaning in to whisper to one another, and one man near the back shook his head before looking away and resuming his workout.

The only other eyes that weren’t trained on Chloe were her own. For although there was the large mirrored wall directly in front of her, her head was tilted back, gasping for air and just barely putting her reflection outside of her periphery.

Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Chloe smashed her hand against the display, bringing the belt to a stop. She leaned over, hands on her knees, heaving like someone who had just finished running 5K in record time. As far as her muscles were concerned, it may have been just as strenuous.

Nat looked at the time on the display. Thirty seconds was as long as her winded companion had managed to last.

The redheaded girl let out a hearty laugh. “You alright there, Chloe?” she asked, reaching a hand up to Chloe’s wheezing side. “Must be hard to run when you’re the weight of a fridge, right?”

With a swiftness that caught Nat off guard, Chloe swung around to face her friend, using the treadmill railing for support. Her face was a mix of complete exhaustion and flaring frustration. Tiny beads of sweat trickled down to her chin, falling onto her weighty breasts.

“Quit projecting you cow. Just because I-” the need for a sharp gasp of air interrupted her, “-I’m low on energy doesn’t mean I’m as out of shape as you.” She stumbled off the treadmill, using the momentum to begin waddling across the gym. “Must’ve not gotten enough calories this morning, I’m gonna find the vending machines.”

“Like a full box of cereal isn’t enough to fuel someone for at least a couple of days,” Nat muttered as she followed behind.

“Not…” she still struggled for breath, stomach rolling in and out between meaty puffs. “Not if you’re working out!”

“I guess in your head calories really do burn that fast, huh?” Nat asked as she rolled her eyes.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean? Like you’d know how this works, with how well you manage your weight!”

Nat acknowledged that there was truth in those words, but to her credit, she didn’t have to be an expert marksman to hit the side of a barn.

The girls rounded a corner at the end of the room. On the far end of the hallway, past a pair of changing rooms, the doughy duo spotted a pair of vending machines. 

Chloe’s eyes lit up at the sight of them. The tone of her heavy panting changed from exhaustion to determination. “Yes, alright!” she breathed as her stride lengthened, pulled along by the promise of food.

When Nat finally caught back up to her at the machine, Chloe had already inserted her money and was pressing the keypad to make her selection. She watched beside her as a thick energy bar branded with the image of a fit female tennis player on the wrapper slowly moved towards its fall. Glancing at all the other possible selections, Chloe’s choice appeared to be the only one in the machine that had a chocolate coating.

The bar dropped to the bottom of the machine. However, rather than move to pick up her treat, Chloe punched in the code into the keypad again. The second selection began its vending.

“Oh, Chlo, I don’t nee-” Chloe punched the code a third time, and the reality of the situation set in.

Just how many of these bars was she planning on getting?

By the time the fourth bar was being dispensed, Chloe had snagged and torn into the first. She bit off a massive chunk, and as she chewed her icy exterior melted alongside the chocolate in her mouth.

A rare giggle left her lips. “Gosh, I think I was starving,” she mumbled through chipmunk cheeks while her pudgy hand reached out to hit the code for a fifth time.

Nat was too bored waiting for the glutton to finish up to make any witty remark. The fifth bar was being dispensed, an excessive number of snacks that had taken several minutes to obtain. But the impatient girl was always hesitant to put any limits on Chloe’s appetite.

She hadn’t seen her put money into the machine, so the question hung heavy in the air. Was this it? A reasonable assumption would be that she had just thrown in $5, but the snack hoarder’s appetite defied all reason. Did the machine take any bigger bills? She wasn’t prepared to wait another 5 minutes while she listened to chocolate-coated fingers slapping into the keypad intermixed with crinkling wrappers and awkward grunts. Her eyes were locked on Chloe, waiting to see what she was going to do next.

Watching her friend bend down to grab the collection of calories allowed Nat to breathe a sigh of relief. She wasn’t going full-on binge mode then, although Nat suspected the restriction came more out of how much her gluttonous companion was willing to spend rather than stomach capacity.

Chloe straightened back up and tore open her second bar.

“So, I’m safe in assuming none of those are for me then, right?” Nat asked flatly.

“Why would you need one? You haven’t done shit since we got here but follow me around and watch.”

“Hard not to follow when you have your own gravitational pull.”

Chloe stopped mid-bite. She pulled away from the package, flushed cheeks now tinted as pink as her hair. “Whada hell are you shaying?” she managed to ask through her packed mouth.

“Nothing, princess. Don’t read too much into it,” Nat smiled, reaching out and giving Chloe’s stomach a firm pat before walking away. She made her way back towards the exercise room, stifling a snicker as she felt Chloe’s sharp gaze piercing the back of her head.

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The last remnants of energy bar five slipped past Chloe’s lips. She sat back and basked in the flavor provided by the chocolate coating. Nat looked up from her phone from the bench beside her. “Finished with your feast?”

“And ready to go,” Chloe chirped, stretching her hefty arms over her head. Sweets always seemed to lighten her mood, at least for a little while. “Thought any more about what you wanna try? I’m not gonna let you sit around doing jack shit the whole time.”

Nat looked back down at her phone. She had been researching advice for people looking to get into working out. “Says here that a good way to get into the right mindset is by marking your starting line.”

“Like how?”

Further reading presented Nat with an opening. A small chance to finally get through to her stubborn friend.

“It says we should weigh ourselves and take a full-body picture.” Her eyes watched Chloe, discreetly trying to gauge her reaction.

The pink peach lifted herself off the bench and looked towards the changing rooms. “Yeah, alright, let’s go get your butt on a scale then.”

They made their way back to the changing rooms where the scales sat. Chloe walked up onto the device to turn it on before stepping aside for Nat. “Alright, hop on.”

“Why so eager to get me on it? Too afraid to try for yourself?” the unwilling gym goer mocked, flashing what she knew would be an infuriating grin.

“Like I’ve got anything to be afraid of! I already have a general idea of where I am!” Chloe stated firmly.

Nat was afraid that if she heard Chloe’s imaginary ballpark figure, she’d have an aneurysm. “Alright, I’ll go first,” she conceded, “But don’t think that means you’re off the hook here. That extra padding of yours isn’t filled with air, you know.”

“Unlike your head,” Chloe spat back.

Nat took a step up onto the metal plate and watched the screen come to life. The scale ran its calculations until a number popped up on the little display. An unexpected wave of shock washed over the pale girl’s skin. That couldn’t be right, she had to have misread-

“Three-hundred and twenty-two,” Chloe confirmed aloud.

Eyes still trained on that number, Nat’s mind began to race. She knew she had gained a lot of weight, saw how huge she was, and yet… she didn’t know she was ‘over three-hundred pounds fat.’ When did she get this big? And how, in such a short time?

A horrible thought cut through the swarm of confusion. That she may have been more like Chloe than she realized. Seeing most of the puzzle but still being blind to that last piece.

“Damn, Nat! I didn’t know you were that fat. Good thing I dragged you here.”

Nat didn’t even hear her words. She was in another place, a small, dark room that was claustrophobic for a girl her size. The only light came from the pale blue numbers flashing on screens all around her. She just stood there, looking down at herself, trying to avoid reading any of the displays.

A bright flash blew up the room, making Nat wince away. She looked back up to see Chloe, standing before her with a phone pointed at her flabby form.

“Alright, got what we needed! Now let’s go burn some of that fat off your porky gut!” Chloe ordered, stepping towards the door.

Nat didn’t move. Three hundred and twenty-two pounds… Her hand glided down to the curve of her midriff, feeling more like a mountain than the slope of a hill.

As if to taunt her, her stomach let out a low growl.

It must have been loud because Chloe had reappeared at her side laughing. “Wow, ahaha! Are you for real? You hungry after seeing those energy… Ermm… Nat?” 

Nat swallowed before very slowly stepping off of the scale.

“Get on,” she said, her normally laid-back persona warping into a more confrontational attitude.

Chloe looked from her to the scale. “What? Are you kidding? Quite trying to stall, you’re just wasting our time.”

A pudgy finger stabbed like a dagger towards the scale. “It’s your turn,” Nat continued, her voice slowly twisting into a snarl. “You’re not getting out of this.” Her bright blue eyes flashed with an icy resolve. She had just had her harsh awakening and wasn’t going to let Chloe avoid hers.

“Getting out of what?” Chloe asked, crossing her weighty arms over her porky chest. “This was for you, fatso. What’s the point?”

Nat took Chloe by the wrist. It wasn’t fast, nor was it snappish. Her fingers only made it halfway around, but it was enough. She gently but firmly pulled her back to the scale, activating it with her foot and repeating, “get on.”

“Fine, whatever! Guess it’ll be good for you to see what a healthy goal weight would be. Don’t let this discourage you too much.” She stepped on, and a moment later the scale sounded its finishing beep.

The room was silent. Nat watched Chloe’s lumpy back as the girl leaned forward, still quiet. Was this it? Was she processing what she was seeing? What kind of thoughts were running through that repressed mind of hers?

“C’mon, out with it,” Nat demanded.

“Shut up! I’m trying to…” she paused, straightening back up. “Hey, come read this for me.”

Nat blinked in confusion. “W-what? Why would I do that?”

“Well… I think I’m a bit bloated from the energy bars.”

It took a moment before Nat realized what she meant. “Wait, you can’t see the scale?”

“Quit acting surprised! Don’t act like you could see past your gut!”

She could though. Nat had been able to see just over her paunch to read the screen. However, it figured that Chloe’s would cause more issues. The little doughball rolled her eyes, sliding up next to the fat tub of butter. “Maybe you could see it between your legs, with how far you’re bending over backwards,” she grumbled.

“Oh whatever! It’s a little bloating, Christ! C’mon you dork, you’re the one who wanted this!”

Nat sighed, circling the sphere and peering around her supersized companion’s tree trunk legs. She read the number.

She said nothing.

“Well? Come on,” She saw Chloe’s stomach waggle as she impatiently tried to lean forward and see over herself. “What, are you that put off?”

The chill Nat had exuded now flowed through her own body. She looked from the scale, to Chloe, and back. Her mouth felt dry as she opened it to speak. “Four eighteen.”

“What?”

“It says you weigh four-hundred and eighteen pounds.”

It was barely a second before Chloe let out a boisterous belly laugh. “Yeah, right!” She stepped back off the scale, prompting the evidence of her heaviness to disappear. “Quit messing around.”

The iciness melted in the face of a deep rising fire. “What, you think I’m lying?!” Nat flared.

“No duh,” Chloe said, “You expect me to believe I put on three-hundred pounds? In three years?” She folded her arms, resting them on her fat gut while wearing an even fatter smirk. “Who do you think I am? You?” 

The flames burned hotter. The queen of obliviousness was doing it again, what she always did. Finding some way out of facing the harsh reality of her weight gain. Always managing to avoid feeling the swell of negative emotions. The emotions Nat herself was experiencing right now. 

It wasn’t fair.

“Well maybe if you could see past this ‘bloated’ stomach,” Nat said, jabbing her finger deep into Chloe’s soft middle, “You’d know I’m not freaking lying!” 

“The hell’s your problem?” Chloe shot back, swatting away Nat’s hand with her cushioned paw. “Pretending I’m fatter than you to coddle yourself? That’s pathetic.”

“Right! I’m pretending!” Nat exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “You’re delusional if you don’t think you’re severely overweight!”

“Fine, yeah I’ve put on a little, but everyone’s weight fluctuates! It’s nothing I can’t fix with a little working out! Which you haven’t even tried, you lazy ass pig!”

The last remnants of Nat’s composure slipped away. Negative feelings about her own body and frustrations towards her roommate exploded into a roar of raw emotion. “I can’t deal with you! I’m out of here, do whatever the hell you want, I don’t care! You’re the worst!”

She turned around, storming out the door and back into the main area, leaving Chloe behind. Standing at the end of the room, she looked out and watched as people a fraction of her size worked themselves into a sweat. After a minute she let out a deep sigh.

Lashing out like that wasn’t like her, and thinking about it made her feel rotten. Sure Chloe could be a massive bitch who anyone would get angry at, but she was more frustrated with herself. All three-hundred and twenty-two pounds of herself.

“Maybe I should just try…” she said to herself quietly, walking up to one of the closest machines and taking a look. At this point she didn’t see how an attempt could hurt. Who knew, maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.

The label on the machine claimed it was for leg extensions. She looked over the instructional diagram as she squeezed her plump behind into the seat. There wasn’t much space for her belly, which was spilling over the white iron of the machine, but with a switch of a pin the backrest moved back to offer more space from the thigh bar. 

Following the diagram further, Nat groaned. It appeared that the bar was adjustable, and was currently sitting in an open position. She pulled another pin on its side, adjusting it down until it reached the first, most open slot. In this position it made contact not only with her padded thighs, but again with her belly as well. It pressed even harder after a sigh of dismay. 

She didn’t notice the bar not clicking properly into place, kept free by her wide hips and thighs.

Nat swung her feet behind the weight bar and set the weights to a low setting of twenty-five pounds. Taking a deep breath, Nat lifted her legs, pushing the bar upward. It was about as annoyingly difficult as she had imagined it would be. And it wasn’t because of the weight of the bar.

Despite the difficulty, she continued. With each repetition she felt the motion of her legs reverberate uncomfortably through the rest of her body, and every time she lowered them her back craned just enough to put her chest right up in her face. She could even swear she felt the waistband of her pants slipping slightly.

After her fifth lift Nat sat there in the resting position, trying and failing to regulate the breathing through her nose. Her legs burned and all she could think about was quitting. She wanted to just get out of the thing, to go wrap herself in a blanket back home and watch her shows. But still… she thought back to the scale again. To the feelings of frustration. 

Only five? Really? With everything else on top of it, was she really that pathetic?

With a resolve she’d never thought she had, she pushed onward. 

Six...seven...ei-

Three quarters of the way through the eighth rep, her chubby legs gave out. They, along with the weights, crashed down back to the resting position. The weights barely popped as they slipped into place, but Nat’s body shook the whole machine.

The unfixed peg finally snapped into place.

With a sudden intensity, the thigh guard clamped down hard into Nat’s chunky thighs. The girl gasped, sitting up higher and causing the tight bar to pull even lower, bringing with it the waistband of Nat’s tights. Her giant stomach spilled forth, a wave washing over the roof of a dam and pressing itself up against the cold metal.

“Shit!” Nat breathed, face a burning hot scarlet. She wasn’t used to pain and the pressure against her thighs mixed with the coldness on her stomach might as well have been pins shoved into the soft woman’s pillow.

Still, it was nothing compared to the waves of cherry red embarrassment that flooded her cheeks as she was greeted to the view of her own exposed stomach flesh. Desperately she grabbed for the waistband, tugging at it with all of her minimal might, but everything was so tightly packed there was no moving it. 

She tried the pin for the leg guard but couldn’t reach around her own trapped belly. Eventually she ended up just desperately trying to shimmy herself out of the side of the machine, but with no success. She was stuck.

Her mind was overwhelmed. The young adult hadn’t felt embarrassment like this since she was a teenager. Her eyes darted around the room, hoping she wasn’t attracting attention. No one was looking at first, but this wasn’t the most silent affair. It was only a matter of moments before people began taking notice. 

She sat there and squirmed, desperate as a fish trying to escape a line, and twice as loud. “Let go!” she grunted, the demonic machine clattering with an iron laugh.

She didn’t see how this could get any worse. But of course, there’s always a way.

“Come on, what the hell?!” a man asked loudly, stomping into view from behind  the weights and over to Nat’s prison. It was the man Nat had noticed earlier while Chloe was running. 

He was very fit, around his early thirties and wearing a bright yellow shirt that said “Meet Me at the Bar” across the chest. His skin was tan, and glistening after what had to have been a pretty intense workout. He was honestly short, probably only a couple inches taller than Nat, but to her he might as well have been over six foot tall, with a look about him that would intimidate her even if he wasn’t yelling.

No words came to her.

“Are you serious? Quit messing around! Other people want to use the equipment!”

A good number of people were looking now. Some gawked at the exposed pale mass swallowing the machine, while others gave the man looks of disapproval. Some people quickly made their way to the other ends of the room, adjusting their headphones in order to best ignore the confrontation.

She squirmed again, more out of embarrassment than an attempt at freedom. “Sorry, I-I can’t-”

“You’re stuck? God, why do we always have to wait for some fatass to figure out how to fuckin’ exercise right?” he threw his hands in the air.

Nat, despite her situation pointing directly to the contrary, felt small. Her face was red enough to make her hair look devoid of color. But she couldn’t speak. Whether out of awkwardness and embarrassment, or because she felt she deserved this, her eyes began to sting.

“Hey man, chill,” a loud feminine voice interjected. Nat and the man both turned to the source of the sound. They were met with a short, petite girl, probably not even a third of Nat’s weight. Over her thin frame she wore an indigo tank and skin-tight black short shorts. Her straight dark brown hair was tied back into a loose bun, leaving her soft round features exposed. Nat was surprised such an exclamation had come from her.

It seemed she might have been surprised as well, because she immediately wrapped both hands tightly around her water bottle, holding it close.

“Back off, this’s got nothing to do with you,” the man snarled, stepping towards her.

The girl appeared to wither under the man’s glare. Her soft freckles stood out like dirt in snow as her face went pale. She gave Nat an apologetic look out of the corner of her eye as she cradled her drink.

Satisfied that he had shut down the interruption, he turned his attention back to Nat. “You shoulda just gone on the treadmill like that other bitch. You’d get a good workout instead of getting in everyone’s way.”

“Hey!” yet another voice interrupted.

As if summoned by her mention, Chloe stomped towards them from across the room. She approached from behind the small girl, whose eyes went wide with shock at the mammoth creampuff. A little brown mouse completely eclipsed by her shadow. She might have been afraid that she would be eaten.

Chloe brushed past her, face scrunched with rage, fist crushing a newly purchased energy bar. The expression was one that Nat had seen many times before, but there was a fresh layer to it. Something beneath the heat on her cheeks, a tiger’s growl rather than a cat’s hiss. 

She pulled up to the short man, standing about an inch taller than him. From Nat’s seated point of view, the scene played like a grizzly bear rearing back to face a lumberjack. “What kind of shit are you saying to my friend?” she demanded.

The guy looked up at her with total disgust. “You too? Go back on the treadmill with the other chicks, cow. You people always ruin the place for the rest of us.”

There was a crunching sound as Chloe’s hand closed even harder around her treat. “We can do whatever the hell we want here, so fuck off.”

“You fuck off!” he shouted. “Why the hell even come here if you’re just gonna take up all the space?”

Nat resumed her struggle, desperate to get out of this. It’s not like she wanted to be here. She tried to be quiet, pushing her tummy to find the pin when a soft voice spoke to her.

“Hey, you ok?” the dark haired girl from before asked, crouching inches away from the trapped marshmallow. The girl’s sudden appearance made Nat’s heart jump. She wasn’t used to being around someone who could move quietly. 

Regardless, she gave a shallow nod.

“Good, now let’s get you out of this thing,” she said.

“We came here to work out, loser,” Chloe continued. She stepped forward and jabbed a finger into the man’s chest. “Just like you. And I doubt the people who run this place would be too happy to know that a member is being a raging asshole to a sweet girl who’s just trying to exercise!”

“Oh gosh,” Nat heard the small girl whisper. She looked to see her wide brown eyes searching for a point of entry around the spilling rolls before her. “Oh! Um… s-sorry…” she said when she noticed Nat watching. She reached forward and began to lift Nat’s stomach in search of the pin.

The man had taken a step back from his advancing foe. “Yeah right, and are ya gonna tell them that your friend practically destroyed that machine? I doubt they’d want her here after that!”

“Guess I won’t need my last set of curls,” the girl holding Nat’s belly remarked as she pushed it even higher. “Oh god, that was… that was such a rude joke, I’m sorry, I-I always talk too much when I’m nervous…” 

Nat winced, trying but failing to give a reassuring smile.

Entirely unlike Chloe’s fat, cocky grin. The bear smelled desperation in her opponent. She was reared back, bringing herself to her full height. Feet planted firmly with hands on her hips, she leased a mighty blow. “Let’s see who’s side they take then. Call them over. It’s the fat girl working out in peace versus the asshole who throws a fit at her when there’s a hundred other things he could do instead.”

The two stood, eyes locked. Neither said a word.

“Here we go!” the frantic rescuer proclaimed, grabbing the pin that was the key to Nat’s freedom. The bar flew up, releasing the trapped thighs once and for all. 

“Thanks,” Nat said quietly, rubbing the red area where the metal had dug into her. “Ah, ouch…” She looked back up to the battle before her.

The man took a step forward, but Chloe stood her ground. She was a statue, staring down the advancing force. Nat could see something in her icy blue eyes, a mix of anger and disgust that she had never witnessed.

It was no surprise to her when the man finally turned away and stomped off. “Dumb fat bitch,” she heard him say under his breath.

Chloe stood there, watching him walk off. Her gaze could have melted the man, but she said nothing. 

She didn’t need to. The mother bear had defended her territory.

Nat looked down as she processed what had happened, the water returning to her ocean blue eyes. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before. She froze up and just took it. Was it because she believed him?

“Hey, you ok?” the girl beside her asked.

Chloe was approaching now. “C’mon Nat. I know you’re not letting that get to you,” Chloe said. “I mean sure, I kinda get where he was coming from,” she said under her breath when she noticed Nat’s stomach rolled out over her thighs, “but you know you’re better than that. If anyone ever tries to say you’re worthless again, I’ll bite their head off.”

The small girl cowered again, likely hoping that Chloe hadn’t overheard her earlier slipup.

Nat’s eyes were forming tears now, but it wasn’t out of embarrassment. “T-thanks, Chlo,” she whispered, finally sliding herself out of the chair. She didn’t think to cover her stomach, which sagged over her front like the girl in front of her. “That means a lot.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chloe responded. “I’m not doin it for free ya know. You owe me lunch for this shit.”

“U-um… I hope you’re feeling ok,” the small girl said to Nat. “For what it’s worth, I think he was… well, he was a dick. He was wrong.”

Nat felt her heart lighten a little more. Before her were two people who had gone out of her way to defend her, one being a total stranger. If what that guy said was really true, would this girl have come to her defense?

“Thanks,” Nat said with a smile.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, who’re you?” she questioned.

“Ah! I uh… I’m Halie,” she said. “Thanks for getting rid of that guy… I kinda just froze up…”

“It’s cool, Chlo,” Nat said, smiling at Halie. “She was a big help.”

Halie smiled appreciatively. “Well, I’m glad you’re ok. I’m going to go get back to-” she broke off, a tiny flick of her eyes down toward Nat’s tummy putting a blush on her cheeks. “Uhm, I’ll be working out! Maybe I’ll see you two here again!”

“Y-yeah, maybe…” Nat stammered as the girl started walking off.

“Nice meeting you both!” she called over her shoulder with a wave.

Nat let out a nervous chuckle, and her eyes fell to the floor. “So, about earlier in the changing room… I’m sorry I got so mad.”

“Yeah, what was that?” Chloe asked. “You’re never like that.”

“I got a bit freaked out, alright? I wasn’t expecting...” Nat trailed off, looking up at her friend. “Anyway, you ready to go?”

Chloe looked to her, narrowing her eyes. “You’re still trying that hard to leave, huh?”

“Hey, give me a break, I’ve been through a lot today...”

Chloe sighed. “Well... they did say it was a week-long trial,” she said as she began unwrapping her crushed energy bar. “I guess we could call it a day and come back later. Let’s go.”

If it wasn’t for the burning in her thighs Nat would have jumped with joy. The girls grabbed their things and left the gym out a side door. As they walked to their car, behind Chloe’s back Nat flipped off the building. 

Lucifer himself couldn’t court her back into Hell. She’d do everything in her power to make sure they never went back, not ever. 

She was free.

******************************************************************

“Here, put in the GPS for the closest American restaurant,” Chloe said, passing her phone to Nat from the driver’s seat.

Nat tapped the phone with a pudgy finger. She felt a pang of discomfort when the picture Chloe took of her popped up on screen. However, rather than swiping away, she found herself bringing the phone up for a closer look. Her body was huge, round, and flabby, and her face had a look of shock. That was immediately apparent. 

But looking deeper, she began to see things beyond just what was made up of pixels. A girl who never went to the gym, who didn’t give a shit about any of that. The laid-back redhead who did what she wanted, who loved food and hated exercise. The one who had never cared what others thought of how she looked or how she acted. She had been that girl all her life, she had been that girl this morning.

Why did that change? 

Because of a number?

No, she had just hit a scale-shaped speed bump. Deep down she knew that girl was still there. The girl she was comfortable being.

“Dammit Nat, c’mon! Where am I turning?” Chloe snapped.

“Sorry, one sec, gotta find a place that allows cattle,” she responded, closing the picture and catching a moment’s reflection of her chubby smile on the screen.