''Ugh!'' grunted Christie, sweat forming at her brow. She had been working out for at least two hours.

''Must get rid of this tummy!'' she grumbled tenaciously, doing sit ups. It was very hard to do sit ups when her gut kept bulging up into rolls. Christie was very angry. She always ate healthy, exercised. Yet when one week of inactivity comes along, she bloats up. It seemed strange, but this wasn't Christie's main concern. Her main efforts were being channelled into just losing the stomach. She collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat and panting.

''Judgment time.'' she said to herself, as she proceeded to go weigh herself.

''160 pounds?! Oh my Gawd, I've never been this fat! Damn it!!'' she squealed.

''At this rate, I'll be fat as Mel in no time! Grr!''

She had mainly been filling up in her breasts and stomach, and while she didn't object to her growing boobs, her gut was downright annoying. Her height didn't help either. Being a short girl at 5'2", Christie looked alot chubbier than she actually was, she was a decent 4 to 5 inches shorter than her fat-bottomed friend Melissa. Christie knew she would never be as gluttonous as Mel. She had never been a fan of sugary or fatty foods, and usually ate very healthily. She would work hard to shed this tummy flab.

Meanwhile, Melissa sat in a singlet top and a pair of boxer shorts watching TV. Her date from the night before had been very successful, and she was quite smitten. She sat naively stuffing cookies into her mouth, of in a daze brought about by TV. Her soft pale thighs were exposed due to the shortness of her boxer shorts, which was beginning to tighten around her butt.

"Oh gawd....These undies are supposed to be loose too....." she sighed, examining her bum cheeks. She still believed she had the biggest butt in her entire school. And she wasn't wrong either. Her massive bum was just so plump. Mel found it hard to believe she had put on so much weight in just a few months. Six months ago she was just a mere 130lbs, if not less. Now she had packed on over 40lbs in half a year. Her rump gain had been enormous, accompanied by a chubby tummy and hefty thighs. She did deserve it in a way, she was incredibly gluttonous. Mel had always had a large appetite, even when she was little her mum would have to tell her to slow down from stuffing her face. And Melissa used to be very athletic, doing plenty of running and dancing to stay in shape. As her teenage years progressed however, she had grown very lazy and lost interest in sport.

Mel's mum walked in on her fat-bottomed daughter watching TV again and winced.

"Mel, why don't you go for a walk or something?" she asked, concerned.

"Nah, too cold out." replied Mel, her eyes never leaving the TV screen.

"Well, why don't we pop the yoga video in and doing some stretches?"

"Mum.......I don't feel like it." complained Melissa.

Melissa's mum had had just about enough.

"Melissa, please. You need to do some kind of exercise. Look how chubby you're getting!"

"I'm not chubby!" Melissa squealed, scrunching up her chipmunk face.

Her mother walked over to her.

"Yeah, well look at these rolls!" said her mum, "Three jelly rolls!", she continued, jiggling each of them one by one. Melissa got butterflies.

"They're not rolls! Everyone's tummy bunches up when they sit!" complained Mel, folding her arms to cover her belly.

"Look, there's obviously no getting through to you, so go ahead. Get fat." huffed her mother, leaving the room. Melissa scowled angrily as she returned to the TV. Her mouth was covered in chocolate from all the cookies she had been eating.

"I don't care, Greg thinks I'm cute." she concluded.

***********

It wasn't until school the next Monday that Melissa ran into Greg again. She was still rather shy to approach him, despite being so excited to be going out with him. They didn't meet until lunchtime.

"Hey Mel." he said quietly.

"Oh hey Greg!" pepped Mel.

They hugged awkwardly, yet comforted by each other.

"How have you been?" asked Melissa.

"Let's sit down first, I'll get ya something to eat!" chirped Greg, running off before Mel could object. She was already stuffed. Her eyes widened when Greg came back with a massive plate of chips and a burger.

"We sharing?" asked Mel.

"Oh no, this is all for you." said Greg sweetly.

Mel giggled, "You're so nice Greg."

Greg watched in bliss yet again as Mel began to eat the food he had brought her. Mel was stuffed already.

"I can't deny this food, Greg was so nice and got it for me....it would be rude..." she thought to herself. Mel thought around for a conversation topic. Man, she led a boring life. What would she talk about? Her mum telling her she's too fat? My exercise program! Well, at least the exercise I do, Mel continued in thought. Greg's face flashed white suddenly to Mel's surprise.

"Really? Why? You don't need to..." he replied.

"Oh yeah, I guess, but fitness is still important."

"Suppose so, but I'd rather just have fun. Exercise is boring in my opinion." said Greg, subtly trying to persuade Melissa.

"Oh, tell me about it!" laughed Mel, "I hate it, but I try to do it for myself."

"I'd say don't do it, I mean, it's your body. Have fun with it." said Greg.

"I like your way of thinking." smiled Mel, "Oof....I'm so full! Do you want the rest of these chips?"

"Nah thanks, you eat them." said Greg.

Mel frowned a little, "You haven't eaten any lunch, aren't you hungry?"

"Nope, had a big breakfast."

"Ok, I'll finish these. No point letting them go to waste."

"No indeed." smiled Greg wickedly.

***

Christie watched coldly from where the girls were sitting.

"Guys, I think there's something suspect about Mel's new boyfriend."

Jodie and Vicky looked up from their lunches.

"Aww, let her have her fun, she'll be alright." reassured Vicky.

"They're soo cute together." added Jodie. Christie was unswayed.

"I think we're going to have to work our Melly extra hard in our little jogging routine....." concluded Christie.

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

Christie stared out the window of the bus, waiting for it to take her home. All the younger high school kids were darting around like idiots while she sat quietly. Her own weight gain was bringing her down slightly, but she was more concerned about the intentions of Greg. She saw right through him. But how could she make Mel realise?

"Hey Chrissy!" hyped Mel, sitting next to her. Christie noticed how much of the seat Melissa's soft buns were occupying, she felt squashed between Mel's right hip and the bus wall. Mel felt her left bum cheek bulge slightly over the edge of the aisle seat. Christie looked to see her friend working her way through a chocolate bar.

"Where'd you get that from?" she asked.

"Greg bought it for me!" she giggled, "Want some?"

"He he, no thanks, I gotta get rid of this tummy." replied Christie, jiggling her tender pudge.

"So ah, Greg seems nice, buying you all this food." started Christie.

"I know! I can barely keep up!" replied Mel naively.

"You don't think it's weird, him buying you all this food?"

"Nope, I think it's sweet."

Christie sighed out aloud.

"What?" asked Mel.

"Mel, don't you think that Greg's trying to plumpen you up? I mean, since you've been going out, he's been stuffing you like crazy, and you are looking a little fatter around the middle."

"He wouldn't do that!" grumbled Melissa defensively, "Besides, I haven't put on weight! And even if I had, it's just because I'm comfortable with my body around him."

"Whatever Mel, just trying to help." submitted Christie honestly. She turned and looked out the window.

Mel looked at her friend, then down at her tummy. She had a definite spare tyre around the middle, her doughy roll oozing onto her waistband. Even when she wore tops that covered her swelling midriff, they still clung and outlined every roll. She grabbed her tummy with both hands and gave it a little jiggle. Mel saw her thunder thighs squished up together as she sat. She bit her lip and frowned. She was getting fatter.

"Chrissy, I'm sorry." said Mel.

"That's ok..." moped Christie, still looking out the window.

"You wanna go for a run this arvo?" asked Melissa, tilting her head.

Her friend turned to her with a grin, "Of course!" Christie laughed, "We can be the blubber twins, trying to get in shape."

Mel blushed, hoping no-one else had heard that. She knew in her head that she needed the exercise more than Christie.

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

Mel panted off home after her jog. She and Christie had ran for a good hour, and Christie had left off for her house. Melissa was trying to jog, but was way too tired to bother. She was sweating all over, her cute face beat red and her thighs hurt from rubbing together. Her clingy bike pants spent most of their time rummaging in Melissa's bum crack. The hardest part about running for Mel was that her clothes and extra fat padding made it so difficult. Her body spilled out of her exercise clothing, and with all the extra weight around her hips jiggling as she ran, it made things very heavy. She was relieved when she reached home.

She waddled into the kitchen.

"How was your jog, sweetie?" asked her mum. "Gasp....pretty good.....I'm so tired though." panted Mel.

"Ah well, have some water then. Take a look at what I scored from work."

Mel turned from her glass of water to see a huge cheesecake on the kitchen table.

"Oh wow! How'd you get that?" she drooled. "Retirement party, they had too much food, and well, I love cheesecake, so I offered to take it home." replied her mother, admiring her prize.

"We're going to enjoy that then!" laughed Mel. "We? It's my cake, you can have one slice."

"Oh poo! Mum! Only one?!" complained Melissa.

"Now now Melissa, you need to watch your figure."

Mel pouted grumpily. The cake looked so good. Hey, she happened to like cheesecake too.....

Try as she might, Melissa just couldn't stop thinking about that cake. It stayed in her thoughts all night, then at school the next day. She did her best to push it into the back of her mind. Mel sat with her girl friends at recess, she didn't want to reject them any further, she had spent alot of time with Greg instead of them.

"You ok Mel?" asked Jodie, "You seem preoccupied."

"Probably dreaming about Greg!" Vicky sighed sarcastically before giggling.

Mel didn't answer. Jodie clicked her fingers at her.

"Hello?"

"Huh?" Mel jumped, startled.

Christie laughed. "Melissa, you've been daydreaming all day, what's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing." reassured Mel,"Say Vicky, how's Paul?"

"Pretty good, he started college last week." smiled Vicky, "He's going to be a doctor."

Vicky smiled again. Paul was Vicky's long time boyfriend. They had been going out for over two years. Longer than any of the other girls. Melissa had now had three boyfriends. Aside from Greg, there was also Adam and Ben. Ben was the nerdy young lad who her old crush Nick hung out with. Adam and Ben had both been out with Melissa before her chubbiness kicked in, back when she was known around the school as one of the hottest chicks in the year. Christie had just had one boyfriend, Josh. They lasted a few months, while Jodie remained the only girl who hadn't had a boyfriend yet. Not that this mattered to her, she was quite content the way she was.

"It must suck now you guys don't go to the same school anymore." said Christie.

"Yeah, it's a bit hard, but we're both mature now, we know how to handle it." said Vicky.

Paul graduated the previous year, and was a year and a half older than Vicky.

The bell rang for the end of recess, and the girls trudged back to class. Crammed into her chair, Mel continued to think about the cake. How good her one piece would be. She felt strange, she had never been so desperate to eat, even during her numerous chocolate binges. Mel tried to keep her mind focused on algebra, but it just wasn't happening. Eventually she rose her hand.

"Miss, can I please go to sick ward, I'm not feeling well....." she moaned.

"Of course you may."

Christie put her hand on Mel's, with a concerned expression.

"I'll be fine." whispered Mel as she stumbled out of the room.

"Are your parents home, young lady?" asked the office lady.

"No..." groaned Mel,"I can walk home though, I'll be ok....."

Anyone would be surprised that so many people had bought Melissa's attempts to appear sick. Despite just wanting to leave school, Mel needed that cake. She did her best to jog home, just to work off some calories, but the extra burden of her book pack made it tough. Walking along the footpath outside her house, her heart jumped when she heard her mum's car start up. She leaped into her neighbours front yard and hid behind the side fence dividing her house from her neighbours. She noticed several planks missing in the fence and peeked though to her front yard. Mel needn't worry about her neighbours spotting her in their yard, as their side of the fence was lined with thick hedges that Mel could hide behind. Hidden from both sides by bush and fence, Mel peered through the gap and waited until her mother's car pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

"Safe! Tee hee!" giggled Melissa evilly.

She stepped both feet through the fence, before twisting her shoulders through. She placed her hands on the sides of the fence and pulled herself through. But her plump hips were too wide to fit through, despite her efforts.

"Oh poo! Ugh!" she hissed. She was quite used to getting stuck by now. She wriggled her chunky buns and tried hard to manoeuvre her wide hips through. Her thighs and love handles pressed against the fence sides, as the bushes and fence rattled with Mel's struggling. Her hips and ass were the only thing stuck on the other side of the fence.

"Mmmph!" she huffed, her round hips slowly twisting through. After twisting the right way, she suddenly popped through and landed with a thud on her front lawn, her fat bottom wobbling upon landing. She dusted herself off and snuck into her house around the back. Mission accomplished!

Melissa knew her mother had gone to work, and wouldn't be back until past school hours. She had plenty of time to enjoy herself.

"Man, I should fake sickys more often!" she giggled to herself.

She threw her book bag to the floor and advanced on the cheesecake.

"Oh so tasty!" she beamed, cutting her one slice. She made sure it was a large piece, after all, being restricted to one piece of cheesecake was harsh enough for her. Mel raised the cake to her plump lips and took a bite. She instantly felt endorphins in her. "Oh! So good!" she exclaimed,"This is the tastiest cake ever!"

She sat down on her massive rump and worked her way through her slice. Melissa giggled, she knew cheesecake was bad for her, but couldn't resist the temptation to be naughty. A saddened expression crossed her face as she poked the last bite into her mouth and swallowed.

"Hmm....that wasn't so bad. Would mum really notice another piece missing? I really shouldn't......"

Mel weighed up her options.

"I'll just say I had Christie over.....and she had some too! I'm a genius!"

She proceeded to cut another piece, bigger this time, and stuffed her chubby face.

"Oooooooo, this is going straight to my bum!" she sniggered. Whenever she became engrossed in her food, Mel always stopped caring about her size. Even though when she realised what she had done she felt guilty, nothing stopped her when she wanted to eat. The problem was the consciquences that followed. Melissa was insecure about her weight, and did her best to ignore it. Some moments were worse than others. Some days she felt great, while others she felt like a fat piggy. At any rate, Mel ate her second helping before she could stop for breath.

"Oh...." she pouted, "Why can't I slow down? I could enjoy it more then maybe I wouldn't eat so much....."

She worked her way through half the cake and would have finished it off, until she her the hand brake of her mum's car pulled on.

"Oh crap!" swore Mel, fumbling around, she had no idea what she was doing. She shoved the cake back into the fridge and was leaving the room when suddenly; "Hello Melissa." said her mum, sounding rather happy. "Oh, ah hi mum, didn't know you were coming home so early...."

"You would know wouldn't you. I got a call from the school. You were sick?" her mother's tone began to change.

"Umm, yeah, I think I got a cold..."

"Well that's no good, I guess that would explain why half my cake is missing?"

Mel's heart flipped over.

"I only had one piece, I swear! Christie was over...." she stammered.

"Christie was over? Even though you were sick?"

"I uhhh...."

"And even though I just was at Christie's house having tea with her mum?"

Busted.

"Melissa, I know you're lying to me. When are you going to take this seriously? You need to lose weight, you're blowing up all over!"

"But I'm not fat!" Mel shot back, knowing that was a lame response.

"Yes you are my little piggy, look, your shirt doesn't even reach your pants!"

Melissa looked down and saw her chubby tummy sticking out from her too small shirt. She tugged it down but failed to cover her bloating middle. Her face blushed scarlet.

"And you have cream all over your face, I know you've been eating my cake. I mean come on, Melissa! You're too fat! I don't know how you landed a boyfriend with you looking like that!"

That hurt. Mel felt her heart in her throat, she couldn't believe her own mother had just called her too fat. She couldn't take it and burst into tears and ran off to her room.

Melissa lay face down on her bed, sniffing and sobbing. She felt so confused. She had tried to lose weight, but the temptation to food was too strong. She just wished she could be like she used to be, 130 pounds and thin. Mel wondered herself why Greg had asked her out, he had never shown any interest in her before. The stress of being overweight was really getting her down, her clothes didn't fit, her mother ridiculed her and she had gotten herself into some embarrassing stuck situations. She was now determined to lose weight with the help of Christie. Knowing her friend needing to lose weight too, she decided action had to be taken.