The Wish Cards, The Last Part

[Demandred]

Ok, so this is the last part of The Wish Cards! Ummm, it was really fun to write. Seems a shame for it to end, but 10 parts it enough for me. Apologies if the focus on the growth is... lacking... somewhat, it depends on what you like I guess. Also, Redkage was so kind as to draw a picture of Matt! It's at the bottom of the story, more like a parting wave than anything. Or a sign of good times ahead. Full credit to him.

If you are wondering (heh), I'll probably finish The Growing Genie then start something new in the near future, etc.

- Dem




The Wish Cards, Part 10




Clifton actually looked surprised for a moment. But then he was back to his usual self, smirking and putting his hands on his hips. That sort of thing. “It would have worked better if you had taken the other way around. But points for effort.”

“How did you even know I was here?” Matt asked, from the floor.

“Uh, it was me actually.” Jake said. “I knew something was wrong from the start.”

“Well, you were getting shorter.” Adam pointed out.

“Just listen to me!” Jake snapped. “None of you turned up for college, and nobody even knew who you were.”

“We found him with a wedgie in the park, crying like a girl actually.” Adam said slyly. “We were going to see you at work, only it turns out you got sacked. But one of the advantages of being uber big is people can find you pretty easily. We just had to ask around really and it led us to this big, mysterious house. We could see you going up the hill actually, like a walking bag of potatoes.”

“We kind of knew you'd be here. It's a good place for a grand showdown of sorts.” Tammy added, smiling up at Adam.

“Ok, that's nice. Now can you grab him or something?” Matt asked.

“I wouldn't do that if I was you” Clifton warned. “If I drop this jar, he'll be killed. It's as simple as that.” Adam raised a hand, opened his mouth, frowned, and let his hand drop. “Ah.”

“So much for that.” Tammy said, accompanied with a long sigh.

Matt found that he could move again without wanting to kill himself. Getting to his feet carefully, it was unnerving how much smaller Jake was to him. It was exciting how much smaller Jake was to him.

“Matt, this isn't a time to be getting turned on.” Tammy said, and Matt even had the grace to blush.

“So anyway, this dramatic showdown...” Adam said. “Listen, we just want everything back to normal. You can do that, right?”

“Of course I can.” Clifton said. “I've got your original models in these jars, as I told your large, easily-confused friend here.”

“I'm thinking that he gets something out of this himself, more than just the voodoo doll side of it.” Matt thought out loud. “Like getting younger. What else have you gotten from those jars? Cos they're all just people's dreams aren't they, and you can make them yours as well as theirs. Then when it goes wrong for them, I suppose you enjoy that as well. You're the bad guy, you have to get off on people's suffering. Well, your reign of terror ends here Clifton because I have a master plan!”

“Matt, you aren't supposed to say it out loud!” Tammy hissed, shaking her head.

Matt rolled his shoulders. “Maybe I'm as much of a meathead as he says.” He said, reaching to his back pocket for the Grow Card. Only, he couldn't quite reach anymore. He tried to do it without drawing attention to himself, but everyone was staring at him. “Itchy back?”

Adam snorted. “Right, I say we just beat the shit out of him anyway.” He said, and he followed his own advice soundly. Clifton dithered for a second, looking at the jar, then the cupboard. Finally, the only thing he did was put Matt's jar back before Adam jumped on him.

“Tammy!” Matt hissed. However, she was too busy fawning over Adam to pay attention. “For the love of...” he sighed. “Jake?”

“What.” Came a deflated sigh.

“I need you to get my card out my back pocket.”

“Eh? I have to touch your oversized ass for your card?”

“Yes! Now shut up and get on with it!” Matt growled. “Before Adam gets his own ass handed to him.” Despite jumping on the guy, Adam didn't actually use any of that Taekwondo he supposedly knew. Actually, in this reality he probably didn't know enough to be of much use to him.

Jake didn't look happy, if the top of his head could give away that sort of information. However, he pulled the card out for Matt. Matt plucked it out his hands and held it up, grinning at the thing. Held between two fingers, it seemed to almost glow purple in the dim room.

“What are you doing with that?” Jake hissed as Adam pinned Clifton to the wall somehow.

“Hold him there!” Matt told Adam. Both men looked over, and Clifton's eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing with that card?”

Matt folded it in half. “If you can't make me grow when the card's folded, then you can't hurt me either. In fact, I don't think you can hurt me at all if you aren't holding my jar! Otherwise you could have stopped Adam.” Hands on hips, Matt felt quite smug. He walked over to the open cupboard and looked at the jars. “So Jake's the brown one?” He picked it up, and an electric shock ran through Matt's hand, all the way to his head. He could see Jake even when he closed his eyes to shake his head. He could see how he was before Clifton messed with his size, too. It confused him, and with a gasp he dropped the jar.

“No!” Jake yelled, running over. He halted at the shards on the floor, the brown glow already fully gone. “You just killed me!”

“Uh, I can still see you.” Matt pointed out.

“Then Clifton was lying” Adam said.

“Of course I was” Clifton said, looking considerably paler. “It just means he killed your original form. You have no card. I can't control you; you're stuck like that.”

Jake looked up at Matt again. “So you did kill me!”

“Sorry.” Matt said. “At least it's only metaphorically, rather than, you know, actually killing you.”

“So what do we do with him now?” Asked Adam, whose consideration for Jake was minimal at the best of times.

“Hang on.” Matt said, going into the kitchen. Grabbing the fridge either side, he budged his way backwards with it. Despite a few confused expressions from the others, he carried on. It was a heavy thing, actually, heavier than he had expected. By the time he'd moved it fully out of its original space, he was slightly breathless. “Ok. Clifton goes behind the fridge until we can sort something out.”

“What?” Adam asked.

“Just get him behind the fridge. I want to look at these jars without him kicking a fuss. If he grabs your jar, he'll have you on the floor.” The tone of Matt's voice had Adam nodding, if not fully understanding. “Ah, just pass him here.” Matt sighed, grabbing Clifton by the belt. It was easy to lift him; in fact, on the way back he banged the guy's head on the doorframe.

“Careful with him” Tammy warned, edging closer to Adam.

“See how he likes it” Matt grumbled, shoving him into where the fridge was. “If you move, I swear I'll break your legs.” He growled, moving the fridge halfway back. With the fridge one side, the wall the other and a tall cabinet on the third, he was going to be stood there a while.

“It's just like the Sims” Tammy observed. “You could have gotten him a chair...”

“For crying out loud Tammy he could have killed me!” Matt cried. Once again his exasperation came out as a bellow; like the boys who turned to donkeys in Pinocchio, he put his hands over his mouth as if to force the bray back in.

The room was quiet for a pregnant moment.

“So anyway. These jars.” Matt said, going to the cupboard. “When I picked up Jake's, it was like I could control him. It has to be Clifton's way of controlling us when he gets us to pick a card. And out pre-card forms as well.”

“What are you getting at?” Asked Adam.

“We could open our jars. Then we'd be back to normal, and normality would ensue.”

“What about me?” Asked Jake. “I'm screwed!” He kicked the cabinet in frustration, his eyes watering.

“Don't cry Jake, we'll sort something.” Matt said.

“I'm not crying, I just hurt my foot!” Jake insisted.

“Will opening the jars work?” Asked Tammy.

“I don't know.” Matt said. “I reckon. But, then we'd be normal. And I quite like being this size.”

“Well you folded your card. Maybe that works?” Adam asked.

“Maybe.” Matt got the card out again. “I don't know. Cards, and jars, and fuck knows what.” He picked up his own jar, and looked inside. “I don't see anything. Or feel anything, for that matter.”

The four of them crowded around the cupboard, looking at the other jars.

“Yours is the pink one.” Matt told Adam. “And Tammy's is the blue one.”

Tammy went for Adam's instead, grinning at him. “Now I can be even closer to you.”

Jake made fake vomit noises; Matt joined in, and much mockery followed.

“Hang on” Tammy said. “I can change Adam. I can tell, as long as it's related to his card. See?”

“See what?” Matt asked.

“I look the same.” Adam said.

“Yes, but now you love me even more!”

“As if that's possible!”

“Good grief” Matt sighed as the two of them rolled to the other end of the room, jars in hand. Jake picked a yellow one up, and his eyes widened.

“I can see someone in America! She's really fat though. She got the Health Card, because she wanted to be fitter for cheerleading.”

“Has Clifton been everywhere?” Matt asked.

“Must have.” Jake said, holding the jar. “If this broke now, she'd be fat forever. Can you imagine that, Matt? Being stuck in a body you don't want forever?”

“Two wrongs don't make a right, Jake.”

Jake sighed. “I know. But still. We may as well open it and see what happens.” Jake unscrewed the lid; the yellow ball of light slowly rose from the jar. Then, with a burst of speed, it flew out the window and dissolved. “It's gone to her.” Jake said slowly. “It'll make her herself again, and she'll be ok.”

“We should open these jars too then.” Matt said, picking up a purple one. Instantly he could feel the person, the card, their current state. This guy wanted to be Popular; now he was hiding from school because he could hardly even sit in lessons. Matt snorted and opened his jar, just knowing everything would be alright from then on.

“What are you doing? Stop! Those are mine!” Clifton cried from the kitchen.

Matt and Jake opened all the jars in the cupboard, apart from his own. Matt still held that thoughtfully.

“Maybe there's more upstairs.”

“There's an upstairs?”

“Yeah, Clifton converted it for some reason, the nutter. It should be round the back of the house. There has to be more jars than these, seems like he's had a lot of time to get them.”

“This is just stupid. A homeless guy collecting jars for personal use.”

“Just like collecting moths” Matt mused. “Anyway, you go look round the back. There's no back door and I'm never gonna get through that window.”

Jake sighed, but off he went. Meanwhile, Matt casually tossed his own jar from hand to hand. He couldn't feel anything, so the card had to have something to do with it. Lucky those other people didn't fold their own cards, he thought, otherwise getting them back to normal would be a pain. Or maybe their cards were folded anyway? Maybe it was something you could only tell if you wanted to change them. Matt tried not to think on it; it hurt his head. Clifton probably knew it all better than he ever would, the creep.

Tammy and Adam were in the corner, holding one another's jars. Was there etiquette in that? Was it seen as rude in some cultures? Matt looked back at his jar. It seemed small in his massive hands, it was only the shock that caused him to drop Jakes jar. Thinking of that made his face burn a little. But then, when he remembered what the jar was for, his face erupted in a large grin. Matt unfolded his card, and instantly felt the connection with himself. His card was glowing a soft lilac colour now, though he was thinking more of the jar than the card. With this knowledge, no wonder Clifton was so convincing. The moderate hair, the climaxing growth, the pleasure to pain ratio, it was all there, an intricate maze of particulars suited to make Matt think it was perfect. Then there was the exteriors – nobody noticing a sudden change, his mother's behaviour, that sort of thing. Never going to college, as well. Even the changes in his personality. “More of an idiot?” He said out loud. He hadn't noticed anything.

Tammy and Adam scurried into the dining room, leaving their jars in the corner. Hardly the way to look after one's original form, but who was Matt to judge? Jar held in both hands, he knew what he wanted to do. He put the jar down as he felt a little warmer; he didn't want to drop the thing. His veins were protruding, as if he was pumped from the gym. Feeling his neck, that thick artery felt nearly bulging with energy, pressure, strength, all at once. Matt's cock responded instantly. It was actually working! Matt looked down at his chest, his mouth open slightly. The highest intact button was being stretched to its limits as his chest expanded, until with an anticlimactic tug it fell off.

His whole body was growing though, not just his chest. Matt took his footwear off before his feet could outgrow them, kicking them into the corner. He was determined for this growth to be perfect...

“Matt, you should look at the jars upstairs! There's loads, and-”

Matt turned to the window where Jake was stood.

“I'll just go fetch Tammy and Adam...”

Matt nodded and ignored the little man as he scurried past. Soon after he returned, with Tammy and Adam tugging their tops back on.

“Open all the jars – carefully! - and don't drop any” Matt ordered. “I'll... wait here.” The three of them climbed out the window, and Matt watched with a small smile. There was no way he could get through that window. If they had noticed his growing, then they hadn't said anything.

Clifton had been unusually quiet for some time. Matt thought he might pay him a little visit. Only, heading into the kitchen became more of a puzzle game with the doorframe being shorter than Matt, and not quite wide enough anymore. Matt ducked his way into the kitchen, which seemed smaller than it did before, and looked behind the fridge. Clifton was sat staring back at him, but he wasn't the same Clifton Matt had dumped there. He had grey hair, a red coat and fingerless gloves. Matt moved away from the fridge.

“You're killing me.” Clifton said. “Jake's card, it doesn't work. The Health Card, the Fitness Card, the Youth Card. All my bloody cards! I can feel them being opened now.” He gave a sigh from behind the fridge, and Matt just stared intently inside the manky fridge door instead. Despite the fact that the guy was bent on destroying people's lives, Matt still found himself feeling bad.

“So you were lying. You couldn't have dropped my jar if you wanted to.”

“Oh, I could. As long as there's one jar for me to live off, I'll be alive. You'll have to break, or open, all of them.”

Matt looked up then.

“A shame isn't it. And you're getting bigger as well aren't you.” Clifton gave a throaty laugh, which turned into a gross cough. “Better make a choice, eh...”

“I'm not letting you use cards on other people” Matt said, “Even if we decide to keep our jars.” He was surprised at the deeper quality of his voice; it nearly shook the plate in the fridge, it seemed. There was a thud from behind the fridge. “Clifton?” Chancing a look around, it seemed the guy was out cold. It would be so easy to just snap his neck Matt thought. Then a knock to his head brought him back to reality; he'd hit the roof. In talking to Clifton, he'd almost forgotton. But how could he forget? Looking down at his chest, his shirt had given up on him. With a casual tug, the remains of the shirt ripped off. His shorts, whilst bearing better, were still tearing from the bottom of each leg. Matt ignored them for the moment, looking over the rest of his massive body instead. He felt so heavy, so strong, that he had to test his strength. The cooker would do; dragging it out with some effort, he squatted to pick it up like a large box. He lifted with his legs, not his back, with less effort than he had anticipated, his triceps looking more veiny than before but nothing else indicating a great deal of exertion.

His head hit the ceiling sooner this time. Matt dropped the cooker on the floor and figured there was more room in the living room. How tall am I now? He wondered, ducking further to get through the door back into the room. As the floorboards creaked in protest, he couldn't help but wonder how much heavier he was as well. Looking at his body, he found he didn't care as long as he got bigger. He had to be the biggest guy in the world, surely... Matt closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, stroking his shaft absently as it grew out of his shorts and along his thick abs...

“Matt!”

Matt opened his eyes and gave a start. He was on the floor, getting a great view up Tammy's skirt. No, wait... he was still stood, and he still had his hands on his very sensitive, very erect cock. He'd actually broken through the ceiling into the next floor. Looking around, he was banging the ceiling with his shoulders as he was still getting taller. “Whoah. Nice upstairs.” It looked like the frugal downstairs was a stark contrast to the upstairs, with clothes and food and all kinds of expensive looking things all over. There was even a double bed, which Jake was sat on opening the last of the jars.

“Now isn't the time to get intimate with Clifton's house. You're going to grow right out of it at this rate.”

“That's fine by me” Matt said. “I could make it happen now, if I could get a hold of the jar...” He could, and if he could actually get out the ceiling he would do just that.

“Hang on a minute, no you aren't. Come on guys, we took on Clifton, we could get Matt as well!” Tammy said with a triumphant hands-on-hips pose.

“No we can't, darling.” Adam replied as gently as possible, knowing how she behaved after a skinnichino too many.

“Wait up a second, I'm not trying to ruin anyone's lives here!” Matt pointed out. His shoulders finally broke through more floorboards, and the hole widened.

“Just your own!” Tammy said. “What are you going to do with yourself now?”

“Just shut up and let me enjoy this, ok?” Matt growled. Flexing his muscles in turn, he wondered how he looked. “Someone take a picture of me from downstairs. I want to see myself.” One hand stroking himself, the other hand was free to explore the rest of his body. There was so much of it that his hand couldn't take it all in at once; it ran non-stop along the contours of his heaving body, from the mountainous pecs to the enormous biceps. He felt the urge to flex fully, to see how it felt with his growing body. Tammy was off, down the stairs somewhere to the left of Matt's vision.

“So, Matt...” Adam began.

“Shh.” Matt hissed.

“Good Lord Matt, you could flatten someone with that thing!” Came a call from Tammy downstairs. “Ok... opening the jar...”

“What?” Matt half yelped, half boomed, turning to face Tammy. If he could see her, he would be. “Don't you fucking dare....” But she had. He could feel it, the card's power leaving his body, a school of fish swimming into the mouth of a whale.

It was supposed to be soothing as he turned back to “normal”, but to him it was cold and disgusting and clammy. It happened all in a bellow, which shrunk to a shout, which became a whimper as a 5ft 6 Matt flopped onto the upstairs floor, naked and shivering. This can't be happening, this can't be happening, oh God anything but this... Matt stared at his knees, his skinny knees, curled into a ball. Minutes passed, but he didn't move. He could hear Tammy and Adam talking, but it was all over his head. Eventually, though, like being woken from a dream, he heard Tammy say “Matthew”, not unlike his mother.

“What.” He mumbled from the pile of bones that was his body.

“There's some clothes here. They should fit you, now you're normal again and everything.”

“Fuck you.”

Footsteps, eerily close to his head. Matt had the sense to wriggle out the way before Adam was too close. “Don't talk to my fiance like that!” He said loudly.

Looking up at Adam was a daunting experience as Matt stood up, but he gave it a good go anyway. “I'll tell you then Adam. Fuck. You.” He snatched the clothes up, tugging them on whilst glaring at them the whole time. They fit, and he hated it. “Are your jars downstairs by any chance? We have to open them all to fully kill Clifton you know. And they're the last jars.” His face must have betrayed his plans, because instantly Tammy was clinging to Adam.

“I like things how they are. We could fold our cards and leave it at that. Clifton couldn't hurt us.”

“But he could get other people.” Matt pointed out as cooly as he could manage. “Why should you get the choice? I didn't. Fuck, even Jake didn't and he's been a dick!"

“I could still beat you up though” Jake said darkly from the bed, obviously enjoying himself.

“I know. But I don't think I'd care if you did. You know what? Do what you want with your stupid jars. He can't get me any more, seeing as I don't have anything left. Knock yourselves out. And don't talk to me again.” He ignored the hole made by his former huge body as he made for the stairs. He felt light, much too light. Every step felt like he would drift away, like on the adverts for maltesers.

Downstairs, he saw the jar Tammy had opened. He tried not to look at it, but he ended up picking it up. He needed it, to remember it was real and not just some kind of dream which ended badly. As he held the large jar in his seemingly inadequate hands, he spotted his torn clothes on the floor. The Grow Card was in my pocket.... he thought, picking up the remains of his shorts. The card fell into the floor, intact and unfolded if not glowing any more. The picture was no longer there; it was blank. He didn't want that.





“Matthew honey?” His mum opened the door a fraction, enough to poke her head into her son's room. “Tammy's here again. She says it's important.”

“Just... tell her I'm not well.”

She gave him a look which told him he was starting to push his luck, but Matt just rolled over on the bed. It was fixed now. It had never been broken. He hadn't broken that lamp either. For all intents and purposes, he was never any bigger. Now it was all business as usual, and he hated it. Listless and lethargic, his mother just thought he had a bug from staying at Tammy's. But after a few days, even she was getting suspicious. Worse still, he had college again tomorrow. Funny, how he wanted to go back so badly, and now it was the last thing he wanted to do. Well, last apart from being this size forever. If he had never been larger, then it wouldn't have bothered him. It was unfair, tantalising him with the carrot and replacing it with a stick before he could get a good bite.

Life sucked.

So, Monday morning rolled into place. Matt woke up with the alarm, sighed, and set it to snooze. But for the sake of the story, let's just say he half-heartedly rolled into college a little later than usual, looking like he'd slept in his clothes and hadn't bothered washing. Both assumptions would be correct.

Literature. Tammy and Adam were already stood by the door to the lesson, in discussion. When Matt shuffled into the corridor they both stopped, and hurried over to him.

“Hey Matt. Are you alright?” Tammy asked, though Matt was too busy looking down to notice she was wearing a completely decent cardigan and a skirt which fell below her knees.

“Yeah.”

“Are you eating right? You look like you've lost some weight.”

“Try in the excess of a few hundred pounds.”

“Ah. Yeah. About that.” Tammy said. “Listen, why don't we just skip Lit?”

“Yeah, we could just go to the park, or something.” Adam said. “Or get some food. Up to you Matt.”

Being stuck in college with them was worse than being out of college with them. Maybe if he looked depressed enough they'd buy him something to make him feel better. “Whatever. The park's fine.”

So off they went, on the irritatingly sunny day, to the park. They called at the corner shop en route, and got some bread for the ducks. Matt was right; Tammy got him a Crunchie, his favourite. He even bit into it before putting it in his pocket. Food didn't quite taste as nice as the feel of muscles. Finally they sat under the willow trees on the bench, feeding the ducks who happened to wander close enough to get fed. Adam wondered aloud if it was true that the bread would swell and explode their stomachs like he read in Nuts, but his laughter was forced. Eventually, like a normal young woman, Tammy couldn't take the silence and had to speak.

“Haven't you noticed, Matt?”

“Noticed what?” Matt asked without looking away from the nearest duck.

“We opened our jars.” Adam said. “So I'm not as studly as you thought I was.”

“No, you're not are you” Matt replied curtly, tearing some bread in half overly passionately.

“We thought it would be fair. And you're right, it did kill Clifton. There's nobody influenced by the cards anymore.”

“Are you still together?” Matt asked.

“Aren't you listening? We did the right thing.” Adam said, impatience getting the better of him.

“Just answer me.”

Tammy sighed. “No, we're not. Turns out the cards effected everyone, didn't they?”

Damn right they did.

“Will you stop feeling sorry for yourself soon?” Asked Adam.

“I am sorry, actually.” There was something in the tone which made Matt wince.

“I'll be fine” he replied blankly, but he'd run out of bread so he had to look at them. “I've been thinking as well. It was all my fault from the start because I got the first card. And now everything's fucked up and I don't want to be your friend anymore. And it pisses me off because I want to be, but it feels like I can't. And I'm talking shit again.”

“You should watch your tongue” Tammy lectured, but there was a softness to it which made Matt want to hit her.

“Anyway, we figured we'll all need time.” Adam said. “So... uh... if you want to be friends again... just let us know, yeah? We'll still be around.”

Something told Matt that when they walked away, he would still feel miserable. When they left, he cried into a slice of bread until it went soggy.

***

Of course, after a week or two Matt managed to get over himself in his usual apathetic way. It was easy to slip back into the routine of being person-sized, actually. Lessons, homework, bed. It wasn't like it was before, but it was nearly normal. Tammy and Adam seemed to be getting on with things as well, but Jake hadn't been to any lessons since Matt had gone back to college. He didn't care too much, but Matt was slightly curious. Lessons carried on as normal, and an obscure relationship with his surroundings kicked in. Matt just got on with it, though he was going through the motions more than anything. Seeing Blair sat at the front of the room, never even turning around to acknowledge him, was awful in itself. So he was only interested in larger people, Matt supposed. At least he knew where he stood – about 6 inches shy of Blair.

Sitting on a bench and eating his lunch, Matt was surprised by the arrival of a shadow closely followed by its owner.

“Can I sit with you?” Blair asked. “I don't think we've talked before...”

“No. I mean, no we haven't talked, but yes you can sit with me!” Matt babbled, and Blair smiled before sitting across from him. He was wearing a snug blue top, his slightly tanned arms filling the sleeves nicely. Matt looked away from them.

“What are you eating?” Blair asked, pulling out his own food. Matt looked down to find whatever he'd thrown into his bag – today it was cold toast with nothing on it.

“Uh, nothing worth mentioning.” He replied, putting it in his bag. That was almost as puzzling as the time he poured milk into his bag and walked all the way to college with it dripping down his trousers. “Anyway, what do you want?”

He may have sounded more unfriendly than intended, but Blair seemed to take it in the way he intended. He was smiling still anyway. “This might sound stupid, but I've been wanting to ask you for a while now. Have you ever thought of working out?”

Matt gave a start. Was this a great big piss take? “Did Tammy and Adam ask you to ask me?”

“No. I did notice you've not talked to them for a while, though.”

“What else have you happened to notice?” Matt asked a little sharply, defiantly biting into the burnt toast he fished from his bag.

“That you look a little down. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime, maybe go to the cinema. Or even come to the gym with me. I think you'd enjoy it.”

“Me?” Matt gave a small laugh. “That sounds great, Blair, really. But I'm not your type of guy.”

“What makes you so sure?” Blair asked, his gaze narrowing. Matt was genuinely surprised, and for once didn't know what to say. “You're a clever guy sometimes, and you could have a great body to go with it if you tried. But if you can't be bothered, then I'll see you around.”

“Hang on, I never said no.”

“No, you didn't say no.” Agreed Blair, getting to his feet. “But your eyes did. You can't feel sorry for yourself forever.” He put a napkin on the bench. “That's my number, anyway.” And with that he left, leaving Matt confused. However, it did motivate him to eat normal food from then on. He also saved the number, just in case.

***

Matt was sat on his bed doodling one Saturday morning when his Mother entered the room.

“Good morning! You've got a letter here. I didn't know you had a pen friend, how exciting! Is it a special lady writing love letters? Oooh, make sure you meet in a public place....”

“Mum, I don't know do I!” Matt said, having moved the doodles from her view. “Thanks though.” He took the letter off her, wondering at who it was from.

“I'm making breakfast if you want some.” His mum said, “It's just us two for the day, what with Dave and your sister out.”

“Some bacon would be great.” Matt said, forcing a smile. “I'll be down in a minute.” When she left, he opened the letter as quickly as he could to give it a read.


Hey Matt,

I thought you might get more out of this card than me. Trust me, it works. See you Monday, you won't be able to miss me. Maybe we can work out together sometime.

Look after your jar,


Jake


Matt was confused, until he pulled out the other half of the letter. It was the Grow Card, with a picture of him on. A picture of him with muscles. His mouth dropped open, and he was suddenly aware of his jar. He'd left it on the bedside table, not having the motivation to tidy his room. Now the inside was glowing a glittery gold. With Clifton gone, how was this possible?

Who really cared? He certainly didn't.

Matt got his phone from the table. His first call was for Tammy, then Adam. Then maybe Blair was still interested in meeting up sometime. “I'd better go clothes shopping” Matt said to himself as he rang, grinning at his reflection in the side of the jar.

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/wishcard.jpg

[greedycigarson]

I didn't think I'd like it. I didn't like the direction the story was headed.

But, I was wrong, and this was redeeming in more ways than one. Entertaining reading if not exactly on-topic. And just so I don't sound quite too critical- this was the story I've most closely been following on this site.

Thanks for sharing!

[theseventhwave]

[COLOR="Red"]A lovely ending to a great story! Thanks![/COLOR]

[redkage]

Awesome ending. Loved how you made Matt grow into the second floor, hated when you took it all away, and was satisfied with the ending. Perfect ratio for a perfect finale, I'd say. And I'm happy you like my sketch as well, because you are a talented new author after all.

Keep on writing man!
-Red

[psu3doreal]

Woah... Nice ending The writing style felt reminiscent of Harry Potter. Btw that's a good thing

[Otaru_grower]

This was the perfect ending to this story! I greatly appreciate the characters you came up with. Thanks for writing this.

[IndigoSensor]

I will be honest, this ending kinda made me feel depressed. I mean, despite him being bad, clifton wasn't EVIL, and he died. Matt also lost his gift, even though he got it back. Who am I to talk though, I am writing a story right now that is going to have some pretty grim parts ^_^'

That aside, this story was fantastic, and I deffiantly see you eventually being part of the elite writers ranks aorund here. You have some serious talent

[redroger11]

Well, Man. You had me going there. I had some stuff come up in my life and when you shrunk Matt back down.... Well I worked on my problem and said what I had to, to the friend involved. Then I finished reading your story. I was really glad you ended it this way. Frank L Baum wrote The Emerald city, but had to change the name because publishing houses had a superstition against book titles with gems in the name. And when pressed for the name of the land his stories were from, by his mother-in-Law, he hadn't made one up yet. His glance over at a bottle with the contents listed saved him. They spell ounces OZ. But that Lady turned around and supported him when he had his doubts about publishing his works. She saw how the children all loved his stories. And she would never have gone along with Hollywood's attitude about changing the whole thing from a fantasy to a Dream during a storm. If you had left Matt the way he was at the beginning of the story, it would have been an OK dream. But this was one great Fantasy and a pretty good Dream, too.

You know, I was sure you were doing a tribute to Londonboy's "Flip This House" That would explain where the giant in his story came from. And it could be Matt's idea of a good job when he has trouble fitting in some of the smaller homes. Maybe you two could talk. Maybe competing House Demolition companies. And a song with something like " My wrecking ball has got a handle on it, and it's bigger than yours."
Them kind a words always seem to get people breaking things.

What ever you do, please Keep Writing.
Love your work, Man.

redroger11

[BergMuscle]

In a way, I'm sad to see this story end, just because it's been such a great read. And not just for the muscle-growth aspects. You created such realistic characters and I got totally caught up in their lives.

And Redkage's illustration is 100% on the mark. I'd love to see you two team up and publish this as an illustrated short novel.

And, dude, keep writing! You really have a gift for this.

[Demandred]

Thanks for all the comments and support! :] Well appreciated. Yeah, Clifton wasn't the typical world domination evil... but everyone's in it for themselves. At least, there's more shades of grey than black or white.

I can't say I've ever read "Flip This House", though I think I'll look it up. The thing about literature of the same genre is there's only so much you can do to a person before the intertextuality kicks in - but if this story alludes to a better one then I'm not complaining! The same goes for Harry Potter as well.

Ummm, thanks again and all that. I don't think I would have plucked up the courage to ever post here if it wasn't for the stories already up, which made me want to give something back, and so on.

- Dem

[sexiscriptor]

Originally Posted by Demandred

At least he knew where he stood – about 6 inches shy of Blair.

this broke my heart like My Chemical Romance's uk single

I Don't Love You

does. let's hope this time when/if blair reaches out to him, matt doesn't chase the poor kid away? maybe they can even have some growth-fun, hm? :P

a most excellent story, man,
~Chris

ps - i'd only intended to post the LINK not embed the VIDEO. damn coding whatsits... 0.o