Duran Stark: A Change Of Pace And Everything Else (Ch. 2)

[Zap]

Zap here, and I'm terrible at making titles! The first chapter can be found here (http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...788#post124788). As I mentioned, this is my first attempted to do this, so don't expect beautifully written changes. However, I would (always) appreciate it if my readers would tell me of any mistakes (grammar or spelling) or things that seem strange so I can work on improving my writing skills. I can only do so much with a dinky WordPad program, so you're all my proof-readers and you all just don't realize it yet *insert maniacal laughter here*. I hope you enjoy!

A Change Of Pace And Everything Else

I let out a heavy sigh as I woke from my peaceful slumber. Sadly, I was waking up to the usual aches and pains... Any minute now... Hey what gives, am I still asleep? I must be. I got up from my bed, almost four times faster than I normally do, and again, no aches or strange cracks. Yup. A dream. I looked down to see if I were half horse or something awkward like that, but I see no abnormalities. Which is strange, because I am always abnormal-looking with my sickly skin and what not. Instead, I see slightly tanned and healthy skin, much like my father's skin tone, actually. I bet this is one of those dreams where I'm my dad... Er, though I never had this type of dream before... And this is my room. This is probably one of those dreams where you know it's a dream and I'm just tricking myself... Or something... Jeez, this is so weird! In fact, it's so weird that "weird" can no longer describe it.

"Curiouser and curiouser." I muttered in a fake (and rather terrible) British accent. "Now where's the potion that makes me shrink?"

I decided to humor this dream by seeing what it has changed me in to. I didn't have a mirror in my room, mostly because checking if I looked good or not seemed like a waste of time. So now I have to walk to the bathroom... Couldn't this dream make a huge mirror in my room or something? How inconvenient! I pass through the hallway and hear a pan clanging downstairs, yeah, probably my dad making breakfast. Nice try, Sick Dream, trying to make yourself seem real and such. But you won't fool me! Now to go into the bathroom an- geez, these titles are always cold... Um... Haha, nice try, Sick Dream, trying to make the tiles "feel" cold! I'm not falling for it. Okay, now to look in the mirror.

"Huh, this is new. I'm usually way different looking. You're a lame dream, Sick Dream." I said aloud, as if expecting Mr. Sick Dream and his accomplice, the Sandman, to pop out of no where to answer me.

Though, I noticed something was off (besides my looks). My voice, to be exact. It sounded slightly deeper, and didn't have a slight crack to it like it always did. There were no more baggy eyes, and I looked very handsome. I smiled, and it no longer hurt and it made me look rather dashing. If I had a smile like this, I think I'd be more comfortable with using it. In fact, my face looked eerily similar to my father's. I really like what this Sick Dream did with my eyes too, they no longer looked glazed and the green hue was more vibrant. I didn't want to toot my own horn, but maybe if I looked like this, I could continue the modeling legacy my father set forth.

"Er, don't you dare say anything, you Sick Dream!" I yelled, shaking my fist in several directions to get my point across.

As I shook my arm, I felt the sleeve ride up a bit more than it normally does Hmm... It seemed a bit more snug around my arm, as well. Actually, my pajamas were all a bit more snug than usual. I lifted my leg to take a look at my ankles, and it seemed the pants were too short. That must mean I'm an inch or so taller? Oh let me guess what's next, the dream wants me to take off my clothes and something freaky will happen. Okay, I'll bite, you damn Sick Dream. I quickly slid off my clothes(sans my boxer briefs), which for some reason, made me laugh. I mean, if I would've done this in real life, I probably would've fallen and broke something. Now let's see what freakish growth is hiding under my snug pajamas... Huh? It looks... Not right. Did I gain weight? Maybe 20 pounds? More? I looked like a fit teenager - an average teenager.

My eyes immediately locked in on my torso. My stomach was pushed out a bit more, and felt rather firm when I ran my hand over it. I could see a part of my abdomen was pushed out... It looked like the start of some nice washboard abs, just without definition. Then there was my chest, which seemed a bit wider than usual. This body looks like it belongs to one of the swim team guys - not mine. And... The front of my boxer briefs looked a bit more... Er... I don't know why, but I felt the need to cup it. The whole package certainly seemed bigger. And it actually felt er... Good... To touch... I never really felt this particular sensation before. I looked back up at my reflection to see me blushing, and immediately pulled my hand away from myself. I couldn't do strange things in my dreams without being embarrassed. Now that's sad.

"Okay, you damn Sick Dream. Now that I like everything I see, you won. Now let me wake up so I can go back to being my lame self." I demanded. But, Mr. Sick Dream didn't wake me up. I hope he and the Sandman are getting a good laugh.

.. Hmph... It was kind of getting chilly, standing here in just my boxers, waiting to wake up. So I slid on my pajamas as fast as I could. I couldn't help but laugh, because everything just felt so real. But it couldn't be real, since this type of thing is entirely impossible. In the middle of my deranged amusement, someone began knocking on the door. It was probably my "father" here to do something weird. Nice try, Sick Dream, but there's no way you could make this weirder than it already is.

"Hey kiddo, what are you doin' in there? Are you pukin' again?" My father called, sounding seemingly normal. I'm so not falling for it. You better stop trying so hard, Sick Dream. You're starting to piss me off.

"Yeah, dad, I'm fine." I called back.

"Huh? You sound different. Unlock this door." My dad demanded, sounding a but worried. Eh? I must've locked the door before closing it. I always do that without noticing I do, it's so weird. I guess I'm still me, no matter what dream I'm in.

Regardless of it being just a dream, I decided to open the door. Maybe that's what would wake me up. Instead of waking up, I see my dad. He looks like he always does in the morning, running around in his damn boxers. I hated how he did that, flaunting what I never could achieve... But, I'd never tell him how it made me feel. He'd probably walk around naked if he knew I wasn't here. Maybe posing in barely anything as his career makes him enjoy being mostly-naked more so than the average person. Aaaaaand now he's staring at me. I stared back, expecting him to say something out of the ordinary, which since it was my dad, would have to be a 10 on the Richter Scale of Freakiness.

"This is a joke, right? Who are you? Where's Duran?" My dad asked. "I never though he was the type of kid to play some sick jokes..."

"I'm Duran, dad." I said, starting to laugh. I never heard him sound so serious, so I guess that's why it was funny. I wonder if that's a 10 on the freakiness scale... Hmm...

"No, you're not." He seethed as he roughly grabbed me by the arms. If this were real life, it'd probably feel like he was running over my arms with spiked wheels. I never seen him so angry and worried at the same time. "Where is Duran? This is one fuckin' sick joke he's playin'! "

And that's when it hit me. This wasn't a dream... Nicely done, Sick Reality, nicely done. I didn't know what to say. How do I explain this? I can't even begin where to start. I began to feel all choked up - it was getting hard to concentrate.

"D-... Dad. How is this... This isn't a dream? This isn't possible. This is NOT possible." I felt my body tense up, causing my dad to move in closer, waiting for me to try something. Okay, this is some strange sci-fi shit going on right here.

"Dad... I want off this crazy ride. This can't happen, can it? This is impossible. People don't change like this, it's not right."

I don't understand what I was saying, and I think I was sobbing now. It contradicts exactly what I wanted. Sure, I wouldn't mind looking like this, but it's not me. It's not what "normal" is to me. Is that why I'm so finicky? I can't even think straight! In the middle of my minor breakdown, I felt my dad's grip lessen. His anger faded away, replaced with another mix of emotions. Happiness? Fear? Confusion? That about sums it up.

"Duran? This is you? No kiddin'? You're... Normal!" Ow. My eardrum. Jeez dad, no need to pretend you're Dr. Braun. At least his yelling snapped me out of my daze. Before I could reply, he grappled me to preform the world's most extreme hug. Normally, this probably would've broken me in half... Well, if this is the new me, then I guess this is "normal" now... It was obvious that he was just a bit overjoyed or overexcited. He knew this type of thing was impossible from the start, and now he believes it? Maybe this is what he had hoped to happen - for me to wake up one day and be "Normal!" as he puts it.

"Dad, I hate to interrupt the world's longest hug, but can you let me go. I feel... Funny..."

He quickly let go, yet kept his hands on my shoulder. Okay, now he looked extremely concerned.

"What is it? Are you feelin' sick again? Maybe side-effects or somethin'. I'll go-" He stopped mid-sentence as he heard a muffled growl. I think it was coming from... My stomach?

"Eh... There it is... Is that normal? What is that?" I asked, I honestly had no idea what was going on now.

"Duran... That means you're hungry." My dad replied before laughing. Was he laughing at me? "I guess that means you're just your average teenager! ... Hmph... If you could call all this crazy shit average... I'll fix you breakfast before you go to school... Heh, now thinkin' about it, this would be the first time you ate a normal breakfast before school!"

He seemed to emphasis the NORMAL part a lot, depite the fact that this was anything but normal. I guess I was much more calm, thanks to my dad and all. However, I was still on the fence about how to feel about this. It all happened after that "miracle shot" or whatever it was, so I had to say something.

"Don't you think I should see Dr. Braun first, I mean... Look at me. This is just-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I see you. You're lookin' good and normal for once." He laughed again, now acting like all of this was of the norm. I miss the serious version of my dad now. "But, you're only lookin' good because I'm your daddy."

I'm now letting out a deep sigh; in my mind.

"But dad, I-"

"No buts. You're finally all better. You don't go to a damn doctor if you're feelin' good and stuff." He cut me off, before putting his arm around me. He guided me to my room and pointed to the closet. He just wanted me to pretend like it was another average day. He probably just wanted to assume I was finally healthy, and didn't want there for anything to be wrong. I was thinking the same thing, but the way I look now... I mean, I have to say, I really like the way I look and feel... But... Ug... What's school going to be like?

[Xander]

I rather like this. I do hope that it isn't all "gaining muscle and everything is all rosey", as cruel as that may sound. I look forward to some sort of change or twist like his Father suddenly really likes him now just because he's "healthy" and he finally realises that his Dad never really loved him when he was not "normal", or something.

[Zap]

Er, I honestly don't know which way this is going either, Xander. I got a few strange suggestions via PM, and I'm actually considering it... But most likely not. One of the better ones I got was (paraphrasing):

Duran becomes a bodybuilder like he wanted to, but due to his new stature, he can't go back to his old life. Dr. Braun shows Duran all the joys of what his new life had to offer as a bodybuilder/young stud/etc. Now he has a new life as a bodybuilder named Duran Braun, since Duran preferred to be called Duran (I guess the last name changed). At first he resents the doctor, but eventually grows to like/love him.

It sounded like a great idea, and I could probably work with it... But... I think I'd screw it up. I'm not that great (obviously) and this type of thing really needs some beautiful story weaving for it to flow nicely. I also liked how it was bitter sweet. Duran gets a new life worth living (considering he would die if he didn't change), but he has to leave his friends and father behind (he cares a lot about his father, so it'd be very painful).

I mention this idea because someone else might be able to make a story based on it... Using a different set of characters and a different situation, of course.