Davey's Destiny - Part 5

[Rowan]

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? Five ?

<i> "Honey, we?re glad that you?re getting along with Davey today, and we understand your concern, but we?ve decided to wait and see if his change in attitude is genuine. That?s why we?ve been... cautious around him."

"He?s a <b> kid, </b> and he made a mistake. Don?t you think you should give him another chance? You?re his parents and you hurt his feelings earlier."

"I?m sorry, Justin, but until we know what exactly is going on with Davey, then we should be careful around him. You should, too." </i>

My hands tightened on the handlebars of my bike. Cautious? Careful? We were his family. If we couldn?t be there for him...

No wonder he was sure that everyone would hate him.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself harder on my bike. I was headed to the track? weekends were no excuse not to train? but not to the one at school. Instead, I rode in the opposite direction, toward Bowie Park. Even though it was almost a mile away, I liked the scenery better. I also liked listening to the kids laughing and playing in the distance while I ran.

It had been a bad week, but Mom and Dad would get over it, right? I mean, you can?t cut someone out of your family just because they screwed up. We all screwed up. I just hope they came around before Davey?

Someone dressed in shorts and a t-shirt appeared right in front of me.

<i> Davey. </i> I slammed on the brakes. My tires squealed, but I managed to stop just before running into him. "Davey! What the heck are you doin?"

The shorts looked skin tight on his thick legs. I wondered briefly why he?d changed clothes. Could he have outgrown his jeans already? "You forgot your watch on the kitchen counter, so I ran to give it to you."

Holy shit. I glanced behind me, then back at him. I was already a half mile from the house, and my legs were the strongest part of my body. "When did you leave the house?"

He grinned and held up the black digital watch. "Just now."

Dazed, I took the watch from him, glanced down at it. "Th-Thanks, Davey. But this thing is broken, that?s why I left it behind."

"Broken?" He leaned forward. "How?"

I tilted it so he could see. "The face is cracked. It doesn?t work at all anymore."

He frowned. "How?d it get broken?"

I hesitated, and that?s all Davey needed to figure it out.

"I broke it, didn?t I?"

I looped the watch around one of my handlebars and fastened it tight. "Yeah."

"When?"

"A few days ago," I said, trying not to shudder at the memory.

His voice trembled. "I?m sorry, Justin."

I glanced up, winked at him. "It?s okay."

He shook his head. "I know it was your favorite. It monitored your heart rate, and let you know when you were in the right zone when you exercised."

My brow furrowed slightly. Since when did my baby brother understand exactly what my watch did? "Yeah, it was my favorite. But it?s just a watch."

Davey shrugged a little, cautiously looked up at me. "Can I come to the park with you?"

"Sure." I started to get off my bike.

His big hands pushed me back to my seat. "It?s okay, Justin. You can ride your bike." His face split into a huge grin. "Oh! Wanna race?"

"Race?" I?d just beaten Davey at a few games of basketball. I didn?t think I?d be so lucky with this. "S-Sure."

He jumped to the side of my bike and crouched down. "You wanna count?"

I looked down at him a long moment, then faced forward. "On your mark..." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him reposition his feet. "Get set." A smile curved his lips. "Go!"

I rose to my feet on my pedals and gave it everything I had. Somehow, Davey always knew when you weren?t trying your best.

After a few seconds, I glanced to the side and saw him right there. His face was relaxed, his movements graceful and apparently unhurried.

Stomped. By an 8 year old on foot.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to push myself a little harder. Davey kept pace with me for a few more seconds before pulling out in front of me. Soon, I was doing my best just to keep up with him.

And I was sure he was just playing with me.

By the time we made it to the park... man, I was huffing hard. I got off my bike, set the kick-stand, and leaned forward to brace my hands on my knees. It took a couple minutes just to catch my breath.

Did I have to run today? Wasn?t that enough of a workout?

"You okay, Justin?"

I glanced up to see Davey watching me. His breathing was steady as he stood there. The look on his face told me that he couldn?t understand how I could tire out so easily. Pride made me straighten, and I forced my breath calm. "Yeah, I?m fine."

He grinned. "I win."

"You sure did." And he?d be winning just about everything else, too.

The grin didn?t leave his face as his blue eyes traveled over me. "It was fun."

"Yeah." I ruffled his hair. "Why don?t you go and play while I do my laps?"

He glanced at the playground, then again at me. "Can?t I run with you?"

His expression was so pleading, and I couldn?t figure out the reason behind it. "Why don?t you want to go play?"

The emotion burst out of him so suddenly that it made me jump. "Because I want to be with <i> you!" </i>

"Alright," I said quickly. I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying not to notice how small it looked against him. "You can run circles with me all day if you want." Although, truthfully, he?d probably be running circles <i> around </i> me.

His body shook a little as he looked up at me, going from pleading to hopeful. "Really?"

I nodded.

He grabbed my forearm, his long fingers wrapping all the way around it, and dragged me to the track. "Then let?s go!"

I had to run at top speed just to keep him from tearing my arm out of my shoulder, but I found myself laughing.

Once on the track, I did some stretching exercises. Davey mimicked me and, as I watched him, I was amazed at how flexible he was. In fact, I think the only thing that kept him from being more limber than me was the sheer bulk of his muscles. "Ready?"

Davey hopped onto the track. "Yeah!"

I grinned, took a deep breath, and took off running.

He kept up with me, of course. It felt weird, because I knew no one in school could keep my pace. Not even the guys on the track team.

He stayed even with me for a couple of laps before he dashed in front of me and turned around. "Justin?" he asked, running backward. "Is this as fast as you go?"

Not only was this the fastest I went, it was the fastest I <i> ever </i> went. Unable to answer aloud, I nodded.

The muscles in his powerful legs bunched and flexed as he kept running backward. His eyes were steady as they assessed me. It was like that day in the basement, when he discovered he could hold the barbell I struggled with in one hand.

No, wait. It wasn?t quite like that. Before there was darkness in his face? right now he just seemed thoughtful.

"Okay," he said finally. Then he jumped, flipped around to face forward, and resumed his place beside me.

I kept running. Usually I only ran a couple miles on the weekends, but today I pushed myself all the way to seven.

Pride, again.

But, eventually, there came a time when I just couldn?t run anymore.

"That?s it." I stopped, doubled over as I gasped for breath. "I?m done."

Davey crouched down so he could look at my face. "Really? Already?"

"Sorry, Davey," I said, taking another deep breath. "I?ve got nothin left."

He gripped my upper arm and forced me to stand straight. I think he was just trying to help me up, but it felt like his fingers were going to squeeze right to the bone. "You wanna go home?"

It took me a moment to answer. "Yeah."

Mercifully, he let go of me. "Okay," he said, walking toward my bike.

I rubbed my arm a few seconds before following him.

"Hey, Justin?"

"Yeah?"

He glanced over his shoulder. "Can I ride your bike? Mine?s too small now, plus the frame got all bent up the last time I sat on it."

Davey?s little two wheeler had been built for an equally little kid. No surprise that it couldn?t handle his 200+ pounds. My gaze drifted to my own bike. Titanium/aluminum alloy. It should be able to handle him... right?

"Sure, Davey."

"Cool!" He ran to my mountain bike and hopped on.

The frame didn?t bend, groan, anything. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Have fun. I?ll see you in a little while." As soon as he was gone, I planned to pass out right here.

He frowned up at me. "You?re not coming with me?" he asked, patting the handlebars.

When was the last time I rode on the handlebars of a bicycle? When I was Davey?s age, probably. "I don?t think?"

He reached over, picked me up, and placed me on the handlebars. "See? You fit fine."

I gripped the bars, both in shock and to keep my balance. "I guess I do."

"Ready?"

I couldn?t look cool, no matter the decision I made, so I gave in. "Alright."

"Hold on tight."

Turned out to be the best advice he?d ever given me.

The bike took off like a rocket and picked up speed from there. Davey laughed wildly as the trees and scenery whipped past us.

<i> How fast were we going?</i>

I got my answer when we passed a <i> car. </i> It was a residential area, so that meant we?d topped 25 miles an hour. And we just kept going faster.

I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing I was about to scream like a girl on a rollercoaster. Wind buffeted my face, Davey?s laughter buffeted my ears. I smelled something burning and I pried my eyes open, twisted my head around to see the chain and gears smoking.

My bike could take his weight just fine, but no way could it take his strength. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the handlebars as hard as I could, and I forced myself to look forward again. Against my better judgment, I stole a glance at the front tire.

Any second now, it was gonna pop, or melt, or catch on fire. Maybe all three.

Suddenly, our house came into view, but Davey showed no signs of slowing down.

"Davey!" I yelled. "Stop!"

He giggled again, zoomed up our driveway and slammed on the brakes.

We didn?t skid. We didn?t slide. We came to a total and abrupt halt.

Physics was against me.

I went flying into the air, but long before I had a chance to eat dirt, Davey caught me and held me in his arms.

"Sorry about that, Justin," he said, grinning broadly.

Stunned, I could only stare at him. Although he?d kept me from hitting the ground, I got the impression that colliding with the lawn might have been softer than being caught by his rock hard arms.

I looked over his shoulder, saw that he had taken the time to set the kickstand on my bike before running to get me.

"What the..." Then, all at once, I realized we were in the front yard. The whole world could see that I was being cradled like a baby my little brother?s arms. I tried to push away from him. "Let me down, Davey."

Still smiling, he easily pinned me against his body, immobilizing me. "Why?"

His big pecs pressed into me, and I tried to think of a good reason. "I have to move my bike into the backyard. You know how Dad hates it in the driveway."

"Oh." He carried me back to the bike. He shifted all of my weight to one arm, picked up the bike, and settled it onto his shoulder. Then he carried me to the backyard gate.

"You can put me down now, Davey."

He grinned, kicked at the gate. The padlock holding it shut snapped apart, and the door flew open.

I released a slow, careful breath. Davey really could do anything he wanted now, and with no effort at all. How could any little kid have so much power? What could be the purpose of that?

Davey strode into the center of the yard, set the bike down before letting me slide to my feet.

All the running, the adrenaline... it had turned my legs to jelly. I gratefully sank down onto the soft grass, stretched out onto the lawn. "Oh, yeah. That?s good."

Davey dropped to his knees beside me. "That was so much fun, Justin. Can we do it again tomorrow?"

Groaning, I rolled onto my back. No way was my body going to be up for any kind of physical exertion tomorrow. "I don?t think so, Davey."

He sat back on his glutes, stared down at the grass. "Oh, o-okay."

My head flopped to the side. Despite the aches and pains in my muscles, it had been a good day. I didn?t want to end for him on a disappointment. There had to be something we could do tomorrow that wouldn?t involve me collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion again.

A smile curved my mouth as I came up with the perfect idea.

"How about I teach you how to play pool tomorrow?"

His head shot up. "Really?"

I stretched a little. "Really."

"But you and Dad always said I was too young to play."

"No, we said you were too <i> little, </i> because you couldn?t reach the top of the table." I winked at him. "Something tells me you might be tall enough now."

Excited, he fell forward on his hands and stared down at me. "Promise. Promise me we?ll play."

I chuckled. "I promise."

His face softened. "I missed that sound."

"What sound is that?"

"Your laughing."

Slowly, I propped myself up on my elbows. "I guess I have been kinda sour-faced lately, huh?"

He giggled. "Yeah."

"Well, don?t worry." I lightly chucked his chin with my fist. "Things will be better between you and me, you?ll see."

That uncertainty returned to his face, but at least this time he didn?t try to argue. "You should go inside."

The statement caught me off-guard, and my brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Cause you?ll get sunburned laying out here."

I chuckled again, fell back onto the grass. I did tend to burn easily. But all these years playing baseball had taught me how to take care of that. "Not a problem. I put sun-block on this morning."

He leaned over me, his face serious. "That stuff only lasts six hours, right? It?s worn off by now."

The tension in his body surprised me. He wasn?t trying to make a suggestion, he was trying to give me an order. Like a parent. "Relax, Davey. I?ll be fine."

His voice held grown-up determination. "You should go inside."

Although my heart was pounding hard, I kept my attitude casual as I linked my hands behind my head. "I don?t have the energy to move from this spot."

His arms slid under my body, and I found myself cradled in his arms for the second time today. "I can carry you, easy."

My entire body weight rested on his arms. He wasn?t using his body for leverage in anyway. All thoughts of our little power struggle vanished as I let myself feel awed. "So cool," I whispered.

And just like that, Davey stopped thinking of the struggle too. "You really think that, Justin? You really think it?s cool I can hold you like this?"

Until now, I hadn?t realized how starved he?d been for my praise. All last week, when he was forcing me to do things with him, maybe he had just been trying to impress me. "Yeah, I really do."

Gently, he placed me back onto the grass. "I guess you can stay out here."

My mouth quirked. Gee. So nice to have his permission. "Thanks."

"You want me to run inside and get you some sun-block?"

I reached up, tweaked his nose. "Did <i> you </i> put on sun-block today?"

He scrunched up his face. "No. But that?s different. The sun isn?t the same for me as it is for..." His mouth snapped shut.

All playfulness left me as my gaze sharpened. "How is the sun different, Davey?"

He shrugged. "It feels good."

"It feels good to me, too."

Davey glanced away.

I pressed a little further. "Is the sun what?s changing you?"

He wouldn?t meet my gaze. "No."

"But it?s connected, isn?t it?"

No answer.

"Davey... why won?t you explain it to me?"

Slowly, he turned his head to look at me. "I... I don?t have the words yet."

<i> Yet. </i>

I looked over his body, then met his intelligent, sapphire eyes. "You?re changing a lot on the inside, too, aren?t you?"

He hugged himself, reluctantly nodded.

"You scared?"

His expression grew cautious, as if he were sharing a secret with me. "S-Sometimes. Sometimes I really like it, though."

Any boy who suddenly found himself endowed with super strength would like it. But Davey was very aware that he was changing in other ways, too. If I were in his place, I would be scared a lot more than ?sometimes.? I couldn?t shake the thought that maybe the source of all this was <i> making </i> him like what was happening to him.

"Justin?"

I snapped myself back to attention. "Yeah?"

He was still hugging himself. "I guess you want to lay out here and relax, huh?"

Whatever was happening to him, right now he was still my little brother, and so easy to read. I held up my arm. "Want to lay out here with me?"

The anxiety slowly left his face and he stretched out, pillowing his head on my shoulder. His hand slid over my body and he pulled me a little closer to him.

My vision went white a moment as his fingers dug into my ribs. I forced it to clear and glanced down at Davey?s face. Happy, almost angelic. He had no idea that he was on the verge of breaking me.

I bit my lip and stroked the hand on my ribs. It loosened as his whole body relaxed, and the pain settled into a dull throb.

"This is nice," he said, repositioning himself so that half his body rested on top of mine.

Man, he was heavy. And his body had no give whatsoever. But at least it didn?t hurt. "It?s very nice."

"We haven?t done this in a long time."

I threaded my fingers through his dark hair. "Not since you were about six, I think."

"Yeah." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Pretty soon you?ll be the one laying on <i> my </i> shoulder."

My hand stilled, rested on the top of his head. Today I got to be the big brother for a little while longer, but that would change the same way everything would change. Until I knew what was going on, there was nothing I could do. And even when I finally <i> did </i> learn the truth, I doubted it would give me any kind of solution. So, for now, I let my worries, my troubles, slip away.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sunlight on our bodies.

[Rowan]

I wrote this on the plane, so if it sucks, blame the altitude. If it?s good, then, well, I suppose you should give the altitude the credit, just to be fair. Since I?m spending Christmas and New Year?s in Hawaii, I seriously, seriously doubt you?ll see me at all again until January is in full swing. So I hope everyone has a great holiday.

Oh, and to those who may be interested? I finished my novel (well, novella) and I think it came together pretty well.

Mele Kalikimaka
Nollaig chridheil huibh
? Rowan

[gogr2]

thanks for the latest installment... if you call this bad... well, you are just awesome.

totally waiting in anticipation for part 6... no pressure

[rextorres]

Rowan... I just wanted to thank you for writing the fifth chapter in this incredibly fun and entertaining series. I wish I had a little brother like Davey!

In fact, my Superboy-Jamie character was inspired by Davey, among others. I have written over 600 pages of stories featuring that character!! He's just like Davey: a nice kid with super strength. I'm currently working on the 20th installment in the series, and this one is 151 pages or 60,000 words long! Once you start writing about a nice muscle boy, you just can't stop!!!!

Enjoy your vacation, Rowan. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thank you, Rowan... You're the BEST!!

Cheers!

Rex
Author of Jamie: The New Superboy
www.superfantasystories.com

[skumbum]

Cool story Rowan, keep writing, ok?

[rextorres]

You know, Rowan, you could easily take a series like this into 10, 20, or more chapters. The possibilities are endless, when the "little" brother starts to catch up to the "big" brother, until the roles are suddenly reversed and Davey takes on the role as the protective, stronger, "big bro", who is constantly looking out for "little brother" Justin. The only reason why Davey considers Justin his big bro, is because Justin's older. That's it!

Things that come to mind:

*Davey plays horsey and gives Justin rides on his shoulders.
*Davey lifts Justin off his feet, suspended in mid-air, when he wants to make a point.
*Davey defends Justin in school, and goes to the high school to deal with the bully.
*Davey carries Justin around the house, with one arm, just like he were a toy or a stuffed animal.
*Davey starts to lift weights and becomes MUCH bigger and heavier than Justin.
*Davey finally reaches, and passes Justin in height. He's the BIG bro now!

On and on and on...

Merry Christmas, Rowan!

Rex

[arpeejay]

Awesome indeed.

Please point us to the novella when it's published, OK?

xoxo

richard

[Adam]

Another excellent chapter! Many thanks for getting the new chapter out before Christmas! Have a wonderful holiday!

[tagsnola]

Rowan:

Rex Torres pointed out our story to me. Your characterizations are really good, expecially Justin's rage, frustration, fear and brokenness. There's no question, the real hero of this series is Justin, even though the story is written from his p.o.v. And not because Justin is tooting his own horn, More like sharing his heart. I was glad to see the 2 brothers reconciled, but there have been hints ofr more troubles to come. I'm really intersted to see how this is all going to end up and especially to see what has caused these changes in Davey.

TagsNOLA

[rextorres]

The story of Davey and Justin remind me alot of the one I wrote about Tristan and Richard, almost 2 years ago.

Tristan is the longest muscle boy story on the web (over 250 pages).

Check it out here:
http://www.superfantasystories.com/tristan.htm

I totally agree with tagsnola's opinion.

Merry Christmas to all!

Scriptboy
Rex

[onelocolobo]

Wow, Justin must have the patience of a saint! How he can put up with a little brother like that even if he loves him. How many of us "hated" our little brothers and sisters when we were kids! Like I said, he's got amazing patience.

Rowan, it's a great story. Hope we get to read more soon! Enjoy the holidays and try not to work too hard!

[iceman75]

Good Job, Rowan! Finally we have Davey's Destiny 5 and its just the kind of story I like seeing, plenty of strength feats and muscle description in it, I only hope that part 6 is around the corner and has much of the same. Thanks a lot for it, you are a great writer!

[yobdior]

Another superb chapter Rowan.

It's amazing that you still manage to find the time to write on MGS given all your other commitments...

So take your time, we can wait

[Rowan]

Originally Posted by gogr2

thanks for the latest installment... if you call this bad... well, you are just awesome.

totally waiting in anticipation for part 6... no pressure

LOL. Glad you liked it. Part 6? Well, now that you mention it...

Originally Posted by rextorres

Rowan... I just wanted to thank you for writing the fifth chapter in this incredibly fun and entertaining series. I wish I had a little brother like Davey!

You're welcome, Rex. I like it, too. Although if I had to choose a brother to have, I'd probably go with Justin.

Originally Posted by skumbum

Cool story Rowan, keep writing, ok?

Hey, you too. When the heck is part 2 of 'Adustments' going to come out?

Originally Posted by arpeejay

Awesome indeed.

Please point us to the novella when it's published, OK?

Thanks, Richard. If and when it gets published, I'll be sure to let ya know.

Originally Posted by Adam

Another excellent chapter! Many thanks for getting the new chapter out before Christmas! Have a wonderful holiday!

Hey Adam! Glad you liked it! And I had a FANTASTIC holiday.

Originally Posted by tagsnola

Your characterizations are really good, expecially Justin's rage, frustration, fear and brokenness. There's no question, the real hero of this series is Justin, even though the story is written from his p.o.v. And not because Justin is tooting his own horn, More like sharing his heart. I was glad to see the 2 brothers reconciled, but there have been hints ofr more troubles to come.

I feel the same way about Justin. He has a hard road ahead of him.

Originally Posted by onelocolobo

Wow, Justin must have the patience of a saint! How he can put up with a little brother like that even if he loves him. How many of us "hated" our little brothers and sisters when we were kids! Like I said, he's got amazing patience.

LOL. I'd have to agree with you about Justin's patience. I don't think a lot of brothers could have handled things as well as he has.

Originally Posted by iceman75

Good Job, Rowan! Finally we have Davey's Destiny 5 and its just the kind of story I like seeing, plenty of strength feats and muscle description in it, I only hope that part 6 is around the corner and has much of the same. Thanks a lot for it, you are a great writer!

It was a lot of fun to write. I'm liking this little 'honeymoon' period that the brothers are having. I'm glad I thought to take the laptop with me. That plane ride would have been horrible without it.

Originally Posted by yobdior

It's amazing that you still manage to find the time to write on MGS given all your other commitments...

Yeah, commitments. Rock climbing, frisbee on the beach, wiping out on my surfboard. It all kept me very busy.

Seriously, though. It's been a crazy year and, truthfully, I'm hoping to have more of the same.

Thanks, everyone, for reading my stories.

-- Rowan