Davey's Destiny - Part 7

[Rowan]

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- Seven -

I closed the door behind me as Davey ran down the porch steps. He turned to face me, grinning broadly.

?Come on, Justin!?

Amazingly, his clothes were still holding. He?d only put on a few pounds this weekend, and less than a quarter inch of height. That was good, right? It meant his growth was slowing down, right?

<i> Please, let that be right. </i>

?Justin, we?re going to be late!?

I jogged down the steps and to the sidewalk. ?Take it easy, we?ve got plenty of time.?

He didn?t follow me, and I paused, turned around. His expression was pained as he stared at me. ?What?s wrong, Davey??

?Aren?t you... Don?t you want to hold my hand??

Involuntarily, I looked over his body. At the pecs that pushed against his blue t-shirt, and the arms that swelled so large that they hurt me just setting eyes on them. We hadn?t held hands since he first outweighed me. ?Davey, you don?t need me to protect you anymore.? It beat on my ego to say it, but it was the truth. ?Why do you want to hold hands??

His breath hitched, making his chest jump. ?That?s not...? He dropped his gaze, staring down at the sidewalk. ?That?s not why I like it.?

I closed the distance between us. ?It?s not??

Still staring at the ground, he shook his head. ?It makes me feel good,? he whispered.

A gentle smile touched my mouth as I reached down, took his hand. ?Good enough for me.?

He lifted his head, and the big grin returned. ?Thanks, Justin.?

Although Davey had pretty much given up the word ?please,? he still said his thank-you?s with good consistency. That, too, gave me hope. ?You?re welcome.? I gave him a little tug, ignored how his hand was bigger than mine. ?Let?s go, or we really will be late.?

He skipped beside me. It was really weird to see? him being so big and all? but kinda cute, too. He looked happy, and that made me happy.

When we reached the bus stop, the kids swarmed on him like they had all last week. The crush was so bad that their little bodies broke my hold on his hand. I got out of their way, started to take my customary post against the ?bus stop? sign.

?Hey!?

I spun, saw Davey scowling down at the kids around him. He was taller than even the 6th graders now? five feet flat? and I couldn?t imagine how scary he looked from <i> their </i> perspective.

Davey brushed his way through the crowd, sending kids flying back into each other as he stalked over to me. Still glaring at them, he grabbed my hand, and pulled me back into the center of the circle. ?Don?t push my brother around!?

Stunned, I looked at the kids. None of the children seemed to be hurt, but they were cringing, unsure what they?d done wrong. ?Davey,? I lowered my head, spoke softly. ?They were just trying to be closer to you.?

He lifted his fierce gaze to meet mine. ?Did they hurt you??

Did <i> they </i> hurt me? The bruises Davey had given me were forming layers on top of each other now. Was that irony? ?No.?

He pulled me closer, looked around again. ?You guys promise? No more pushing??

They nodded, but kept their distance.

Davey stood stiffly, not looking at me. His face was hard, but I could tell the loss of their adoration had hurt him. I noted how the kids were arranged in a circle around us, giving us a wide berth. My gaze drifted to Sam Fitch, and I forced a smile. ?Hey, Sam. Your brother Carl told me that you?re getting really good at basketball.?

He took a tentative step forward as the light slowly returned to him. ?He said that??

Carl was on my team, and he loved to talk about his family. ?Sure did.?

Sam smiled. I could tell he worshiped his older brother. ?Cool.?

I squeezed Davey?s hand. ?We put up a basketball hoop this weekend. Davey attached it to the garage all by himself.?

Sam glanced at him. ?Really??

He turned his head, looked down. Sam didn?t even come up to his shoulder. ?Yeah. I didn?t even need a wrench.?

?Can you dunk??

Davey glanced up at me, a smile on his mouth, before looking at Sam again. ?Yeah, but not on the one at our house. I?m too heavy. I?d break it.?

?Wow.? He edged closer, and the other kids followed suit. Soon, more joined in on the conversation, softly at first, then with more confidence when Davey showed no signs of losing his temper.

?How much do you weigh, Davey??

?Two hundred and ten pounds.?

?How big are your arms??

?Eighteen inches, if I don?t flex them. They pop out to twenty-one if I do.?

?Your legs are huge!?

?I know. My thighs are about 30 inches around, I think.?

I bit back a smile as Davey proudly rattled off the numbers. He?d begged me to measure him dozens of times this weekend.

The school bus arrived, and the kids filed in line to climb on.

Davey stuck close to me, and I ruffled his hair. ?Have fun at school.?

The smile slipped from his face. ?Justin... I...?

My brow furrowed. ?What?s wrong??

Hesitantly, he raised his hand.

I laughed and raised mine too. ?Oh, sorry.?

He giggled and slapped my palm. It stung, but didn?t hurt all that much.

Davey ran to the bus. As he took that first step, the front of the vehicle sank a little with his weight. I watched as he went in, looked around. A small boy toward the back waved his hands madly to get his attention. Dave grinned and walked to the seat his best friend had saved for him. He looked at it a moment, shook his head, and slipped his arms underneath Chris. Gently, easily, he lifted him up, took the window seat, and set him down on the other side of him.

Chris stared up at him, totally awed. He looked so tiny, sitting there. I could barely see him because of Davey?s bulk.

Chris hopped up to his knees so he could say something in Davey?s ear. Davey turned his head, said something to him, and opened the school bus window.

?Justin!?

Curious, I walked up to the window. I noticed that the hinges had been rusted shut, but Davey hadn?t had any problem forcing it open. ?Yeah??

?Chris wants me to spend the night at his house Friday. Can I??

I grinned. ?We?ll have to ask Mom and Dad first, but I don?t see why not.?

His face sobered. ?I?m not asking Mom and Dad. I?m asking you. Can I??

My humor started to fade. ?I?m not the one who can make that call, Davey.?

?Why not? It?s not like they care.?

This rift in our family, it was killing me. ?Davey...?

He leaned farther out the window, and the sound of metal whining filled the air as the frame warped. But his voice was soft. ?If I go, will you miss me, Justin??

?Yes,? I whispered back.

?But it?s okay? You won?t hate me for leaving??

?God, Davey.? The question shocked me. Somehow, I had to fix this. ?I could never hate you.?

The bus started to roll away. He stared at me a few moments more before settling back into his seat. As they rounded a corner, he stuck his arm out the window to wave goodbye, causing his shirt sleeve to rip open.

I waved back, promised myself that?no matter what?Davey would understand that I loved him.

[Rowan]

I know it's short, but a friend of mine is having a little bit of a rough time, and this is his favorite story of mine, so I thought I'd finally update. Hope this cheers your day, buddy.

-- Rowan

*****
parts 1-6 of this story can be found at:

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six

[Kymuscleboy]

It was short, but it was worth the wait. I'll be looking forward to the next chapter.

[ARCHEON]

Originally Posted by Rowan

I know it's short, but a friend of mine is having a little bit of a rough time, and this is his favorite story of mine, so I thought I'd finally update. Hope this cheers your day, buddy.

Well, it's certainly my favorite story of yours and it definitely made my day. Sorry to hear about your friend. But when goodness is sent out into the world...no matter how bleak or awkward the situation may be...it tends to spread and have a disarming effect on people. As is demonstrated in this story, it's the gentle act of Justin's hand holding with Davey that shows when even doing the simplest of kind things, it can make a very BIG difference.

[Otaru_grower]

This is an amazingly well fleshed, if you'll pardon the pun, story. It is my one of my favorite stories of all time now, incredibly detailed, and emotionally powerful, with a growing tinge all the while of Davey increasing his masculine domestic/social domination. It's thrilling to see this level of suspense drawn out here by you on this forum. Cheers wouldn't be enough. Thank you for continuing this!

[muscl4life]

I can't belive I'm actually saying such thing - but it's just to let you knnow that even when we give us a "short version" of your usual dozens page installments, we notice just how consistent your writing skills are - you can pack proportionally the same action and depth in this chapter that you've done in every single previous chapter. Really impressive.

Loved the story, and Davey's personality seemed to change a whole lot - if his dependance towards his brother once was by physical reasons now it is a much deper connection, for the growing kid shows a great respect and need for his "big brother's" affection. Another great point!

Congratulations, and i hope your friend feel better with this refreshing chapter.

All best

Bruno

[Rowan]

Originally Posted by Kymuscleboy

It was short, but it was worth the wait. I'll be looking forward to the next chapter.

lol. Glad you liked it.

Originally Posted by ARCHEON

Well, it's certainly my favorite story of yours and it definitely made my day. Sorry to hear about your friend. But when goodness is sent out into the world...no matter how bleak or awkward the situation may be...it tends to spread and have a disarming effect on people. As is demonstrated in this story, it's the gentle act of Justin's hand holding with Davey that shows when even doing the simplest of kind things, it can make a very BIG difference.

That's what I was hoping to do with this installment. And he did say it cheered his day, so that was good.

Originally Posted by Otaru_grower

This is an amazingly well fleshed, if you'll pardon the pun, story. It is my one of my favorite stories of all time now, incredibly detailed, and emotionally powerful, with a growing tinge all the while of Davey increasing his masculine domestic/social domination. It's thrilling to see this level of suspense drawn out here by you on this forum. Cheers wouldn't be enough. Thank you for continuing this!

Yeah, I'm liking this slow reversal of roles. Sometimes I think I have a tendency to drag things out, but if you're happy, I'm happy.

Originally Posted by muscl4life

but it's just to let you knnow that even when we give us a "short version" of your usual dozens page installments, we notice just how consistent your writing skills are - you can pack proportionally the same action and depth in this chapter that you've done in every single previous chapter. Really impressive.

Thanks. I'm working on my consistency. Want to make every chapter as good as (or better than) the last.

Thanks for reading!
-- Rowan

[gogr2]

Hey Rowan... worth the wait. Hope to see more now that I am done with basic training.

Again, you are an awesome writer.