Two (presumably straight) high school boys get on a mysterious fairground ride that has the power to turn them into soulmates. Two gay men get off.
It was 5 PM at Pleasure Springs, and A.J. and Hubert were starting to tire of each other's company. Their fun day out with the hot girls had not exactly gone as planned. Now the sun was getting low, lunch with the ladies was but a distant memory, and they'd been all around the park, yet hadn't gotten onto a single roller coaster in the entire afternoon. It was putting a real strain on their friendship, not that they liked each other that much to begin with.
The morning, however, had been great. They only had to deal with short lines, and A.J. had held hands with Stephanie on two different rides. This was important because she was the only 9/10 hottie in their entire class. A.J. had told Hubert afterward about how close he was to just skipping first base and going straight to the second. And maybe if the ride hadn't ended so quickly, they could have easily gone to third. Hubert sneered at these accomplishments, which he termed "alpha male aggressiveness," something he wanted no part of. But he was not exactly the alpha male type to begin with. A.J. dismissed these comments out of hand, adding that Hubert was a "half pint nerd," and so was bound to feel a little jealous.
In the afternoon they'd spent a good 90 minutes lining up for the Hyperloop ride with Stephanie and her best friend, a solid 7/10. In a rare act of charity, A.J. had offered to provide his services to Hubert as a wingman, but Hubert had refused. Not only this, but he'd done so in a clear tone of voice that made it obvious he was not interested.
"Why? Are you gay?" A.J. had asked.
"No," said Hubert. He paused. "Well, if you must know, I'm sapiosexual."
"What's that?" A.J. asked.
"It means I only like smart girls."
"Ohh," he said. "Such as...?"
This got the ball rolling. After that they talked for a long time about their tastes in females, making sure all the while that Stephanie and her nearby friend didn't overhear them. By the time they'd run out of girls to talk about, they were almost to the front of the line, but that was when disaster struck.
It was announced over the loudspeaker that, due to a technical fault, the Hyperloop ride was to be closed for inspection, and it wouldn't open again for the rest of the day.
After swallowing their initial disappointment, and complaining heavily about it, the four friends went around looking for another ride, but none of them could stomach the thought of entering yet another long line. Stephanie had had the bright idea of getting on the water slide, but neither Hubert nor A.J. had packed a swimsuit for the occasion, (not that it would have mattered to A.J. since only one person could use the slide at a time, and there could be no holding hands).
And so she took her friend and went off without them, while the two boys were left to wander around the park by themselves.
-
They had been arguing about where to go for quite a while now, but for the life of them, they couldn't even agree on where to get food. Hubert said he must have had an allergic reaction to something they'd ate at lunch because he wasn't feeling that hungry now.
By this time it was well past 5:30, and the park was due to close in less than an hour. They had to pick something, fast. It was the third time they'd walked all the way around the site when Hubert eventually spotted something to their left. This was a run-down ride that he and A.J. passed by the first two times without noticing. It was called the Tunnel Of Love. He pointed it out to A.J.
"No way am I getting on some faggy boat ride called Tunnel Of Love, especially not with you of all people!" said A.J. "No offense."
"None taken," said Hubert. "But hey look, the L's fallen off of the sign. So if you look closely, it's actually called the Tunnel Of ove."
"See, that's the thing," said A.J. "It's so crappy and run down. You sure you don't wanna check out the Runaway Train instead? The line might be shorter by now."
"But this one doesn't even have a line. It's like, the only thing in this entire park that doesn't have a line!" Hubert said, allowing his frustration to show.
"Alrighty then," A.J. said. "We'll go on this ride, even if it is like, the gayest thing ever."
"But neither of us is gay, right?" said Hubert.
"Right."
"So all that this means is that we go on the ride as two male friends, get through all of it without any gay feelings, and leave feeling re-affirmed in our heterosexuality. Frankly, it'd be gay of us not to do it."
"Whatever, man," said A.J. as he stormed ahead to the ticket booth, leaving Hubert to catch up with him.
They hurried past the ticket booth, trying not to show their faces as they gave a handful of bills bought a pair of tickets between them. They didn't even look back as the dude selling tickets offered them change for their 10 dollars. He gazed disappointedly at the two teen boys, one of whom was wearing a varsity jacket over a wifebeater vest and camo trousers. His 'partner' for the ride was a bespectacled kid who was about a foot shorter than him and wearing a too-large Captain America shirt, which draped around him like a dress. One way or another, they'd get their change.
A.J. glanced around the vicinity of the ride.
"Are you sure this thing's safe?" he said.
"Very safe," said Hubert, feeling braver than A.J. was. "If you don't want to, I'll go in first."
"Hubert took his seat in the left 'lobe' of the boat, beckoning A.J. to take the seat next to him. A.J. looked around, and saw that all the other seats on the ride were empty. He briefly considered having a boat all to himself, but out of respect for Hubert, he took the right side of the boat he was on. When no one else boarded in the next thirty seconds, the ride began to move with just the two of them on it.
A chain slowly winched their boat into the water, sending vibrations through the seat, which neither of them enjoyed. When that was over, the boat began to drift gently on the slow current towards the tunnel. It was no roller coaster, but Hubert at least was able to find it somewhat relaxing.
As the boat floated further into the tunnel, it got darker very quickly. A.J. was the first to notice the walls on the inside as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. There were rainbow-colored archways, along with heart-shaped patterns that had all but disappeared over the years if they hadn't been covered up by layers of graffiti.
Hubert didn't really notice this at first because his glasses were already fogged up with the moisture from the air. He took them off briefly to wipe the lenses, but then he absentmindedly put them down on the seat beside him. It didn't really matter that he wasn't wearing them, as in this half light, the glasses made little difference to his eyesight.
"A.J. then interrupted his reverie.
"Jesus Christ, look at the water!"
Hubert looked down. And even though he had no glasses, he could see the water wasn't flowing very fast. In some areas, it was almost stagnant. And floating in the water was a wide assortment of condoms, fast food wrappers and indistinct bits of plastic. It was quite revolting. Hubert then made the mistake of inhaling through his nose, and caught a whiff of something damp like rotting wood, along with the stiff odor of stale cream.
"Ew, it's more like the Tunnel Of Man-Love," said Hubert, wrinkling his nose as a used condom bobbed past their boat.
He fully expected A.J. to respond with a homophobic remark or at very least a witty comment, but instead, the guy said nothing. He looked back at A.J. to see that, in contrast to his usual rugged appearance, he was in fact shivering. This was not too surprising, though what he said took Hubert by surprise.
"I'm scared," said A.J. "I don't think this ride's safe. Do you?"
Even in the near darkness, he could see that the hair on A.J.'s arms was prickled up. Whether through fear or just the cold, Hubert did not know.
"It's alright," he said, surprising himself by how chill and confident he sounded. "You're safe here as long as you're with me."
Where in the hell did those words come from? If anyone here should have been the scaredy cat, it would have been Hubert. But it just seemed like the right thing to say. Comforting A.J. felt surprisingly natural to him.
There was a sharp bend in the tunnel ahead of them so that they couldn't see where they were going. For one strange moment, he actually considered holding A.J.'s hand, but he refrained. He knew the boy would only mock him for it afterward.
As their boat rounded the bend, lurching them sideways, Hubert's stomach felt queasy. He didn't know whether it was the food they'd eaten at lunch, or indeed the smell of the tunnel. Probably it was a bit of both. The vague sense of nausea must have been showing on his face because it was A.J. who spoke next to him.
"Hang in there, big guy," he said. "Don't you puke over the side."
A.J. had never called him 'big guy' before. It almost sounded like a joke, but Hubert took it on himself to find it rather flattering. He really loved the way A.J. could be nice to him sometimes, even if he rarely showed these affections in public. He thought for a moment that if he were gay, he could quite easily fall for a guy like A.J.
Well, maybe not exactly like A.J. For one thing, he could never be with someone so much taller than himself. That would have to change.
Then again, his best friend didn't look quite so tall right now. The way he was now was all hunched over and huddling his arms for warmth. He actually looked quite small and vulnerable.
A.J. was, in fact, terrified because he thought the rickety roof of this ride might cave in at any second, which would cause people from all over the park to rush to the scene of the accident and consequently see him and Hubert together. Then everyone would know they were the only two people riding the Tunnel Of Love at the time that it happened, which might possibly be the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to him in his life.
Then again, was it really the worst thing to be seen in public with Hubert? He was a good kid after all. Even though Hubert was quite possibly the most socially awkward guy A.J. had ever met, what he lacked in charm he made up for with his big, big heart.
A.J. couldn't believe he'd caught himself thinking that, but he really did like hanging out with Hubert, which was why he could take the embarrassment that usually came from being friends with a puny nerd. He'd always wished that somehow his best friend could be bigger, much bigger, so he could stand up for himself. That way people would take him for a real man, the same way A.J. always saw him.
So why hadn't he admitted to himself that this was what he wanted? It hadn't been until they got on this ride together that A.J. was able to understand his true feelings for Hubert.
Hubert meanwhile thought he must be very ill. He put both hands upon his stomach, which was so swollen right now with gas. His belt was so very tight, he reached downstairs to adjust it. His hands and stomach looked farther away than before, almost like he was growing taller or something, but it was probably just a trick of perspective, since he wasn't wearing any glasses, and that might alter his perception of distance. But then again, it wasn't really affecting his vision either way. So what in the world was happening?
That wasn't the only thing he noticed that was different about his friend. They were also apparently the same height. A.J. had never noticed this before. But maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were sitting down. That could be it, but on the other hand, it really did look like Hubert had grown taller recently.
Hubert was noticing it as well, but for whatever reason, he said nothing. It was just too weird to talk about it at a time like this. And he supposed he had been overdue for a growth spurt anyway, but spurts like this didn't happen in a matter of minutes. For one thing, it was scientifically impossible. But then again, he needed to stop worrying about science and just relax.
He couldn't deny the swelling of his stomach was in some way related. But either way, he was relieved to feel that it didn't hurt anymore. The stomach ache hadn't left him the same way it had started though. And it wasn't gas in his stomach either. For the first time in Hubert's life, he felt fat.
Meanwhile, where on earth had A.J.'s hair gone? Poor kid was rubbing his arms vigorously for warmth. And A.J. could barely feel anything there. It was all so thin and wispy. Yet the hair on top of his head was immune to this. In fact he could have done with a haircut today, because it was definitely growing longer. He wasn't used to having it get this long and occasionally he had to flick a loose strand of it out of his eyes.
Hubert was almost certainly taller than him now. A.J. sat upright to make sure it wasn't just their differences in posture. Nope, definitely taller. He looked Hubert in the eye, and Hubert looked back at him.
They were both fully aware now of the changes that were occurring in each other's pubescent bodies, yet neither of them could think of a single word to say about it. It was all too weird to comment on, and so they just said nothing.
Each teen was also dimly aware of his own transformation, but found himself ignoring it on a conscious level, preferring subconsciously to wait and let things happen. Hubert felt deeply, deeply relaxed as the changes took place on him below the belt. A.J. silently panicked as a similar process took a hold of himself, but he was calmed to no end by Hubert wrapping one of his big fat arms around him and placing a hand on his shoulder.
A few minutes ago, A.J. wouldn't have let the guy touch him, but now it just... felt so right. This might have something to do the fact he was scared, but it had to be something more than that. It was just objectively comfortable to be held by another man, and what was wrong with that?
Wait, why the hell did he feel this way? More importantly, why did he not feel this way until now? It felt so natural. And when in the world did Hubert get so big?
Hubert undid his belt again with his spare hand, and let his gut spill out. He found himself concerned by the amount of weight he'd put on recently and promised himself to lay off the fast food. He was insatiably jealous of A.J., who had inexplicably managed to stay on the skinny side, despite having pretty much the same diet. Some guys had all the luck. Anyway, that varsity jacket was practically hanging off him.
A.J. was responding to his touch in a way that Hubert had been hoping for, and quietly hugged him back. This felt so good for both of them, but still a little unnerving for Hubert because his best friend was so small. It was like being hugged by a child. Then again, Hubert still wasn't used to being so big, and he wasn't the only one whose height had changed. A.J. wasn't nearly as tall as he used to be, and yet he was definitely a lot more handsome.
Hubert tried to force this unwelcome thought out of his mind, but no sooner than he tried this it became all he could think about. Why on hadn't he ever noticed it before? His best friend Arran Jace was inexcusably handsome. His heart was fluttering as he'd never felt this way about a guy before, especially not one like A.J. But this was not the same A.J. whom he'd gotten on the ride with. His face was softer and more stylish, with neither the thick brow nor the square jawline that had dominated his features before. It was a far better look for him.
Once again, A.J. leaned in closer to Hubert. They were so close now, their faces were almost touching.
The Captain America shirt was seriously stretching now. And with this, it could no longer conceal Hubert's belly. It rode up to expose his fluffy navel region. A.J. wanted to touch it, to tickle his tummy, but that would be crossing the boundaries of their friendship.
Why oh why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't Hubert see him as more than just a friend?
As Hubert gained yet more weight, his form shifted to accommodate it. If he had remained the same height, he might have turned out looking very unfit. But the increase in tallness had made him rather well built and chunky. The transformation was complete and stunning. Where before there had been a skinny kid, there now existed a barrel-chested dude, with strong arms, thick fingers, and legs like a lumberjack, barely contained by his jeans.
A.J. was in heaven. He leaned over to rest his head on Hubert's shoulder. His best friend understood, and held him closer. He no longer felt cold - Hubert's body had warmed him up. The dank smell they'd endured for much of the ride was gone too, replaced by familiar sweaty musk of Hubert. It mixed well with A.J.'s cologne, even though he couldn't remember putting any on today, but he was pretty sure if he did, he'd have done it especially for him.
The ride rounded another bend, bringing the end of the tunnel into view. They wished to themselves that this moment could go on forever, as they sat still, taking in every second of it, from the slow rhythm of their breaths to the rapid beating of their hearts. Neither of them moved from where they held each other in their embrace. Not a word was said between them.
As the boat came in closer to the light, Hubert looked down at A.J.'s head and was struck by the way the light shone off side-swept hair. This boy was getting cuter by the minute! Hubert fought the urge to hug him even tighter. If he squeezed any tighter than he was doing already, he might possibly squeeze the poor thing to death.
A.J. saw the end of the tunnel blurred in front of his eyes and remembered that he wore glasses. He picked them up off the seat next to him and put them on, beaming a shy smile at Hubert.
A long time ago, Hubert had professed to be 'sapiosexual.' But more recently he'd discovered that his tastes had matured. These days he found attraction to something even more pure and perfect - dumb blondes in nerdy glasses.
Hubert felt almost nervous around A.J., almost as though it was their first time flirting. Wait a minute. He realized that they hadn't actually flirted until now. Time to fix that.
"So, did you like the ride?" he said.
Hubert's voice came out deeper and huskier than before, which took him by surprise. But like everything else that had happened today, he took it entirely in his stride.
"It was the best," A.J. replied.
His voice was also different somehow. It too had gotten deeper, whilst picking up an adorably gay twang.
Hubert's chest was thumping. It was so loud, he thought that A.J. could actually hear it, which made him all the more nervous. But as long as he was thinking about A.J., his heart would probably never slow down. It was now or never.
"Arran, I've been thinking..."
"I've been thinking too," said A.J.
With both their hearts thumping, they leaned in and pressed their wet lips against each other. The kiss was fast, passionate, and over in less than five seconds.
Hubert and A.J. reeled back in amazement. Each saw himself reflected in the other's eyes, daring himself to believe what had just transpired.
Whatever the mysterious force was that transformed their bodies had not done so at random - it had acted upon their unconscious desires so their fate had been sealed the moment they got on the ride together. It had changed them into what the other truly wanted. Each man found himself staring into the face of his soulmate.
The bespectacled schoolboy of Hubert Simmons was gone forever. As a man, he had grown into something wonderful. He was huge and huggable, and A.J. wanted to love every inch of him.
A.J. meanwhile had grown in a very different way. Whilst he hadn't actually gotten taller, Hubert appreciated that his voice had become sexier, and the harshness of his features had melted away into a face that practically assaulted him with boyish charm. He was a beautiful blonde twink, the kind that Hubert loved most of all.
He was already licking his lips and leaning over to kiss A.J. on the top of the head. He took in the fresh, perfumed scent of him, then looked down again to see that A.J.'s trousers were already tented.
"Is that for me?" he asked with a sly grin. A.J. nodded. He could sense that Hubert wanted it too.
"Seriously man," he said, feigning embarrassment. "It's like my cock is on fire!"
"Aww, that's so sweet. D'you want me to blow it out for you?"
A.J. didn't say anything. He just nodded and began to unbutton his jacket.
-
They rode the Tunnel of Love two more times together more after that. Each time they did it was better than the last. When they eventually did emerge for the third and final time, they were both red in the face and wearing each other's clothes.
A.J. and Hubert regretted none of this, for that had been their reason for coming here. They'd been all around the park today in search of the ultimate thrill. And that was exactly what they had done. In that way they had discovered something even more exciting than a roller coaster: each other.
Originally published to DeviantArt on December 17, 2017. It's description there was as follows:
They're such a cute couple, aren't they? I wonder if they'd have kids, or just adopt.
This piece was originally written for Choose Your Own Change (cyoc.net), which has a lot of cool stories like these, especially those featuring men as the outcome of the transformation, which is actually what inspired me to write this one.
I was by the way thinking of doing a Christmas-themed story with these two, but I'm probably too late to get it ready by Christmas Day. Though let me know in the comments if you have any requests for next year, and who knows? Santa Claus might even show up...
Images generated in Kisekae (http://pochi.x.fc2.com/kisekae/k_kisekae2.html), by yours truly. Background image licensed under Creative Commons. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_(amusement_park)#/media/File:Old_Town,_Orlando_03.JPG)
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