Brother, Have We Got Problems 3 (tf)
by MS_alberta
Ben and Zac are two very different people who both rushed last year and made it in, oh and they’re both only children. That’s about as much as they had in common back then, or that’s what I thought. Ben had light skin and lighter hair than Zac, who never seemed to sun urn the way Ben did. They are both pretty in-shape guys. Ben had wanted to wrestle back in High school, but could never get that serious about it ‘cause of the money involved. Zac was a musician and had that wired, hyper metabolism some rockers seemed to have; the guy was always humming a tune or strumming something, he never stood still. I was kinda surprised that Ben didn’t kill Zac the day they meet. Ben’s a real tough guy. Nobody messes around with him. He just can’t take a joke. I know why. When he had first rushed I spoke with him and he told me what his home, his city, his whole life had been like. It’s not my business to tell you everything the guy went through, but just think about some of the things you were lucky enough to have. I mean things that matter like, trust, parents, friends, and choices, that sorta stuff. Now take ‘em all away. And that is how you make a “Ben”. The guy was tough ‘cause he had to be tough to survive all that. I had been trying to get him to open up alittle more, I had even seen him crack a smile or two in the year he’d been here. Zac had a big part in making the guy lighten up. There’s a picture of Ben actually smiling, Zac’s right there next to him, of course. Zac had everything Ben didn’t. Good family, good schools, and lotsa luck. He had been the clown for as long as he could remember and thought there was nothing better in the world than making people laugh. I thought Ben would hate Zac for having everything he didn’t. Now Zac was plenty immature sometimes, but he wasn’t dumb. I think he sensed something in Ben was kinda broken. From the beginning Zac was always right next to Ben, always talking with him, and showing him that not everyone in the world is out to get you. I think they’re best friends now. Ben gives Zac a kinda safe place, like… um, a harbor or something. I know Zac always has a smile on his face, but no one has a perfect life, I’m sure some stuff’s happened to him, and Ben is a person he can talk to about it and not have to pretend to be happy with all the time. I think everyone’s always thought Zac had it so good, nobody’s ever bothered to listen when he’s got a problem. Between you and me, I think Zac is Ben’s first real friend, ever. He’s the only person I know that can make Ben laugh. They take good care of each other.
Well, even more now.
Both Zac and Ben had been pups, but when they changed back, they changed back weird. A bunch of us were in the den playing the Wii when they changed right in front of us. The pups started whining and rolling around on the ground. Lots of the changes had been different so far so I didn’t think anything was wrong with ‘em. The pups looked like they were just getting bigger and bigger, but then they stopped, and nothing else looked different. Most of the other guys had some part of them grow back to their normal size, but these two just looked like really big puppies. The huge pups started shaking like they were crying or cold or something. Patches of fur started clumping off them and the whines really started to sound like crying. It didn’t sound like Zac or Ben though, but it was definitely human. Bones started cracking and growing and I could see human skin here and there but it was smooth skin on the legs and arms, and the body was so small, I mean like, the limbs were thin. There wasn’t any frat muscle showing up like on the rest of us. The change sped up after that and it wasn’t even a minute till there were two naked, sweaty, exhausted, and outta-breath ten year-olds lying on their backs on the den floor. We were all worried; the guys couldn’t go back to class that Fall if they looked like ten year-olds. And I knew someone would think it was weird for kids to be living at a frat house. The boys slowly got up and Zac was the first to talk. He looked himself over and took it pretty well. Well, he did say “Aww, man!” when he saw his crotch and how small and hairless everything was. He cupped his hands over himself but seemed to be fine. Ben wasn’t anywhere near fine. He looked at his hands and made them into fists, then flexed his narrow chest and abs and made his tiny muscles jump, he kinda laughed and cried at the same time, like he couldn’t believe the size of ‘em. He turned to me and told me not to move. He tried to push me head-on, like someone at football practice and gave up when he wasn’t able to move me one inch, even though I’m the smallest guy in the frat. He flexed his arms and kept on doing it, like he thought the more he did it, the bigger his little bicep bulge would get. Ben started freaking out; he told Zac that they’d have to leave, they’d have to hide or family services would find out about them sooner or later and ship them off. He sprinted upstairs to the room he shared with Zac. We followed him up and found him throwing their clothes into backpacks. Zac told him to calm down, that everything would be fine, and they just had to wait it out, that everything so far had just been about waiting for things to be okay. Ben turned around with tears inching down his cheeks, “I’m not going back to the homes” He said red-faced through gritted teeth, his small hands were balled and his whole body was trembling, like he was about to explode. Even though he was way smaller than me now, I was really afraid of him right then. He said again “I’m not going back, just so they can…” he turned back to the bags, shoving more clothes into ‘em and mumbling “I’m too small, can’t fight them like this…” He pointed to Zac and said “And I won’t let it happen to you. I swear to God, Zac, if they touch you, I’ll k…” Ben stopped talking and looked down at the floor. I think he realized he wasn’t just talking, he really meant it. We all kinda got how much Zac meant to the guy, who up until last week we called “The Thing” ‘cause it seemed like he was made of rock and felt nothing. Zac turned around to us and said “Guys, go back to the game. Me and Ben have a lot to talk about.” We all shuffled back outta the room and down the stairs.
We started playing the Wii again but no one was really that into it. Every now and then we could hear one of them shout, and I swear I heard something like glass break, and another time something that sounded like wood or drywall. It got real late and I told the rest of the guys to head up to bed, and I’d fill them in later. Most of them did, a few stayed up talking in small groups. I couldn’t keep still, I started walking all over the house. I heard bits and pieces of their conversations. It was pretty clear what had happened to Ben at those group homes and the guys were talking about it. Most of the guys in the frat had come from pretty well off families, but not like super sweet 16 rich. Most of us got cars when we turned 16 but only like one or two of us got BMWs or anything, and most of us had jobs back before college. I didn’t think they’d understand, until I heard one of the guys look at the floor and say “It’s not just in places like that, guys. It can happen anywhere. It can even be someone you trust. If it’s something like that, a lot of people won’t even believe you…” Everyone went to bed eventually, but around 2 in the morning the new, little ten year old Zac came into my room with a bed sheet wrapped around him like a toga. “Hey, dude. Wake up.” He whispered to me. My eyes gave the once over to his toga, he noticed and said “It was the only thing I could think of… Look, things might be alittle tense for a while, but Ben has agreed to stay. But this is huge, man. Nobody can treat him like a kid. You don’t know what it’s like for him to think he’s helpless. He’s so afraid right now that someone’ll try and… you know. ” I told Zac I would talk with the frat in the morning and remind them that we’re equals, if were dogs, pups, or kids. Zac started to leave and on the way out said “Thanks. Hey, you know, I think this might actually be good for us, me and Ben, I mean. We’ll see.”
The next morning Ben and Zac stayed in their room as I talked to the frat. Only a few of us had seen what had happened and everyone else had just heard the stories so far of two of our frat brothers looking like they were in fifth grade. I reminded them that no matter what we look like, we’re brothers and nobody here is better than anyone else. I reminded them of everything we’ve done for each other, from the simplest thing like making sure the food and water bowls were full, to that one time when 12 of us chased down the dog catcher totally naked to get 3 of our brothers back before they were neutered or put down.
By lunch the pair had come downstairs and they were treated exactly the same. But unlike everyone else, who still walked around naked, the boys wore their old boxers like cargo shorts. Ben kept checking inside his and left his hands inside, like he was afraid if he let go of himself, it’d go away. I could tell some of the guys were anxious or had questions; Zac and Ben realized it, too. That first day the pair answered the questions the guys had. Most of the guys were pretty curious about what it was like to be young again. The boys told us it was weird to have things out of reach, or like how things they could have lifted with one hand before, they couldn’t pick up with both hands now and how the whole world seemed a lot bigger,. Zac even told us the that it was a little intimidating being around the frat, “‘cause all you guys are so much taller, so much stronger, and look way manlier than we do” he said. Ben looked alittle shocked and angry that Zac had said that, but I think he understood why he did. The frat got that they’d be crossing the line if they used their size, strength, or appearance against them. But it wasn’t just serious stuff. The boys said it was weird but kinda nice to be smooth everywhere and they were so hyper all of the time, too. They started talking about how they didn’t have to put on deodorant or have to shave this morning. One of the brothers asked if they could still “you know, umm, make the stuff” as he put it. Zac said flat out, “Don’t know, haven’t tried it yet.” Most of the day was taken up by questions. At the end the frat told the boys that they didn’t have a single thing to worry about, that as far as they we’re concerned they were still Zac and Ben and nothing could make them treat them any different. I guess it was at this point that the boys finally felt comfortable enough to ditch their boxers. I knew it was a big deal. At ten years old, there was no way they were gonna measure up to anyone in the frat. It was the thing most guys were afraid of, being small. But they did it, they walked around, without a shred of clothing on them, and they didn’t get shit over it from anyone.
Things went on like normal; we slept, ate, played and lived without clothes. The frat was really growing into something new. Over the next few weeks Zac and Ben started growing back up pretty fast and there were even more questions when the boys started growing hairier, or when their joints ached from growing pains. There was a solid week where Zac couldn’t say five words with out his voice cracking, it was pretty funny. Ben though, he had a bad bit of acne for a few days, I mean seriously bad. But the frat held together, and no one gave him shit for it. It was good. It woulda been so easy to make fun of Ben or Zac, but instead they were right behind ‘em. Ben was getting to live ten years over, and instead of having the world try to beat the life outta him, he had a house full of brothers that were there for him. The frat had a chance to watch what had happened to their bodies not even a decade ago. Zac was right, though. This whole thing has been real good for them. Ben was real skittish and paranoid at the beginning of it. He was always thinking that someone bigger or stronger than him was gonna try something. It wasn’t long before little Ben was actually better liked than big Ben had been. Now he would talk with the guys, joke around with them, and even rough house alittle with them, even though he was much weaker than any of them.There were lots of times though when the both of ‘em disappeared out to the lake with the boat or explored the woods surrounding our frat house. I think they’re getting to know what it’s like to have a real brother.
I think they’re pretty much done at this point. Neither of ‘em made it all the way back, but I don’t think they mind much. Zac embarrassed Ben one morning. He found him holding his frat shirt over his chest, trying to see if he’d be able to wear it now; he has that pic up as his wallpaper on his laptop. Ben’s still kinda in a rush to get back to his old size, even though it looks like they're finished.
They really do see it as a second chance. You know, I kinda wonder about Zac though. This whole grow-up again thing made perfect sense for Ben, but I can’t stop thinking what happened to Zac that he needed a second chance at his teenage years. Whatever it was, I hope he’s ok now.
Now, with everyone back on two legs and tailless, I felt it was time to celebrate. We hadn’t thrown a party since we got back from the Doc. Actually, I don’t think any of us even had a sip of beer since then. So I put something together. Everyone who had stuck around during the summer, like the other frat and sorority peeps, came to our kegger. It was pretty amazing. Well, it was amazing for everyone else. Me and the frat really didn’t drink too much. We started off strong like everyone else, but I noticed something weird about Zac after his first beer. And then I noticed it on myself.
I bet the Doc thinks he’s pretty funny.
