Several days had passed since the incident with the scale and the thoughts that came with the numbers. Owen had tried his best to push down his feelings about his weight but was failing miserably. He found himself constantly poking his soft stomach, lifting it up to achieve a small hang over his belt, and taking note of how he jiggled going up and down the stairs. All of these little actions infuriated Owen because while they should annoy him; he loved them.

As he laid in bed idly scrolling through social media, the most intrusive of all his thoughts crept up on him.

What if I tried to gain back my weight?

The shock from allowing this thought to come through caused Owen to shoot into a sitting position. He could (sort of) deal with the feelings surrounding his current gain; but to consider going back to almost 180lbs was ridiculous.

It is ridiculous! Right? I mean...it should be.

"Here we go again..."

Owen tossed his phone to the side and flopped back down in bed. The constant battle he was fighting was becoming more and more aggravating.

He decided to close his eyes and let his mind wander in the hopes that allowing free rein would get everything out of his system. Unfortunately, his plan backfired and caused him to revisit his very recent thoughts of increasing his weight.

--

After what seemed like an eternity, Owen had seemingly come to a decision.

I'll just not worry about it. Easy. I won't try to lose any weight but I won't try to gain any either. I'll just eat what I want, do what I want, and that's that.

This seemed to be the most logical decision in Owen's mind and took away any of the pressure that came with either gaining or losing weight. He was tired of his internal turmoil and wanted to take the path of least resistance. By not committing to anything he had successfully eliminated the chances of possibly causing himself further stress.

Pleased with his decision, Owen decided to celebrate by ordering a pizza.

As soon as he got on the line however, a pizza turned into a pizza and breadsticks, then a pizza, breadsticks, and a 2L of Coke.

Who cares? I never get to have this stuff and I'm celebrating!

After making the call, Owen plopped down on the couch to pick something to watch while eating his celebration meal. Eventually he landed on some obscure b-horror movie and proceeded to play on his phone until the ring of the downstairs doorbell alerted him to someone waiting to get into the building.

Hopping up rather excitedly, Owen climbed down the single flight of stairs to pay the awaiting delivery driver and start his night of enjoyment.

"Thanks a bunch!" he stated to the driver before making his way back to his apartment.

After placing the food and soda bottle down on the coffee table and starting up the movie, the night was ready to begin.

Grabbing a slice of pizza right from the box and taking a bite, Owen moaned at the great taste of the double pepperoni and extra cheese. While franchises could cut it, nothing could compare to the small, local pizza joint he always ordered from.

He quickly finished the first slice before moving on to the breadsticks. Instead of eating one at a time, he decided to take out two at a time to eat simultaneously.

Why not?

Despite not having high expectations, the movie was actually fairly interesting and Owen found himself quickly invested in the plot. He zoned in completely while continuing to eat his pizza and breadsticks.

Deciding that he was thirsty Owen grabbed the bottle of soda and unscrewed the cap before looking down at the food.

Three pieces of pizza and six breadsticks down? I ordered a large of each so...

His thoughts trailed off as he brought the bottle to his lips and took a long drink.

Immediately after placing the bottle on the table, a huge burp escaped Owen's lips.

The sound was deep, loud, and quite appealing to his ears. With only a minor bit of hesitation he reached over to grab the bottle and down a bit more.

Just as before, a satisfying burp escaped his lips. This time, however, as the burp was building up, Owen grabbed his slightly bloated gut and gave it a shake. This caused a series of smaller burps to continue past the first.

Smiling to himself, he placed the bottle down and reached for another slice of pizza before turning his attention back to the movie.