The Night We Forgot part 1
Liam and Ethan had been inseparable for years. They trained together five mornings a week, pushed each other through impossible workouts, argued over whose deadlift looked cleaner, and ended every session with coffee and plans for the weekend. Most people assumed they were brothers. They laughed and never corrected them. That Friday, they’d agreed to do something different. “No protein shakes tonight,” Ethan grinned as he threw Liam a black shirt. “And absolutely no talking about macros,” Liam replied.
By midnight they were in the middle of a packed nightclub, music shaking the floor beneath their feet. Drinks kept appearing in their hands. Strangers bought rounds. They danced, laughed until their sides hurt, and posed for blurry photos they would barely remember taking.
The last thing either of them clearly remembered was leaning on each other, laughing at a joke neither could recall, promising that this would be a night they’d never forget. Instead… It became the night they couldn’t remember at all.
A week after the night at the club, Liam couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. It started with exhaustion. Then came the strange cravings, the constant nausea, and a dull tightness low in his stomach that refused to disappear. Ethan joked that he must have picked up some bizarre virus, but the symptoms only grew stranger. After another sleepless night, Liam booked an appointment, expecting to be told he was overtraining or run down.
The clang of weights echoed through the gym as Ethan finished his final set. He looked up to see Liam standing near the dumbbell rack. Something was wrong. Normally, Liam was the loud one—the first to joke, the first to push for one more set. Today he looked pale, distracted. “You alright?” Ethan asked, racking the weight. Liam nodded, though it wasn’t convincing. “Can we talk?” “Now?” Liam glanced around the busy gym “Somewhere quiet.” A few minutes later they stood in an empty stretching room at the back of the gym. Ethan folded his arms. “You’re starting to worry me.” Liam took a deep breath. “I’ve been to the doctor.” “What did they say?” For a moment Liam couldn’t speak. “They found out why I’ve been feeling so sick.” Ethan waited. Liam’s voice barely rose above a whisper. “They said… I’m pregnant.”
Silence. Ethan blinked. “…What?” “They said I’m pregnant.” Ethan stared at him before letting out a short laugh. “Very funny.” “I’m serious.” The smile vanished from Ethan’s face. “Liam…” “I’ve had blood tests. I’ve had scans. They checked everything twice.” “That’s impossible.” “I know it is!” A few people walked past the doorway outside, unaware of the conversation unfolding inside. Liam pulled a folded ultrasound image from his gym bag and handed it over. Ethan looked down. His expression changed instantly.“This is… yours?” Liam nodded. “They said I’m only a few weeks along.” Ethan looked from the scan back to Liam, searching for some sign this was an elaborate joke. There wasn’t one. Neither of them spoke for several long seconds. Finally, Ethan whispered, “How could this even happen?” Liam looked him straight in the eyes. “I don’t know…” Then they both remembered the same thing. The nightclub. The missing hours. The night neither of them could remember. For the first time since they had met neither of them had an answer.
Liam woke before dawn with an unfamiliar weight pressing against the mattress. Half asleep, he reached down instinctively. His hand froze. His stomach wasn’t flat anymore.
It curved gently beneath his palm, firm enough that there was no mistaking it. He threw back the duvet and stared. Only yesterday he could still see every line of his abs. Now the definition had softened beneath a small but unmistakable swell. “Liam?” Ethan’s sleepy voice came from the doorway. Liam couldn’t answer. He simply looked down at himself. “It wasn’t like this yesterday.” Ethan walked over, his expression shifting from concern to disbelief. “You’ve definitely…” “Grown.” The word hung in the air. Neither of them knew how that could happen overnight.
Another fortnight passed. The tiny bump had become impossible to hide. Liam sat on the sofa with an ice pack resting against the small of his back, absent-mindedly rubbing circles over the smooth curve of his stomach. His favourite hoodie no longer reached the waistband of his joggers. Ethan walked in carrying two mugs of tea before stopping in his tracks. “Weren’t you smaller this morning?” Liam looked down.
He laughed nervously. “I think I was.” The laugh faded. “It feels heavier every day.” Ethan sat beside him. Without thinking, Liam rested one hand beneath the growing weight, supporting it instinctively. The movement felt strangely natural. “You know,” Ethan said quietly, “when the doctor said the growth would be unusual… I didn’t think they meant this.” Liam smiled weakly. “Neither did I.”
By the end of the month, the apartment had begun to change around Liam. The dining chair had been replaced with one that had better support. The cupboards were filled with snacks instead of protein powders. Even walking from one room to another had become slower. One afternoon, Liam stood in the kitchen reaching for a mug. As he turned, his stomach bumped gently against the edge of the counter.
He stopped. “So… that’s new.” Ethan looked over from the table. “What happened?” “I forgot how much space I take up now.” He rested both hands beneath the broad curve of his belly, lifting it ever so slightly as he shifted his weight. “I keep thinking I’ve got another six inches of room.” Ethan couldn’t help but smile. “It suits you.” Liam rolled his eyes. “Easy for you to say.” Even as he joked, another sensation made him pause. A faint flutter. Almost like bubbles beneath the surface. He stood perfectly still. “…Did you feel that?” Ethan looked up. “What?” Liam slowly placed both hands over the centre of his stomach. “It moved.” The kitchen fell silent. For the first time since everything had begun, the impossible no longer felt distant. Whatever was happening inside Liam was growing. And it was growing far faster than anyone had imagined.
Liam lay awake, staring at the ceiling, one hand resting absent-mindedly on the smooth curve of his growing belly. Tomorrow was meant to be leg day, but the thought of stepping back into the gym filled him with uncertainty. He wondered if he still belonged there—or if his body was already asking him to slow down.
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