Maddie's Men

Maddie's Men Part 6 A Meal Between Roommates

BHM WG Muscle Size Contrast

When Gray entered the kitchen, Haley was already there, stretching up onto her toes to reach the cereal, smooth bare skin peeping out between her shirt and her pajama bottoms as she reached. He could see two bowls and two spoons already at the table, two glasses of juice waiting.
"Hi." Haley said as she turned to see him in the doorway. She held the box of cereal up, a silent question.

Gray nodded, grabbing milk from the fridge, trying to think of something to say.
"I think I found a place to stay." Haley told him as they sat at the kitchen table.

Gray poured milk over his cereal, feeling strangely let down. As awkward as it had been having his little sister's best friend stay with him, a part of him had liked having the tiny redhead around. And it wasn't just that she was keeping the house immaculate. With Haley in the house, his sister and their brothers had been hanging out with him more often, which was kind of nice. Although Gray wasn't the most social person in the world, he did like other people being around, and with Haley in the house he could be around people without being expected to carry half of a conversation.

And he had to admit that Haley was a pretty nice person to be around in her own right. She was thoughtful and smart, and on the rare occasion when Gray talked to her, she didn't get impatient with him when he was quiet or took time to think about what he wanted to say.
"That's great." Grayson told her, hoping he sounded more enthusiastic than he felt.
"But I appreciate everything you've done for me." Haley added, giving him a smile. "And I don't just mean letting me stay here."

Gray smiled, taking a sip of his orange juice, wondering where she was going to move. He knew how much she'd been paying for her last place. She'd been paying a little more than half of what most student housing in their city cost, but in his opinion she'd been overpaying for her apartment. It had been tiny, so badly in need of repairs it likely had several code violations, and very unsafe, especially for someone like Haley. He suspected the break in was only the most recent issue with the apartment.

I wonder what kind of place she found. He thought, trying to figure out a way to be able to check the place out to make sure it was safe without being weird about it.
"Maybe when Elf of Thrones the movie comes out we could go see it." Haley suggested, referring to the movie version of a TV show they'd started watching together.

Gray nodded, but he couldn't think of anything to say.
"Knock, knock." Gray looked up as he heard his sister letting herself in the front door. "It's just me." Maddie called. "And Calvin."
Gray grabbed his and Haley's empty bowls and put them in the dishwasher, suddenly feeling stupid. The night before he'd told his sister he wanted Haley to stay—he'd assumed she'd want to stay—but clearly she didn't. She probably hated staying here. Gray told himself, forcing himself to smile as his sister came in with Cal in tow.

"Don't worry. We didn't spend the night together." Maddie laughed, misinterpreting the look on Gray's face. "We're going to do something after this so Cal picked me up."
Gray nodded, barely listening as Haley asked how Maddie and Cal's first date had gone.

"Okay, Calvin." Maddie said after the niceties had been exchanged. "Why don't you go eat the breakfast sandwiches I grabbed while Gray, Haley, and I talk?" She asked her chubby date. "We won't be long."
Gray saw the hesitant look Cal shot him before leaning down to kiss Maddie. Gray had seen that look before. The please-don't-kill-me look. Gray got it a lot. It didn't matter what he was doing, or how nice he was, somehow he always managed to intimidate people.

That's probably why Haley doesn't want to live here. He realized, wishing he hadn't invited Maddie over to talk to the pretty redhead. She'll think I'm pathetic. Having to invite my baby sister over to beg someone to be my friend.
He looked at his sister, hoping she'd somehow read his thoughts, but Haley spoke first.

"I think I know what you want to talk about." The redhead said, looking from Gray to Maddie, her eyes wide. "And it's okay."
Gray felt his cheeks burn. So, she knows I'd like her to stay, but she still wants to leave. She probably realized I wanted her to stay and couldn't get out of here fast enough.
He felt his sister glance at him, but he looked away, too embarrassed to make eye contact.

"I found a place." When Gray managed to look at his roommate—former roommate, he reminded himself—he saw her looking at the table, cheeks pink, shoulders tight. "I really appreciate that you let me stay here, Gray. I'm going to try to get the earliest move in date possible."
Gray nodded stiffly, feeling as if she'd slapped him. She can't get out of here fast enough.

Maddie looked confused, but since neither one of them would look at her she squeezed her friend's hand. "That's great, Haley. Where is your new place?"
Gray heard Haley name a street in a not so great neighbourhood. It's probably preferable to staying with me. He thought, leaning against the counter, staring at his feet as the girls talked. Anywhere is probably better than with me.
"Is it in an apartment building?" Maddie asked, her voice concerned. "It's safer than the last place, right?"

"It's not really an apartment." The redhead told her. She lowered her voice, but Gray could still hear her. "I had a really hard time finding a place I could afford so I called my case worker."
Gray glanced at the girls at the table, their heads together, voices soft. Case worker? He thought, confused. Is that some kind of real estate person?
"Some group homes will take foster kids until they're twenty one." Haley explained quietly.

Gray was lost. Foster kids? Group homes?
"Oh." Maddie's voice sounded heart broken. "Haley, you can't go back to a group home."
Haley didn't say anything for a moment, and when Gray looked at her she was watching her own finger trace the wood grain of the table, her cheeks as red as her hair. "I can't really afford anywhere else." She admitted, her voice so soft Gray could barely hear it.

Maddie looked at Gray, and he saw his confusion reflected in her golden eyes.
"Well, Haley," Maddie said, sounding uncertain. "Why don't you stay here?"
Tiny as she already was, Gray watched Haley shrink into herself, hands pulled into her lap, head lowered, shoulders tight. "No, that's not fair to Gray." She shook her head. "This was only supposed to be for a couple of days."

Maddie looked at Gray again, but he shrugged helplessly. "Haley, what do you think we wanted to talk to you about?"
Haley looked at Maddie with such a hurt expression that it turned Gray's stomach to ice. "You know why." She said finally. There was a long pause while Maddie looked at the slim redhead expectantly. "Gray wants me to leave." A tear Gray hadn't realized she was holding back suddenly spilled down Haley's cheek and she immedately wiped it away, shaking her head and turning away slightly. "You didn't need to have a meeting about it. You could have just told me."

Maddie darted a look at Gray before reaching out to Haley's stiff body. "Haley, Gray wants you to stay." She pulled gently on Haley's rigid arm, making the redhead make eye contact. "He wanted me to come over so I could convince you you should stay here."
Gray could see Haley processing Maddie's words and he tried to make himself say something, anything, to let Haley know she was welcome, but he couldn't seem to open his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Hay." Maddie said, her voice soft as she pulled her best friend into a hug. "I didn't mean to make you think we were kicking you out." She gave Gray a look over Haley's slim shoulder. "I thought Gray was doing a better job of making you feel welcome."
Grayson dropped his eyes, ashamed that his lack of social skills had made Haley feel unwelcome.

"Maybe if you stay Gray can learn to be a better host." Maddie's voice was playful, clearly trying to lighten the mood but Gray couldn't help but feel rightfully chastised.
After a moment Haley smiled slightly. "I'm glad I didn't make you hate me." She said, glancing at Gray. "I thought I'd ruined our friendship." Gray relaxed, relieved to see her smile. And, he had to admit, a little happy that she considered him a friend. "But I can't live here."

Maddie's face fell. "What? Why not?"
Haley shook her head, pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear. "I mean, I still can't afford this kind of place." She admitted.
"Well, Gray didn't plan on making you pay rent anyway." Maddie pointed out.
Gray nodded.

But Haley shook her head. "No, people can't just live places rent free. Everyone pays for where they live."
"I don't." Maddie pointed out. "Elliot doesn't."
"But you guys live with your parent." Haley said, referring to their dad. "It's different."
There was a pause before Maddie spoke again. "Well, not everyone has that option, Hay."

And then it clicked, and Gray felt stupid for not picking up on it earlier. Is Haley a foster child? Grayson wondered, watching his sister talk to her friend. He'd known that the redhead's family was at least partially out of the picture. He'd picked up that much in the months he'd known the nineteen year old. He'd just assumed they were unreliable or unsupportive of their daughter. He hadn't realized that they were legally out of picture as well.
"Gray doesn't pay rent." Maddie pointed out, glancing at Gray's hulking form.

"A mortgage then." Haley insisted.
Gray shook his head even though Haley wasn't looking at him. "He doesn't have a mortgage either, Haley." Maddie told her. "So don't worry about it."
"No." Haley insisted, shaking her head. "It's not right."
Maddie looked at Gray, but she knew his financial situation. He definitely didn't need Haley's money, not that she could even afford that much anyway.
Maddie seemed to read his mind. "Well, how much were you paying at your old place?"

Looking slightly embarrassed, Haley told her and Maddie nodded. "Okay, well, what if you paid Gray that much?"
"Maddie, no offence but that's crazy." Haley said. "Trust me, I've been looking at housing all over the city. This place is worth way more than I could afford."
"But he has a spare room." Maddie insisted. "The spare room exists whether you're in it or not."

"Yes, but it's Gray's space, not mine." Haley argued. "It's for when Chase or Oliver need a place to crash for the night, or when you or Elliot need to get out of the house."
"It's for friends and family." Maddie pointed out. "And you're our friend."

Gray could see Haley gearing up to make a counterpoint so he took a deep breath and sat at the table, automatically drawing their attention to him. He felt two pairs of eyes on him, but he kept his eyes on the table as he tried to sort out his thoughts. "I'd like you to stay." He said after a moment. "I'd feel better knowing you were somewhere safe." He forced himself to look at the redhead. "And we need to watch the season finale of Elf of Thrones together to find out if Buddy and Tyrion can publish their book before winter comes."

To his relief Haley smiled at his reference. "Well, I could just come over to watch it with you." She pointed out, but Gray could see she was considering his offer of the room.
"Come on, Haley." Maddie's wheedled, used to getting her way. "Think of how nice it would be to save your rent money. You could work fewer hours, get more homework done."

"If I lived here," Haley began. "If. I would have to pay rent. It's only right."
Gray smiled because he could see her caving.
Maddie glanced at him, as if trying to gauge his reaction. "Okay. But only what you were paying at your last place."
Gray could see her considering it, so he decided to push his luck. "I'll accept rent money, but only if you let me pay for entertainment. Like going to the movies and stuff."

"Yes." Maddie said, her eyes lighting up. "That's a good idea."
"What? No. That doesn't make sense." Haley protested, shaking her head.
"Come on, Hay." Maddie said, making a face at her best friend. "Think of it as a gift from Gray to me. There are always things I want to do with you that we can't because of the cost." She smiled playfully. "Gray would be giving me the gift of your company."

Haley frowned. "That makes me sound like a prostitute. He'd be paying for my company."
Maddie laughed, seeing that Haley's protests were diminishing. "Well, as cute as you are, I'm just not into you like that."
Gray had to smile at the way the corner of Haley's mouth turned up just the tiniest bit.

He listened as Haley and Maddie haggled a bit longer, but eventually his sister wore the redhead down and they agreed that Haley would pay the rent she'd previously been paying at her old place to Gray, and Gray would pay for Haley to go out with their friends to one activity a week.

While he listened to the girls talk, Grayson couldn't help but feel that life was unfair. In his and Maddie's lives, their parents had provided for all of their needs. They'd never had to worry about money or stress over paying rent. Although once the siblings left home they paid their own rent and bills, their dad had covered their tuition, and all of them had known that, if need be, they could borrow money from their dad or even move back home.

When his mom had passed away, a good portion of her life insurance had been divided between the siblings and put into trust for their use. So even from the grave their mom had been financially supportive of her children.
In Haley's life--well, Gray wasn't exactly sure what had happened with her parents but here she was, still a teenager, struggling to make ends meet, with no one to help her.

And it was all just a chance of birth.
It seemed so unfair.
But Maddie and I can help Haley out. Grayson thought, watching the skinny girl twist a lock of hair between her fingers. We can't fix everything, but we can help.

Gray kept his eyes on Haley's face while she and Maddie talked. She looked so young and so vulnerable, and it really wasn't a big deal to help her out. The spare room was, as Maddie had pointed out, not being used anyway. And paying for an occasional movie ticket or bag of groceries seemed like a nice way for Gray to balance out the good luck he'd never felt like he'd deserved.

*

Elliot clanked the barbell back into place and sat up on the bench, breathing hard. As was his usual ritual, he'd come over to Gray's house to work out a bit before dinner. Although Gray wasn't particularly interested in working out, he had a fairly well equipped gym in the basement that his brothers frequented regularly.
"When is Chase going to get here with the food?" Elliot grumbled, already hungry. It had only been a week since he'd decided to increase his food intake, but already he'd noticed his appetite had grown.

"He should be here soon." Cal told him, coming over to the bench. "Whoa, how much can you lift, Elliot?" He asked, looking at the weights.
Elliot shrugged, frowning. "You should see how much my brothers can lift." He told the pudgy boy. "Gray is a beast." He stepped onto the scale out of habit, although he pretty much always weighed the same.

Two seventy eight. He noted, not surprised. Like anyone else, his weight fluctuated. Although today he was at the higher end of his usual six pound fluctuation, he knew he'd be down a couple of pounds in no time. He nudged the orange marker that indicated his weight up to 278, noting that Chase's blue marker and Oliver's green marker were both still slightly over two eighty, and Gray's marker was solidly in the three hundreds.

"How much do you weigh?" Elliott asked, turning to Cal who was downing his drink.
"Uh, I don't know." Cal admitted, his cheeks turning red. "Too much."
"You can never be too rich or too huge." Elliot stated, grinning at his friend as he jokingly squared his shoulders and puffed up his chest.
"Well, I think I'm about three twenty, so there goes that theory." Cal said self deprecatingly as he stepped onto the scale.

They both looked past Cal's swollen belly to look at the display.
"Oh." Cal sounded surprised as he saw the scale zoom up to three thirty two. "I guess I've put on a little weight."
Elliot laughed. "Lucky." He told his friend as he leaned down to move the unused red marker to 332. "That was Maddie's peg but she refused to use it. She said she didn't like how competitive we were." He told his friend. "Oh, hey."

Elliot walked over to the stairs as he saw Haley coming down them, a laundry basket in her hands. "I got this." He said, taking the basket from her slim arms.
The redhead didn't look happy that he'd taken the basket from her but she thanked him anyway, leading him into the laundry room.
"I like that shirt." Elliot said, hoping he didn't sound as lame as he felt. Whenever Haley was around his brain seemed to disappear and he started babbling.

"Oh, thanks." Haley said hesitantly as Elliot set the basket on the table by the washing machine. "It was Maddie's."
Elliot shook his head. "No, it wasn't." He told her. "So, Chase is coming over in a bit with Chinese if you want to join us."
Haley shook her head. "Oh, no, that's okay. I don't want to impose."
"It's fine." Elliot insisted, noting Haley's toned arms as she loaded the clothes in the washing machine. "We ordered tons."

It was true. In an effort to gain some weight Elliot had asked his brother to order even more than he normally would have. Although Elliot had always been a pretty muscular person, he'd never been cut, preferring his body to be bigger, bulkier, stronger. He'd like the thin layer of fat that covered his muscles, figuring the extra weight would make him a more imposing figure on the football field.

And now that he'd decided to try to bulk up even more, he'd been eating practically nonstop. He needed a lot of calories to keep his body going--and growing.
He had his doubts that he could actually make it past two eighty, but he had to admit it was kind of fun eating to excess and imagining himself getting bigger than Chase and Oliver.

And maybe even Gray. Elliot thought, smiling at the impossible idea of outgrowing even his biggest brother.
"Are you doing Gray's laundry?" Elliot asked, suddenly noticing the size of the clothing Haley was putting in the wash.
"Well... yes." Haley admitted, looking embarrassed. "I just...."
Elliot gave her a funny look, confused. "Okay, well, Maddie's coming over for Chinese." Elliot said, changing the subject. "You should join us."

He slid his hand along the washing machine, moving a little closer to the petite girl. "It'll be fun."
Chase chose that moment to jump down the last four steps to the basement. "Chinese is here." He announced. Elliot turned, annoyed, seeing his brother smirk at the scales. "Hey, little brother, food's here."
"Don't call me little." Elliot grumbled, sighing as the thin redhead slipped past him, heading through the gym to the stairs beyond.

"Haley!" Chase said, his eyes lighting up as he blocked her way. "Just the girl I was looking for."
"Oh, hey Chase." Haley said. "I heard you got a touchdown last night."
Elliot scowled while Chase beamed and started telling Haley about it--conveniently forgetting to mention the pass Elliot had thrown that led to the touchdown.

"Anyway," Chase said, using his most charming smile on Haley. "The food is here, and Gray said I needed to bring you up."
Elliot had to laugh as Chase suddenly grabbed the redhead and flipped her over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" Haley demanded, laughing as she hit Chase's back with one tiny fist.
"I doubt that's what Gray had in mind." Cal said, laughing as he followed Chase up the stairs. "Duck."

Haley obediently ducked her head as Chase went through the door at the top of the stairs.
"You couldn't just ask her to come up?" Grayson asked as he noticed Haley over Chase's shoulder.
"She never listens to me." Chase scoffed, flipping Haley forward into his arms. "But luckily she's even smaller than Elliot."
"She's like a third my size." Elliot pointed out, rolling his eyes.

"Jerk." Elliot laughed as Haley shoved her hand against Chase's face, pushing herself out of his arms and onto the floor.
Chase laughed and made a move as if to grab her again, but to Elliot's surprise she took a step towards Gray who smiled as he put his hand on the back of a chair, blocking Chase from getting to the redhead.

Chase held his hands up in surrender. "Fine. You win this time, Haley." He laughed and Haley smiled that relaxed smile she never gave Elliot. What does a guy need to do to get a girl to like him? Elliot wondered, watching Haley debate the Chinese food with Gray.
"I ate some of your ramen earlier." Gray said, holding a plate out to her.
"Then you owe me ten cents, not a buffet." Haley said, smiling at Elliot's oldest brother.

"I had two packs." Gray pointed out, still holding the plate. "Plus you can show me how to use chopsticks."
"Twenty cents then." Haley laughed. "I can show you how to use them without eating your take out."
Elliot smiled because he actually liked her stubbornness. She was such an easy going, agreeable person, but when she made up her mind about something.... But she had met her match in Grayson when it came to stubbornness. He too liked to get along with people, but when he decided something he stuck by it, and he was a lot more intimidating in his convictions.

"You could show me by eating your ramen, but I ate it." Gray said, his voice uncharacteristically playful.
"You're a monster." Haley said, her voice amused. She sighed and accepted the plate, but as everyone settled around the table and started passing around various boxes, Elliot noticed she only added a small amount of noodles to her plate. Probably the equivalent of a package of ramen. Elliot realized, adding chicken balls to his plate.

"Thanks for starting without me." Maddie teased as she came in. Her eyes lit up when she saw Calvin and she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, kissing his cheek. "Hi!"
"Hi." Cal said, his cheeks turning pink. "We were planning on waiting for you, but I think once Gray convinced Haley to eat we were afraid she might sneak away if we didn't start right away."

Maddie laughed and picked up the container of mixed veggies and put a scoop onto Haley's plate. "Hey!" The redhead protested.
"Nope." Maddie said, shaking her head. "You're not getting scurvy on my watch."
Elliot watched Haley begrudgingly pick up her chopsticks, and then she suddenly noticed Gray was using a fork.
"You really don't know how to use chopsticks?" She asked, surprised.

Gray shook his head, cheeks flushing. "No, but I was kidding. You don't have to teach me."
"It's easy." Haley insisted, grabbing a second pair of chopsticks.
As Haley reached over to Gray's hand he suddenly pulled his hands back and Haley looked surprised. Elliot glanced at the other people at the table, but Chase and Oliver were arguing over the last spring roll and Maddie was busy adding some sweet and sour pork to Cal's plate.

"Is this how you hold them?" Elliot asked, holding his hand out to the redhead.
Distracted from Gray's sudden rejection, Haley nodded. "Yeah. Now pick up something off your plate." She suggested, smiling as Elliot expertly snagged some noodles.
"Don't fall for it, Hay." Chase recommended, grinning at Elliot. "He knows how to use chopsticks. He's just hoping you'll hold his hand."

Elliot was sure his face turned as red as Haley's did, but Chase was already moving on, asking Oliver about his new girl. "So she's a big girl?"
Oliver shrugged, grabbing another helping of chicken. "She's curvy, yeah. Definitely bottom heavy, definitely hot."
"Nice." Chase commented. He smiled at Haley. "I like all types of girls from curvy to petite."

Elliot rolled his eyes, turning to Cal as Maddie handed him the container of rice. Elliot added the same amount of noodles to his plate that Cal added rice, deciding that if he really wanted to gain weight he'd need to match Cal, bite for bite.

I wonder if Haley really would like me if I was bigger. Elliot thought as he ate. But he knew deep down that even if she didn't he would like being bigger.
Cal was not a greedy eater. He ate neatly and not too fast, as if he just enjoyed what he was eating. But he could eat a lot. Every time Maddie added something to his plate he managed to put it away, and Elliot made himself eat just as much.

Although Elliot had never been a moderate eater, before long his stomach felt fuller than ever, and he still had four dumplings and some noodles on his plate, but at least Cal had finished. Elliot noticed that his friend's stomach was so big it spilled over the edge of his pants, straining against his buttons.
I bet I'm over two eighty now. Elliot thought, smiling as he plowed through the last of his food, feeling his own stomach pushing against his shirt. And if I keep eating like this I bet I can keep my weight over two eighty. He eyed Chase who was chatting up Haley. I bet if I keep eating like this I can get bigger than Chase, and then I won't be the little brother.

Elliot smiled to himself, because he liked that idea. Maybe someday I can be the big brother. He thought. And then my brothers won't tease me, and I'll land the girl.
And with that thought in mind Elliot ate the last bite of noodles on his plate and then grabbed the last chicken ball.
Every bite gets me closer. He thought. Every bite counts.