m/m Deano, Again: A Muscle University Story (Deano Story 3)

[dredlifter]

11 hours ago, muscleaddict said:

Something about building things together and how nothing’s gonna stop them now.

HAHAAHAH.  Oh those young people nowadays... they just don't know

[Mdlftr]

I'm LOVING Ozzie the more I find out about him,  A theater kid?!?  "Danny Zuko" in "Grease?"

"Summer Nights,” “You're the One That I Want,” “Sandy,” and “We Got Together,”  - there are SO many possibilities!! 

 

Ozzie singing in the halls at MU -  They could do "Rocky Horror Picture  Show!"

 

"I can make you a Maaan in Seven Days"  - or is that too spot on?

 

I   

[BrzNLA]

Another amazing chapter! @muscleaddict So much development in the story. I’m loving every single moment of it. Now, I just have to say Woody who?
I can’t wait to read the next chapter. Great work as always mate.

[muscleaddict]

Thanks for all of the comments on that last one. It's back to MU for the next one sadly! 

On 12/4/2021 at 7:42 PM, biggymnast84 said:

And just like that….Ozzie is human and DEANO likes him even more! 
 

I think the best part of your writing MA is your character development…I just can’t get enough of it!! I can’t wait for the next part! 
 

Lots of holiday love from the States!!

Bless you, matie! I had a feeling this particular chapter was going to go down well with the Ozzie fans amongst you. 

On 12/5/2021 at 4:16 AM, dredlifter said:

HAHAAHAH.  Oh those young people nowadays... they just don't know

They've obviously never done an 80's night at the SU bar! 

On 12/5/2021 at 3:49 PM, Mdlftr said:

I'm LOVING Ozzie the more I find out about him,  A theater kid?!?  "Danny Zuko" in "Grease?"

"Summer Nights,” “You're the One That I Want,” “Sandy,” and “We Got Together,”  - there are SO many possibilities!! 

 

Ozzie singing in the halls at MU -  They could do "Rocky Horror Picture  Show!"

 

"I can make you a Maaan in Seven Days"  - or is that too spot on?

Maybe Rocky Horror was the play Ozzie's school did after Grease with Ozzie having his hair bleached blonde and getting to wear his shiny golden posers in front of all his classmates. 

21 hours ago, BrzNLA said:

Another amazing chapter! @muscleaddict So much development in the story. I’m loving every single moment of it. Now, I just have to say Woody who?
I can’t wait to read the next chapter. Great work as always mate.

Haha! I have to say I have enjoyed writing from Deano's POV a lot more than I did Woody. And glad you're still enjoying it, mate!  

[muscleaddict]

Twenty Three

“Oh, D - I forgot to ask. How was Bristol?” Mafra asks me. I’m sitting next to him in the campus food hall. Shaun is opposite me. Ash is next to him, his face buried in his phone.

Shaun gives me this look. Like he’s waiting for my reply. I can’t work out his expression, but, for some reason, it kind of unnerves me.

“Mmmm. It was good,” I say, nodding my head and trying to act casual. While also trying to ignore the fact that Shaun’s still looking at me.

“Bruv - WHY would you go to Bristol when you’re in training?” Ash asks, still not looking up from his phone, his face screwed up in judgement.

I side-eye Mafra. “It was Nick’s birthday!” I lie.

“You never told me that!” Shaun says, accusingly. For FUCK’S sake. Do I have to tell him every single thing? And why he is acting so suspicious all of a sudden? 

“Did you pull?” Ash asks, still not looking up.

No, Ash - I didn’t pull. Because I was with Seth "Ozzie" Osman. Who I’ve been having amazingly hot sex with for the past few weeks. Like we did on Saturday night. Which was somehow even better than usual. After spending most of the night holding his hand while out in Manchester. And who I’ve been thinking about quite a bit since I said goodbye to him two days ago. Okay - maybe more than just a bit.

“Nope!” I reply, focusing on my food and not looking up. Out of nowhere, Ash lets out this loud, raucous laugh.

“Lads - look at this video Keiran sent me,” he says, passing his phone to Shaun.

Ugh. I feel an unexpected pinch of anger at the mention of that twat’s name. Shaun laughs at the video and passes the phone to me. I just look at the device in his hand.

“Nah. You’re alright,” I say, flatly. 

All of my friends exchange looks and Ash laughs. “What's up with YOU?”

“Nothing!” I say, with a shrug, getting my phone out. I can feel Shaun eyeballing me.

“Checking your phone AGAIN?” he asks.

“What?!” I say defensively, starting to feel increasingly annoyed with my roommate. 

Shaun turns to Ash. “He’s been checking his phone every ten minutes since he got back from Bristol.”

What the fuck? My insides tighten. “I haven’t!” I protest.

But maybe I have. Maybe I keep expecting to find a text from Ozzie. Which I haven’t. He hasn’t text me once since I left him at the entrance to Prince Hall on Saturday. I shouldn’t really be surprised. He’s never been great with the whole texting thing. He even told me that himself. I guess I just thought that things might be different … I mean, after the weekend.

Still - it pisses me off that Shaun has noticed that I’ve been checking my phone more than usual. And I'm annoyed at the fact that he’s commented on it. I literally can’t do ANYTHING without my friends noticing, getting suspicious and making some kind of twatty remark about it. I just glare at Shaun, wondering if he suspects.

“You got an email from the uni,” Mafra says to Ash, as he hands his phone back to him.

“Probably just giving me my pro card now!” he jokes. “Oh - it’s a list of the lads competing at the end of term bodybuilding show.”

“Who’s on it?” Mafra asks.

Shaun looks at me again (for some reason). What the fuck is his problem today? Ash starts reeling off names of the students who’ll be competing with us in two weeks time. At the end of every name, he adds a comment, like, “Yep - I’ll beat him”. With some names, he just scoffs or laughs. And as I’m sitting here listening, I can’t help thinking - why the fuck am I friends with this guy?

“Aaand … Sebastian Wood! HA! No fucking chance!” he says to Mafra.

So I’m gonna be competing with Woody on stage. AGAINST Woody. I guess that was to be expected. It’s weird though. Because I’m not really feeling that bothered about that piece of news. I don’t really feel anything, to be honest. I mean … yeah, it will probably be awkward after that last time we spoke to each other before the Chicago trip after it all kicked off with Adam Lloyd finding out about the Facebook post. But … I dunno. I just don’t think I really care anymore.

“Deano’s bezzie mate!” Shaun teases, with a smirk. I just roll my eyes and go back to my meal, suddenly wondering again how I go about getting my own Adam and Ozzie-style single dorm room for my third and final year at Muscle University.

When Walker mentions the list of lads competing at the end of term show during training the next day, I half expect Adam Lloyd to mention Woody to me afterwards. He doesn’t though. He does ask me about my weekend in Bristol though. And I feel guilty for lying to him. But I also know that Adam would understand why I was lying if he knew the reason behind it.

As I’m heading to the changing rooms, I have an image of Ozzie sitting in there, waiting for me. Maybe to surprise me or something. And he’ll ask me to go back to his room. Where we’ll have amazing sex as always. 

I know I could just text him. I could probably just turn up at his door. I think, in a way, I kind of LIKE not knowing when I’ll get to see Ozzie next though. 

As soon as I walk into my dorm room, I can sense this weird atmosphere. Shaun’s sitting on his bed on his laptop.

“All right?” I say to him.

There’s an awkward pause.

“Yeah, you?” he replies, not looking up. His voice sounds weird. Ugh. Maybe Shaun’s in a mood about something. Again!

“What was the name of the club you went to in Bristol?” Shaun asks as I dump my backpack down.

Erm, what the hell? I turn around to face him. He’s still got his head buried in his laptop. 

“Why?” I ask, my stomach clenching.

“Just asking,” he says defensively.

Fuck. What is this? Does he know I lied about Bristol? 

“I’m just looking at Ozzie’s Instagram.”

Fuck. What the FUCK? I sit down on my bed. 

“He was in Manchester last weekend,” Shaun tells me. My insides start to twist. Then Shaun starts reading from one of Ozzie’s posts. “Mad night out with @princess_allison.” 

Then he looks up and just glares at me. This frosty expression. What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening?

He repeats Allison’s Instagram handle, stands up and hands me his laptop. My stomach lurches when I see what’s on Shaun’s laptop screen. I’m looking at a picture on Allison’s profile of her in a pub. Ozzie is on one side. And on the other side of her, smiling into the camera is ME.

FUCK. This is bad!

I look up at Shaun. He looks confused. And also a bit pissed off.

“So you DIDN'T go to Bristol?” he spits.

How the FUCK am I going to explain this one? I sigh. “Fine. I went to Manchester!” I say, trying to keep it casual.

Shaun pulls a confused face. “Why did you lie?” he spits.

Okay - keep fucking calm.

“Because! I didn't know how you’d react,” I reply, my voice sounding defensive and higher pitched than normal. “You went funny with me when I went to Little Hatton with Adam.”

Shaun screws his face up. “But … that was because you said you weren’t drinking or going to the SU bar. And you know I was pissed about the whole McCarthy thing. I thought we sorted all that out?"

I just shrug, not knowing what the fuck to say.

Shaun narrows his eyes at me and plays with the inside of his mouth, looking weird. Fuck.

“Nah. I reckon there’s something else. Something you’re not telling me.”

Fucking. Hell.

I pull a face. “Like what?”

Shaun looks at me and swallows. “Thing is - there’s something else about this Instagram post,” he says, nodding at his laptop. “The name of the bar’s tagged in.”

Okay - NOW I’m starting to panic.

I’m looking at Shaun. His expression changes. He doesn’t so much look pissed off. More … just confused. And serious. He swallows. 

“Are you gay, D?”

FUCK! It feels like my heart fucking stops for a second. I can’t believe Shaun just asked me that question. I never thought he’d ask me that question.

“No!” I tell him. But I don’t know what my face is doing. And he doesn’t look like he believes me.

He narrows his eyes at me. “I think you’re gay,” he says, matter-of-factly. “And I think Ozzie is too.”

This isn’t happening. This is NOT fucking happening.

“I’m not gay!” I protest. My chest is tight. My stomach is twisting.

“You’re lying, D!” he cries. I feel like I’m being ambushed. “Then why did you lie about Manchester?”

Shaun shakes his head. “You’re supposed to be my best mate.”

My stomach twists with guilt. I take a deep breath. “I like … both,” I say, calmly. Fuck. I can’t believe I just said that.

Shaun looks at me, slightly confused.

“Girls. But lads too.”

And there it is. I just did the thing I never thought I’d do. I just came out to Shaun. He’s not saying anything. He’s just standing there, looking kind of awkward and uncomfortable as he chews on the inside of his mouth.

“Do Ash and Mafra know?”

I shake my head. I can tell something’s ticking over in his head.

“I don’t get why … you’ve never told me.”

“Because!” I say, calmly. Things still feel awkward. So, so awkward. “Not everyone’s okay with it. Especially not here. And, you know … in bodybuilding.”

He sits down on his head, still chewing on his mouth. Still looking confused.

“So all that stuff you said to Woody and Luke. And you were the same as them?”

I shrug. I still can’t quite believe this is happening. That I’m actually having this conversation with Shaun.

“Are you alright with it?” I ask, my inside tightening.

I can’t work out his expression.

“I’m just … surprised. It kinda just feels like … you’ve been lying. This whole time.”

What the fuck? That comment pisses me off. Shaun clearly doesn't get it.

“I haven’t been lying! I just … didn’t know how you'd take it.”

He stares at me. It’s like something’s ticking over in his head. Then he stands up and grabs his backpack. Fuck. What’s happening?

“Where are you going?” I ask him.

“Gym,” he says, flatly. Fuck. I shouldn’t have told him. He’s not going to be okay about this. This is NOT going to be okay. Because a bodybuilder at a university for bodybuilders who secretly likes other lads is NOT okay.

“Are we okay?”

“Fine!” he says, flatly. But we’re clearly not. Is this it? Is this where he does a Kieran on me? Stops wanting to be my mate? Fuck. What if he tells Mafra and Ash? What if that’s where he’s going right now?

He mutters, “See ya!” in a sarcastic way and slams the door on his way out. Fuuuuk. This is it. Shaun knows. Everything’s changed. Everything’s GOING to change. And there’s not a single thing I can do about it. And now I’m fucking panicking.

I pick up my phone and go to my conversation with Ozzie in my text app. I should tell him what just happened. I WANT to tell him. To talk to someone about it. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Fuck it. I lock my phone, grab my keys and head out of my room towards Ozzie’s.

But as I turn a corner and head towards his room, someone in a bright red Montgomery University hoodie is suddenly walking towards me. A smile spreading across his jug-eared AJ Jones look-alike face. But as he gets closer, his smile fades. And something flickers across his face.

“You all right, D?” Adam Lloyd says to me, clearly sensing something’s not right.

Fuck. No. I’m fucking not!

“Shaun knows!”

I don’t even have to tell him what. “Oh shit!” he says, a look of surprise and concern on his face. 

“Right - come on!” he says, nodding down the corridor in the direction he just came from.

What the hell? I look at him blankly. He gives me a kind, tight-lipped smile and I start to follow him. So I guess I’m going to Adam Lloyd’s room. Wherever he was going and whatever he was about to do, he just completely dropped it. Because of me. Because he clearly knows I’m not okay right now.

I’d almost forgotten what Adam Lloyd’s dorm room looks like. And now I remember. It’s exactly the same layout as Ozzie’s. But it’s cleaner. And somehow nicer.

I also forgot what a thrill it was to be in this ridiculously good looking tank sized bodybuilder’s room. Even with everything that’s going on, I still feel a bit of that now. 

“So what happened?” Adam says, sitting next to me on his two-seater sofa that there’s barely any room for us to both sit on. His huge tank sized body right there next to mine.

I can’t tell Adam the whole truth here without outing Ozzie. “He just … came out and asked me. I mean … someone posted a picture of me on Instagram at a gay pub. And he saw it. Then he asked me.”

“Shit!” he says, looking concerned. “How did he react?”

I close my eyes and shake my head. “He seemed kinda … pissed off. He said he was shocked. And then he went funny on me and left for the gym. What if he tells Ash and Mafra?”

Adam bites his lip and gives me a worried look. “Do you think he would?”

I pull a face and shrug.

“Look - you guys have been friends since what - you started uni?”

I nod. “Pretty much.”

“That doesn’t just go away. He’s probably just … trying to process the whole thing. It will work itself out, D!”

I nod, hoping Adam Lloyd is right. But what if he’s not? What if the same thing that happened to Ozzie happens to me? What if Shaun just turns on me like Keiran turned on Ozzie? Or worse - what if Shaun does something similar to what I did to Woody and Luke? That would be karma for me I suppose. 

“Did you tell anyone - when you were here?” I ask Adam.

He gives me a little smile and nods. “My roommate!”

“How’d it go?”

“He was okay with it. He’s got a gay brother.”

Typical. Why are things so easy for some people but so bloody difficult for me?

“But I don’t think all of my mates here would have been so cool about it.”

I nod.

“You know you’re not alone here, D?”

I look at him. God. Adam Lloyd is SO nice. And he’s so fucking handsome. And it’s definitely still there. That thing I felt before the McCarthy Classic. I was really starting to like him. Before what happened happened.

“Do you think you could just … stay here until I graduate?”

Fuck. Did I actually say just that? He gives me a kind of coy grin. And now we’re just looking at each other. 

“It’s … a possibility,” he says. Huh? What the hell does that mean? I don't say anything. It suddenly feels like something is happening. Between me and this ridiculously good looking, jug-eared, tank-sized bodybuilder who happens to like lads like I do.

“Where were you headed?" Adam asks, breaking the tension. "Before you bumped into me?”

To Ozzie’s!

“Erm … dunno," I lie. "Just walking really.”

Adam nods. “You still up for hanging out in the Easter holidays?”

I nod. “Mmmm. Definitely," I reply.

Adam's mouth curls into one of his cute, coy grins. Yeah. There’s definitely something still there.

Shaun comes back really late that night so I don’t speak to him. I say hi to him the next morning. He talks to me but he seems … weird. Things definitely feel different between us. I ask Mafra if Shaun’s spoken to him about anything and he says no. And I start to believe that he wouldn’t say anything to Mafra and Ash.

On Thursday night I get back to the room to find Shaun getting changed.

“You going out?” I ask him.

“Yep!” he says, in a short, sharp manner.

I ask him where and he tells me the SU bar. Still in that same short manner. For fuck’s sake.

“Who with?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer. And I feel a sharp panic. Because what if he’s going to the SU bar with Mafra and Ash? What if he’s told the others and the three of them are all going out without me?

“Banksy and Baker,” he says, flatly.

Did he purposely pause to make me believe he might be seeing Mafra and Ash without me? Would Shaun do that?

I actually can’t stand this. I’ve got to say something. I NEED to say something.

“Are you pissed at me?”

He frowns and picks up his phone. “I dunno, Deano!”

He looks at me. This weird expression on his face. My insides twist. This horrible feeling in my gut. I want to tell him that I’m still the same Deano. I just happen to like lads. And that however hard this might be for him to deal with - it’s nothing compared to how hard it’s been for me. With that realisation, I feel this unexpected anger towards him. Shaun has no idea how easy he has it.

He breaks eye contact with me and picks up his wallet. “See ya later,” he says. He doesn’t look at me, but his tone isn't as short and sharp as it was before. I guess you could count that as progress.

He shuts the door. And I’m sitting here alone. Fuck. I hate this. I know I haven’t done anything wrong, but I didn’t WANT Shaun to find out. Or any of the lads here.

All of this because Ozzie and his friend posted those pictures on Instagram. Ugh. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to Manchester. Maybe the whole thing was just too risky. I should’ve known. Going away with Ozzie. Lying to everyone about it. I should never have gone. He hasn’t even text me since. Why hasn’t Ozzie text me?

I wake up the next day in this really fucking shitty mood. I’m actually glad there’s only one week left of classes until term ends. I kinda just wish I could fast forward time to this time next week. I’m not even that bothered about the end of term bodybuilding show right now. I just wish everything would go back to normal with Shaun. Back to how it was last term.

Adam doesn’t ask me about Shaun in front of Walker during our training session. Which I knew he wouldn’t. But he's being extra nice today. 

When I walk into the changing rooms after training, I don’t expect Seth "Ozzie" Osman to be sitting on one of the benches playing with his phone. His shoulders and arms bulging out of a vest. It's the first time I've seen him since the weekend.

Okay - so there's this part of me that's actually really pleased to see Ozzie right now. But there's this other part of me, that's feeling something else towards him.

He looks up, his mouth curling into a smile. “All right, Little Dude?”

I say all right back, my voice sounding weird and flat. I didn't really mean for that to happen.

Something flickers in Ozzie's expression. Like he knows something's wrong. “I am actually training, by the way. I’m not waiting for you or anything!”

I nod, opening up my locker and not saying anything.

“Are you okay?” he says, a tone of concern in his voice. I swallow and look at him. He looks worried. I bite my lip and turn to check no one’s coming.

“Shaun found out. About me.”

“Oh shit!” he says, surprised and standing up. “How did he take it?”

I roll my eyes. “Dunno. He’s just being … off with me.”

Ozzie bites his lip. “How did he find out?”

My stomach clenches. I look at Ozzie. “He saw Allison’s Instagram post.”

Ozzie screws up his face. “HOW?!” he cries.

“You’d tagged her handle into one of your pics from Manchester.”

He looks confused. “Oh right.”

Ha! Is that all he has to say? 

“I didn’t tell him about you," I say. "If you’re worried.” I know that comes out flat. 

Ozzie furrows his eyebrows. “I wasn’t even thinking about that!”

I swallow, grabbing my backpack from my locker and closing it. “See ya later,” I say flatly.

“Wait - Deano. Are you mad at me?!”

So NOW he calls me Deano? I roll my tongue around the inside of my mouth, not responding. Ozzie's just looking at me. This mix of confusion and worry on his face.

“You should have said something to Allison,” I tell him.

He screws his face up. “Like what?!”

I shrug. “To … not post anything on Instagram.”

He frowns. “What, so it’s MY fault Shaun found out?”

I shrug and give him a pointed look, only half believing what I’m saying. I dunno. For some reason, I kind of WANT to start an argument with Ozzie.

“Deano! You can’t be serious?” 

I look behind me to make sure we're still alone. “You knew I’d lied to my friends about where I was going. You knew I didn’t want them finding out.”

Ozzie furrows his eyebrows at me. Clearly not knowing how to respond. I can tell he thinks I'm being out of order though. He's giving me this look. It's almost like he KNOWS I'm trying to start an argument.

But before he has a chance to say anything, someone else walks into the changing room. I turn around to see Adam Lloyd walking in. For some reason, I feel a sharp panic. He gives me and Ozzie a tight-lipped smile as he says all right to us, clearly sensing some tension. And now things feel REALLY fucking awkward.

“You training, Oz?” Adam asks.

"Yep!" Ozzie says, lightly. He's still looking at me. This almost pointed expression. It's not like he's pissed off. It's more like he's disappointed. “See ya later, Deano,” he says, as he heads out of the changing room to the gym floor.

Okay - what the fuck just happened? Was I too hard on Ozzie then? Blaming him and Allison for Shaun finding out? Even though it kind of IS their fault. But I can’t shake the feeling that I WANTED to be angry at him. That I wanted to start an argument. And now I feel like THIS. 

“Everything okay?” Adam asks. He looks concerned. And kind of suspicious. Like he knows something just went down.

I tell him yeah (even though it clearly isn't) and check the time on my phone. I have a missed call from my mum. That’s a weird time for my mum to call.

“How’re things with Shaun?” Adam asks as he pulls his back out of his locker.

“Mmmm. He’s still being weird with me.”

He pulls a face. Then my phone starts ringing. Why is my brother, Josh calling me?

“Sorry,” I say to Adam, holding up my phone. He nods and I answer the phone as I head out, kind of relieved to have an excuse to get away. Not that Adam’s done anything wrong. 

“Hello?” I say into my phone.

“Dean? It’s your mum.”

My stomach suddenly sharpens tightly. Because I can tell from the tone of my mum's voice that something’s wrong.

“You all right?” I ask. But I already know the answer.

There's a weird pause. And then my mum finally answers.

“Dean - it’s your dad.”

[crushme99]

I darn near held my breath through that whole chapter!  Ohhhh, Deano.  So much is crashing in on him, on top of all his other confusions.

[BrzNLA]

@muscleaddict Holy crap mate! What a chapter. One of my favorites for sure and to top it off you’re maybe killing Deano Sr.?? For now right?? That was a one twisted cliffhanger. What a way to end this chapter. Everyone and evething will be okay, right? Right mate?  Aaaarrrrgggghhh! The wait for the next chapter will be torture!

[DarkLord]

There are so many secrets)) it is not surprising that they began to be revealed. One secret will pull the other. I'm really looking forward to the continuation))

[biggymnast84]

When it rains it pours!! I feel bad for D because that’s real life. Once again MA, you’ve got me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next chapter! 

[Mickeypuk]

got me hanging on every word.  Everything is out there now and how will he react to Shaun, Ozzie and the bombshell of a phone call