Ozzie & Deano: A Short Muscle University Story

[muscleaddict]

2 hours ago, Ozymandias said:

I’m thinking that, in a desperate bid to atone for his mistakes and win back Deano, Ryan North turns himself into a 350lb mass monster. Any takers?

That could work as a spin off! 

[DennisFLL]

16 minutes ago, muscleaddict said:

That could work as a spin off! 

You mean the one that you will write where Ryan dates Archie to play him against Deano?

[DawnFire98]

On 7/2/2022 at 12:59 PM, muscleaddict said:

Maybe the girlfriend came home early one day and found him in bed with a younger jacked bodybuilder with the same hair style as him and chucked him out and competing in The Tiger Classic is Ryan's way of distracting himself

Might be a possibility

My guess for the last chapter is: Ozzie steps in and protects Deano's honor by either punching Ryan North in the face or a heated discussion. Then, Ozzie and Deano leave.

Deano looks at him, eyes wide. "Why did you do that?"

Ozzie puffs out his chest. 

[ Here are some things he could say. Might not be in character, but whatever.

1) "I had to save you from your evil ex!"

2) "Because no one messes with my boyfriend."

3) "Did you think, I would let that ass make you feel like shit? Hell no!" ]

As you can see: I'm very excited for the continuation. @muscleaddict

[muscleaddict]

Here goes. The fourth and final chapter. Thanks for all the amazing feedback on this one as usual! Archie spin-off next? 

Four

Before Deano, there was only ever one guy that I really liked. His name was Tom. He was a regular at my dad’s gym (Osman’s Gym - the best hellhole hardcore bodybuilding gym in Cardiff). He would often chat to me, which was nothing unusual. Guys chat to me there all the time. I’m Big Ozzie’s son. So I genuinely thought he was just another guy at the gym being friendly to me. 

I only really started to think that something more was going on when Tom started sending me messages on Instagram. Then we started texting. Then he asked me to go for a drink and before I knew it I was seeing a fellow short-arsed twenty-something bodybuilder with a bald head and cute pixie ears and having unspeakably hot sex with him.

I guess I always knew I liked guys as well as girls. But it wasn’t until Tom came along that I really confronted those feelings. I guess looking back the whole thing with Tom was pretty intense. The constant texting. Seeing each other all the time. It was a lot. But it didn’t really feel like that at the time. More than anything, the whole thing just felt exciting. Until it wasn’t. Until, without any sort of warning, Tom stopped going to my dad's gym, started ghosting me and eventually told me that he didn’t think it was a good idea for us to see each other anymore because of the age difference between us.

I was fucking crushed. It felt like some kind of cosmic joke. Like the universe had given me this amazing thing and then swiped it away from me for its own amusement. 

Less than a year later I left home for university and I never saw Tom again.  Okay - there were a couple of times when I looked him up on Instagram. But I don’t know what I would have done if I’d ever seen him in person. Or how I would have felt. I imagine that all of those old feelings probably would have come creeping back. Probably not now after all this time. But for a year or so after we stopped seeing each other, for sure.

Which is probably something similar to what my boyfriend, Deano is going through right now as he’s sitting out there in the audience of The Tiger Classic, after having just seen Ryan North - the guy he was seeing last summer from HIS dad’s gym who broke HIS heart. Because this Ryan North PT guy is Deano’s Tom. Albeit, much taller and better looking. Like, RIDICULOUSLY good looking. Even more so than the equally tall Adam Lloyd (who Deano had a thing with back at uni - long story) and Sebastian Wood (who Deano was once pretty much obsessed with back at uni - an even longer story). I guess it’s fair to say my boyfriend has a type. Which he clearly veered away from with me.

So I know that whatever I’m currently feeling about the whole situation, it’s nothing compared to what Deano is going through. So this is my plan. I’m not gonna say anything to Deano about what I saw in the pump room earlier. I’m not going to fill him in on the fact that I know he just ran into his sort of ex for the first time in ages. I’m going to pretend that everything’s normal. 

Even though I can tell from the look on Deano’s face as soon as I spot him sitting in the audience that that’s clearly not the case. He’s got that look. Like he’s miles away. Like he’s somewhere else. Only this time there’s something else there. It’s like his expression is clouded with sadness. And for once, I don’t really need to take a guess at what he might be thinking about.

Out of nowhere, I feel a surge of hatred toward that absurdly handsome, six-foot Super Heavyweight looking bodybuilder currently backstage. I don’t know what bothers me more. The fact that Ryan North clearly still has this power over my boyfriend. Or the idea that Deano is now being reminded of certain feelings he used to have about him. Maybe still DOES have. All of my insides clench at that thought.

And then something happens. And all of those thoughts fade away. Deano spots me walking toward him and his expression changes. He’s even smiling a little now. He’s clearly pleased to see me. The image of his bronzed up bodybuilder walking toward him clearly makes him feel a certain way. I can practically see the cartoon love hearts popping around his head. Take THAT Ryan North PT. 

“All right?” I say, taking the seat next to him. He smirks and does the Deano cheek poke. I push my leg against his. I want to hold his hand more than ever.

“So … how was I?” 

Deano pulls a thinking face. “Very … Ozzie-like!”

I tip my head back and laugh. “Good answer!”

He bites his lip. And then something flickers in his expression. Like he’s remembering. Like the temporary distraction from his thoughts is over. Like he's thinking about Ryan North fucking PT again.

“You okay?” I ask him.

He frowns and gives me a look. “Yeah?” he says like it’s a stupid question. Like - why wouldn’t he be? Huh. So this is how it's going to be. Deano's going to pretend that everything's fine. Why am I not surprised?

“You know that AJ Jones guy is gay, right?” he says quietly.

“What?! No! How do you know that?”

Deano pulls a face and shrugs. “I thought everyone knew.”

We smirk at each other before turning our attention back to the stage.

“Do you wanna, like - go in a bit?” he then says, doing a mini Deano cheek poke. He’s suddenly got this weird look on his face.

I feel like asking him why. We aren't meeting my friends for another few hours. But I know why. Because if we stay here watching the rest of the show, sooner or later, a certain annoyingly handsome bodybuilder will be gracing the stage with his ridiculous arms (FYI - mine are bigger) and bronzed tits (FYI - mine are much, much thicker). And Deano will be plummeted further into whatever he’s currently going through.  

“Come on," I say. "Let’s go now!”

Deano still seems distracted, even after we leave the venue. I can tell what happened earlier is still going around in his head. I know that Ryan North is still on his mind. 

I keep wondering whether he’s going to mention it. If he’s going to bring it up. But he doesn’t. There are other things he doesn't do either. He doesn't kiss me. Or even try to touch me. All the time we’re back at the hotel. When we’re getting ready and changed to go out. And I make the decision that I’m not going to initiate being affectionate either. I’m going to wait for my boyfriend to come to me. But he doesn't. And by the time we’re back on the tube heading into central London to meet some of my old school friends for dinner, Deano seems more distant than ever.

Everyone’s already here when we arrive at the Italian restaurant somewhere near Covent Garden. There’s Liv, Jeremy, Melissa (all old school friends and theatre kids) and Melissa’s new boyfriend who I’ve never met before and, judging by the stares he’s giving me and Deano, is either intimidated by the fact that we’re bodybuilders (one bronzed and sporting a purple mohawk) or just plain weirded out.

I always think it’s interesting how Deano is when I introduce him to new people. It's like he instantly becomes guarded. It's almost like he expects people NOT to like him. I don't really know where that comes from. Liv is all over him. I can tell he likes her. When he says all right to Jeremy, I can’t help noticing that his voice is stiffer. Not as friendly as it is with the others. What is this thing Deano’s got with Jeremy?

Deano is extra quiet during the meal. I can see that he’s clearly not having a good time. I don't know whether that’s because he doesn’t feel like he fits in with my loud theatre-loving friends or whether it’s because he’s thinking about Ryan bloody North PT. About how good he looked bronzed and pumped and shredded in his shiny red posing trunks. Whether he’s thinking about last summer. When he and Ryan were seeing each other. Whether he’s being reminded of all those old feelings.

I shake those thoughts out of my head and reach for Deano’s hand under the table and squeeze it for the first time in hours. And I can’t help thinking that, after that, Deano’s mood lifts a little. That squeezing my hand makes him feel just a little bit better.

“So, boys … we have a little surprise for you,” Liv says to me and Deano mysteriously.

“We’re not just going to a normal pub afterwards,” Melissa chimes in. She and Liv look at each other and exchange knowing smirks before Liv reveals the surprise.

“We’ve booked a private karaoke booth!”

Oh no. I can practically feel Deano tense up beside me. I glance over at my boyfriend and bite my lip. He looks even less happy than he did a few moments ago. I squeeze his hand just a little bit harder.

“Oh, Deano - don't look so scared!” Liv says. “You don’t have to join in if you don’t want to,” Liv says. 

“He DOES!” Melissa cries.

And then I spot Jeremy just glaring at Deano. A look of almost judgement on his face. Maybe Jeremy DOES have a problem with him. I look at Deano, whose just glaring back at Jeremy. Almost like he’s saying, “What the fuck are YOU looking at?” Like some kind of macho stare down across the table. I fight down the urge to burst out laughing. 

I’m hoping Deano will see the funny side of the whole thing. Just earlier today I argued that me and my friends don’t always do karaoke when we go out. And now here we are, walking through a busy central London on the way to a private karaoke booth my friends have booked as a surprise. But I see no hint of amusement on Deano's face. Instead, he’s got that same distant look he's had all night. And when I ask him if he’s okay, he says yes. Like he normally does. He pretends like everything’s fine. Like he always does.

“Deano doesn’t do karaoke,” I tell my friends when we get inside the booth, trying to make light of the situation. “He’s too butch.”

I swear I catch Jeremy raising an eyebrow.

“It’s fine,” he says flatly. “I’ll just get pissed.”

Something about the way he says it makes my stomach twist. And in that moment I wonder - am I a selfish boyfriend? Dragging Deano to meet my friends when I know he doesn't want to?

“I’ll join you, mate,” Melissa’s boyfriend says. “I’m not doing karaoke.”

“Okay - well while the two miserable killjoys do THAT, let’s pick the first song,” Jeremy says, flicking through the choice of songs on the big TV screen in the booth with the remote control. 

Deano is glaring at Jeremy unimpressed. Maybe I should suggest an arm wrestle. 

When Deano and Mel’s boyfriend disappears to get drinks, I turn to Liv. “So … what do you think of Deano, like?”

Liv smirks. “He’s very … you! You’re well suited. Like a pair of pumped up gorillas in skinny jeans. Can he even breathe in those things?”

I tip my head back and laugh.

“Is he okay, though? He doesn’t look like he’s having a very good night.”

I do a dramatic sigh. “He’s a complicated soul. Plus … he doesn't like karaoke.”

“Yeah - I kinda got that,” Liv says.

“Oh … and he HATES musicals!”

Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open. “Whaaat?” I laugh at her response and she starts laughing along with me. 

“But … I like him. Well, I’m kinda crazy about him,” I confess, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden. Like I’ve said too much. But Liv gives me this cute smile. 

“Yeah - I kinda got that too!”

Deano and Melissa’s boyfriend come back. Deano clocks me and Liv and something weird flickers across his face. It's like he knows we’ve been talking about him. And now he looks kinda pissed. Like he thinks we were saying something bad. And I just can't quite fathom why Deano would think I would do that. Why me, of all people, would EVER be against him. 

Something seems to happen from that point onwards. It’s like Deano goes more into himself than ever. He’s drinking faster than usual. Checking his phone. And when I’m doing a rendition of “The Greatest Show” from The Greatest Showman with Liv and Jeremy and I’m looking at Deano lost in his phone, a thought comes to me. What if he’s looking at Ryan North’s profile? What if all of those old feelings are flooding back? Stronger than ever. 

I have a brainwave. Something that might make my boyfriend’s night just a little bit better. Something that might make him forget about the ridiculously hot, sort of ex he saw today for the first time in ages. And maybe remind him of why he fell for me in the first place. Something to remind him of a certain weekend we spent in Manchester.

I take over the karaoke. This one’s a solo performance. A track I’ve chosen especially for Deano. It definitely seems to have an effect. When the opening chords of Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” kicks in, Deano looks up from his phone and straight into my face. 

He looks surprised. Then something flickers across his face. Nostalgia maybe. Mixed with a little embarrassment (which doesn’t surprise me - this IS Deano after all). But his mouth is curling into a grin and I realise it’s the first time I’ve seen him smile since the bodybuilding show earlier. That smile is then covered up by something else. The Deano cheek poke. Which is still there while I’m warbling out the first verse. It might be my favourite Deano cheek poke ever.

And then something else happens. Jeremy sits next to Deano and the two of them are actually talking to each other. Okay - this could be a good thing. Maybe Deano will realise that Jeremy’s not the dick he’s convinced he is. It’s hard to know the tone of the conversation. But then ... Deano suddenly doesn’t look happy. There’s this look on his face. My stomach drops. Then Liv goes over and interrupts them and the conversation looks normal again. As I’m finishing off the song, Deano stands up and leaves the booth. I don’t know what was said between him and Jeremy, but I have a feeling it wasn’t good.

I finish up and go to the bar, expecting to find Deano, but he’s not there. I walk back towards the booth and there is. I don’t need to ask him to tell me what mood he’s in.

“I’m gonna go.”

“What?! What do you mean?”

“Can I have the key to the hotel?” he asks defiantly. He's clearly pissed off.

“Deano - what’s going on?”

“Jeremy’s a fucking dick!” he spits.

“What? Why?!”

He looks at my chest and does the Deano cheek poke.

“What did he say to you?”

He shakes his head. “I just wanna go back to the hotel room.”

“Little Dude - I’m not just gonna let you leave by yourself. What happened with Jeremy?”

He doesn’t respond. I look at his stony face. More than ever, I wish I could get inside of his head. To know what’s going through the mind of Deano “The Pocket Rocket” Watkins.

We’re just looking at each other. My chest tightens in preparation for what I’m about to say. 

“Is this about Ryan North?”

Deano’s face drops. He just stares at me, not knowing what to say.

“I saw you, Deano.”

He frowns in confusion. “How did you know it was him?”

I shrug. “A hunch. Plus … I looked him up afterwards on Instagram.”

He doesn’t say anything. His eyes fall to my chest. He doesn't look pissed off anymore. He just looks hurt. Like the game is up. Like he can finally stop pretending. I want nothing more than to reach out and give him a hug right now. Like, the biggest fucking hug ever.

I tip my head. “Come on.”

He looks up at me confused. 

“Let’s go back to the hotel.”

 “You don’t have to leave because of me. I’ll get a taxi back by myself.”

Jesus. Sometimes I just wanna shake him. He can be so fucking stupid sometimes. As if I’d just leave him. As if I’d just let him go off by himself when he’s clearly going through something. 

I give him a look. “Deano - don’t be ridiculous!”

Half an hour later we’re back in our fancy hotel room. I’m not mad that I had to leave my friends. We probably wouldn’t have stayed out much longer anyway. More than anything I just want Deano to be normal again. More than anything I just want him to be okay. 

I’m standing over him as he’s perched on the edge of the bed messing with his phone. 

“Why don’t you ever talk to me, Little Dude?”

He looks up from his phone, screws his face up awkwardly and does the Deano cheek poke.

I sigh. “Let’s try something.”

I climb on the bed and sit cross-legged in the middle of the mattress facing the wall. “Right - sit with your back pressed up against mine.”

“What? Why?”

“I just wanna try something.”

Deano sighs. “Fine!” Before I know it Deano’s back is pushed up against mine. Both of us facing opposing walls of the hotel room. Neither of us can see each other’s faces.

“What happened with Jeremy?”

“Ugh!” Deano says. “He asked me if you and we had much in common.”

“Okay …”

“And then he said … we didn’t really seem well suited. He said, ‘Ozzie’s really fun. And you’re not!’”

“What?!” I cry, feeling a wave of sharp anger towards Jeremy. I can hear the hurt and doubt in Deano’s voice. 

“Okay - well … that was a fucking dick thing to say. I’ll have a word with him. But you know … Jeremy doesn’t really know you. He’s only met you twice.”

“I know. It’s just … you seem so different when you’re with your friends. Louder. More animated. It’s like … you have a better time with them than you do with me.”

I twist my head to the side. “What?! Little Dude - that’s ridiculous.”

Deano doesn’t respond.

“I mean - yeah, I am a bit louder with my friends. But that’s just what we’re like as a group. But … the way I am with you. I mean, no one else really gets to see that. I mean … I kind of love the way I am with you. It’s like you get a side of me no one else does.”

Deano pauses for a moment like he’s letting what I just said sink in. “So … you don’t wish I was more like your friends?” he asks, in an almost sheepish tone.

I’m smiling and I don’t know why. “No, Deano,” I softly. “Definitely not. I want you to be you. Although … I WOULD like to do karaoke with you. Even if it’s just the once.”

“Mmmm. I’ll think about it. I suppose,” he says. We pause for a moment. I’m about to ask him a question. A BIG question. But he says something else. 

“I just keep thinking about September.”

Huh. Maybe this experiment was a success. Maybe this is how I get Deano to open up to me. “Okay …” I say, willing him to carry on opening up. 

“I’m, like, dreading going back to uni.”

That completely throws me. I twist my head again. The side of his face is in my corner view. “What? Why?!”

“Because …” he says softly. “You won’t be there.”

I feel a swelling in my chest. I’m smiling again.

“And you're gonna have this whole new life in Manchester. You’ll be going to a new gym. And you’ll have, like, new friends and stuff.”

“So? Little Dude - that’s not gonna change anything between us. You don't think I’m not gonna miss seeing you every day?”

“I just wish we’d graduated together.”

“Would you have moved to Manchester with me? If you had?”

“Yeah?” he says as if it’s a stupid question. Like the answer is obvious.

“What about if I’d moved to, like, I dunno … Doncaster? Or Huddersfield?”

“Why those places?” I can hear the amusement in the sound of his voice.

“I dunno. They just sound like really crap places to live!”

“Mmmm. I’d try and persuade you otherwise. But … if I had to. Yeah. I would.”

I’m smiling so much. It’s kind of absurd what we're doing. I’m facing the wall of a hotel room. My back pressed against Deano’s. But I kind of love what we’re doing here. I kind of love what’s happening. 

But then that feeling fades. And so does my smile. And I feel a twisting sensation in my gut. Because I’m remembering the other question I had for Deano. The question I wanted to ask him earlier. The BIG question. 

“Okay. I have another question.”

The atmosphere in the room suddenly tenses up. Deano doesn’t say anything. Maybe he knows exactly what I’m about to ask.

“How did it feel seeing Ryan North?”

There's a pause. Wow. Even more tension.

“Weird,” he says. “And … I dunno, kind of awkward? Really awkward actually.”

I bite my lip. “You never told me he was THAT good looking!”

I don’t know what Deano’s face is doing. He could be full-on Deano cheek poking for all I know. God only knows how many cheek pokes I’ve missed.

“So … do you still have feelings for him?” I ask, my insides churning.

“What?” Deano asks. I can tell he’s genuinely surprised, which makes me feel lighter all of a sudden. “No! Like … I haven't thought about him for ages!”

“So you haven’t spent the whole night thinking about him?”

“No. I mean … a bit. But only because I saw him.”

“You haven't been wishing you were with him instead of me then?”

“What? NO! Wait - Oz - you DO know how I feel about you?”

I laugh. “Actually, no. I don’t. You never really tell me how you feel, Little Dude.”

“But you must know. Like … isn't it obvious?”

“Isn’t what obvious?”

“That … well, I’m kinda like, in love with you. Or whatever.”

I feel like the air just got sucked out of me. “WHAT?!” I unfold my legs and spin around. Deano cautiously turns around too. This look of embarrassment on his face. 

“Deano! You just told me you loved me.”

He does the Deano cheek poke. But I don’t poke it with my finger. Or try to kiss it. Now, THIS is my favourite Deano cheek poke ever.

I’m grinning like crazy. My heart is swelling. You know those cartoons where the character's heart pops out of their chest and throbs? That’s me right now. Because my boyfriend, Deano “The Pocket Rocket” Watkins just told me he loved me. In the most Deano way possible. (“Or whatever”!)

I gently wrap my arms around him and stare into his face. With his strong, masculine features and his olive skin. Those green eyes looking back at me. His hair not so messy and ruffled like it was this morning.

“Deano “The Pocket Rocket” Watkins … you’re an absolute bloody nightmare sometimes. And I have no idea what’s going in that head of yours most of the time. And you have awful taste in posing trunks. AND you have the world’s most boring bedroom. But …”

I move my lips to his and kiss him. Before moving them away and looking at my boyfriend’s face again. That face I love so fucking much.

“I’m kinda, like, in love with you too.”

THE END

[DennisFLL]

Awww shucks.  The kind of Hollywood ending I love!  Very heart-warming and beautifully written, MA. 

 

[DawnFire98]

@muscleaddict, you almost made me cry at the end for a second. That doesn't happen often. So, chapeau! 

How can it be that a story in four parts about two "Pocket Rockets" stirrs me up this much? God!

I might have to gather myself for a bit, before I give a full review.

[biggymnast84]

AHHHHH!! Best ending ever!!  

[crushme99]

I've been a bit of a slowpoke in finishing, so this afternoon I binged my way through to this delightful ending.  MA, you never cease to amaze.  I love how you have created an entire universe of characters and, considering how self-contained the bodybuilding world is, it is wonderful to see how you thread these characters back and forth amongst each other.  You truly are a gift to us . . . your readers and unmet friends.

[dredlifter]

D'awww

[muscleaddict]

On 7/3/2022 at 3:01 PM, DawnFire98 said:

@muscleaddict, you almost made me cry at the end for a second. That doesn't happen often. So, chapeau! 

How can it be that a story in four parts about two "Pocket Rockets" stirrs me up this much? God!

I might have to gather myself for a bit, before I give a full review.

Love this reaction! Bless you, mate!  i might have to try to challenge myself and steer away from the whole pocket rocket thing with my next story! 

On 7/3/2022 at 2:48 PM, DennisFLL said:

Awww shucks.  The kind of Hollywood ending I love!  Very heart-warming and beautifully written, MA. 

Thanks for the lovely feedback as always, mate!  

22 hours ago, crushme99 said:

I've been a bit of a slowpoke in finishing, so this afternoon I binged my way through to this delightful ending.  MA, you never cease to amaze.  I love how you have created an entire universe of characters and, considering how self-contained the bodybuilding world is, it is wonderful to see how you thread these characters back and forth amongst each other.  You truly are a gift to us . . . your readers and unmet friends.

Bless you for these lovely words, mate. I have to say I do love bringing characters from previous stories back and adding them into the mix, but trying to do it in a way that feels authentic and not forced (wether I've achieved that on every occasion I'm not sure). You guys and all of these comments are just making me want to write more stories featuring the MU characters now! 

@biggymnast84 and @dredlifter - thanks for the comments on this last chapter too!