#sorry if this is incoherent i was watching the bl*es br*thers the entire time i was writing it

[drpeppertummy]

[stuffing, mild burps]

"Sunny, I think you might be the dumbest guy I've ever met," said Laurie, sipping her Coke. The two sat alone in her ancient minivan in the McDonald's parking lot.

"Even dumber than that guy you were seeing a couple months ago?"

"Yeah, you just might be."

"I can't believe you would say that!" Sunny looked up at her with exaggerated woundedness. "I never stole your hubcaps and tried to give them back to you as a present."

"Maybe not, but he never tried to eat ten filet o fishes just to prove a point," said Laurie.

"You're the one who made a bet out of it," Sunny said defensively. Laurie shrugged and ate a fry.

"It just seemed like an easy victory," she said.

"Yeah, for me," said Sunny.

"Yeah, right! You're gonna owe me, Sunshine!" Sunny stuck his tongue out at her and shoved the first sandwich in his mouth. Filet o fishes were his not-so-guilty pleasure, and the last time they'd been to McDonald's, the conversation had shifted into a grand debate about how many of them Sunny could hypothetically eat. The debate had ended in a bet: if he could eat ten of them in one sitting, plus a large soda and an order of fries, he got to pick the music in the car for a month. If he couldn't, he had to pretend to be Laurie's date when her grandparents came to visit next week. Truthfully, losing didn't sound awful to either of them; Laurie liked Sunny's music taste, and Sunny liked the promise of Laurie's grandmother cooing over him. That didn't matter, though. The real prize was victory itself.

Sunny had been thoroughly confident in his ability to put away all those filet o fishes, and that confidence held up until the third one. The first two went down easy, but as he worked on his third, the feeling of fullness began to creep up on him, and it began to creep fast. By the fourth, he was slowing down enough for Laurie to notice.

"Getting full?" she asked, smiling sweetly at him. He looked away, furrowing his brow.

"No."

"Slowing down a little."

"I'm pacing myself," he said.

"Sure you are," chuckled Laurie, returning to her fries. She'd finished her burger already and was now happily watching Sunny struggle through his task. The four sandwiches crammed into his small stomach had long since begun to show, and his tummy bulged uncomfortably out over the tight waist of his jeans. He swallowed the last bite of number four and opened up number five. He paused for a moment to take a breath, resting his free hand on his stomach, then grabbed his belt and tried to inch it lower. It didn't help much. Sighing, he started on the fifth sandwich.

"You can quit whenever you feel like it," said Laurie.

"I'm not quittin'," he said with his mouth full. He'd been eating his fries alongside the filet o fishes and was making good headway on them, but he was trying not to think about the soda. He knew it would fill him up too much to get through the sandwiches, so he was saving it for last in the hopes that he could chug the whole cup at once. This wasn't a particularly sensible plan, but sensible wasn't the first word anybody would've used to describe Sunny. He finished number five with a strained gulp and moved on to number six.

Laurie stared down at Sunny's bloated belly with fascination. For as small and slim as he was, he could certainly put away a lot of food, although he didn't exactly look comfortable doing it. When they'd first made the bet, she'd been almost positive he wouldn't be able to do it, but now she wasn't so sure. She hadn't expected him to get this far. Looking at his belly, though, she also wasn't sure he'd get much further.

Sunny finished the last of the sixth sandwich, shoved the box into the bag, and let his head fall back against the headrest. With a heavy sigh, he held both hands against his distended belly. He looked down. His stomach was straining the buttons of his shirt, and a tiny sliver of hairy skin was becoming visible just above his belly button.

"So, what're you gonna wear when my grandparents come down?"

"I ain't goin' to see your grandparents."

"Come on, you can't seriously still be doing this!"

"You better believe it, baby." Sunny unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants, letting out a sigh of relief as he did so. "Four to go, and I'm gonna do it."

"Four and a soda," she reminded him, tapping the lid of the large Dr. Pepper sitting in the cup holder. He waved his hand dismissively.

"That's nothin'," he said, pulling the seventh filet o fish out of the bag. Reinvigorated by the closeness of his victory, and by the little bit of space he'd freed up by adjusting his wardrobe, Sunny quickly wolfed down number seven and started on number eight. He'd managed to slowly eliminate the fries, and now only three sandwiches and a soda stood between him and victory. Eight went down a lot more slowly than seven, but down it went, and he opened up number nine. While he'd freed up a little space, there was no denying the fact that his stomach was unbelievably, immensely, unbearably stuffed. Still, victory was close. He forced up a burp, punctuated by a soft groan of pain and relief, and finished number nine.

He paused again, resting his hands on his belly. It was so tight and solid that for a moment his brain didn't even register it as part of his body. Not to his hands, at least. As for his belly itself, his brain was very aware of its status. He pulled the tenth filet o fish out of the bag, but didn't open it yet. He sat it down on top of his stomach and closed his eyes. Rubbing his belly, he forced out another burp. A soft moan escaped him as he did. He couldn't recall ever having been so full in his life. Listlessly, he opened up the final sandwich and stuffed the box back into the bag. Laurie watched, astonished, as somehow, by some miracle, he ate the whole thing.

"Jesus Christ," she said, looking both horrified and impressed.

"You ready to lose?" He'd intended to sound cocky, but his voice came out more exhausted than anything.

"Shit, Sunny, I'll let you have it without the soda!"

"I don't need your pity win," he said, picking up the Dr. Pepper. "I'm winning this thing fair and square." He took the lid off the cup and tossed it into the bag with the rest of the garbage. He looked at the cup for a moment, took a deep breath, and started drinking as fast as he could. Laurie would've sworn she could see his stomach swelling as he demolished the soda. His gulping grew louder and more frantic as the cup emptied, and finally, in a dramatic climax, one of his shirt buttons popped open just as he finished. He tossed the cup aside and an enormous belch erupted from his mouth.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Laurie exclaimed. Sunny laid his head back against the headrest, panting and clutching his stomach.

"I told you so," he said, sighing heavily.

"Was that really worth it just to pick the music for a month?"

"Put in Tina," he said, disregarding the question.

"Shit, Sunny, after all that, you can have it for two months!"

"Really?"

"No."

"You suck." Laurie laughed.

"Let's get out of here," she said, starting the car. Sunny reclined his seat a little before buckling up. Between the button popping and his pants being wide open, his bloated belly was just about on full display, but he was too full to care. Laurie gave his stomach a reassuring pat and pulled out.

They listened to Sunny's trusty Tina CD as they drove, along with the soft sounds of his stomach gurgling away and the occasional sickly burp. Laurie reached out and rested one hand on his belly, giving it a gentle rub. He looked up at her.

"I could still be your date if you want, y'know," he said. She laughed and glanced down at him, then back at the road.

"What the hell for? You won, didn't you?"

"Well yeah. But like, if you really wanted me to."

"It's fine," she giggled, patting his belly. "I don't need a date." He nodded and gazed out the window, and they listened to the CD for the rest of the ride.