The Biggest Loser

Chapter 4: Enlisted Help

Pushing Steve into the store with some effort, Tony growled in frustration at the blonde's hesitation to walk into the local GNC store. Figuring that if they were going to suffer through this, they were going to do this right and Tony believed that enlisting the help of the store clerk, Bruce Banner, was their next move. Steve, who refused to allow Tony to even think about spending that kind of money on him, loudly protested the whole ride and even when they made their way into the near empty store. They ran their half mile at the park this morning and even tried to eat the hot oats back at Tony's house, but Tony knew they needed something else in their diets to help sustain the sudden exertion on their bodies. "Wow, Tony, I never thought I'd see you in here." Bruce commented with a sly smile.

"Trust me, it's not by choice but I need your expertise on how to be healthy; we both do." Leaning heavily against the counter, Tony gestured to Steve who stood awkwardly behind him starring at Bruce with a slack jaw. "Steve this is Bruce, my anatomy and chemistry partner. Bruce, this is Steve."

The two teens nodded to each other, offering fourth a comment or two on pleasantries. "So what exactly are you two trying to do?" Adjusting his khaki pants against his trim waist, Bruce stuffed his hands deep into his pockets with a curious smile on his face. "I've heard it all working here, so what is your goal?"

"Well I want to bulk up," Steve felt self conscious as Bruce's eyes ran up and down the expanse of his body. Stepping back a step, Steve moved his body slightly behind Tony's so as to hide his skinny frame against the much rounder body. "Be healthy and such."

Bruce cocked one of his eyebrows at the "and such" aspect of Steve's statement. "There are many ways to be healthy, my friend. And how about you, Tony, since when did you start wanting to get into shape?" Leaning heavily against the counter, Bruce glanced between the pair who appeared to be completely out of their element in the healthy fitness category. Where Tony knew what amino acids were and what protein did to the human body, the dark haired teen wasn't sure what Steve was privy on as he didn't remember ever having a class with the blonde. He knew of him surely, like most students did, because of his reputation for getting into fights at school and getting his ass handed to him every time. The fact that his friend was associating himself with the trouble maker unsettled Bruce greatly.

"It's his idea, really." Tony shrugged his shoulders. Moving from his place in front of Steve to lean against the counter, the younger teen noticed how nervous Steve looked behind him. "Mom and dad are out of town again this summer—"

"—they left you alone again?" Bruce interjected, his annoyance with Tony's irresponsible parents growing tenfold. "If it weren't that you were leaving for college next year, I would continue to remind you that you could always turn them into children services."

Just like Tony noticed Steve's uneasiness, the blonde instantly recognized the flash of panic that sparked behind Tony's eyes as his head turned to plead with Bruce to keep his mouth shut. Steve had a suspicion that there was something going on in Stark household and Tony's reaction confirmed his curiosity. "Why are we talking about my parents? We're here learn, Brucey!"

The athlete made a face at the name Tony bestowed on him. "Well, Tony, if you just work out you'll be fine. Cut out the unnecessary junk food. As for you Steve, I would recommend a high protein diet." Moving around the counter to the main floor of the store, Bruce walked up and down the aisles before settling before a few products that had the two teens wondering what he was about to pull off the shelf.

"We were also going to try out for the football team." Steve added lamely before ducking his head to avoid the pointed look the dark haired teen threw his way. There was the "and such".

Bruce's eyes looked at the two from the corner of his eye sockets, his brain running a mile an hour trying to picture what the two would look like at the end of the summer and if they would be ready to try out for something as insane as a contact sport. Believing fully that this was Steve's idea, and even though he had a large frame under his lack of muscle Bruce believed that with a lot of work he could look like the rest of the jocks from their school. Depending upon if he was any good would tell if he would make the team, but they would cross that bridge when they got there. Making a mental note to text Tony later that evening about the openings on the soccer team Bruce fished through the boxes on the shelves. "Here we go." He handed over the two boxes to the two teens who took them with care.

"What is this?" Steve asked as the description on the back of the black and red box made no sense to him where as Tony seemed content with reading what the small print had to say.

"This is probably our best seller; Meg Men, the Sport series. It's a vita-pak regiment that will boost your metabolism, give you plenty of energy—as you two look tired as hell right now—and your body's natural thermogenesis."

"Thermogenesis?" Poor Steve looked really confused as he took Biology his freshman year and barely passed because of their Arabic descent teacher's inability to speak understandable English. Standing between their schools two smartest people was really unsettling to the blonde as every time they shared a look he felt his IQ drop slightly.

"It's the production of heat, in this case by the cells in our body, Steve." Tony offered, his eyes still skimming over the box. "It makes sense really, the amount of energy we are going to be burning will be converted into heat rather than stored fat; really good news for me." Turning the box over in his hands, Tony looked up to Bruce who had an appreciative smile on his face that said that he was pleased he didn't have to explain everything to a customer for once.

"I take this myself, and usually down them all in the morning with breakfast. Early morning is the best recommended time to take them, but when ever is really fine. If you're not accustomed to taking large pills, you can break it up through the day. There's a 30-day supply in there, and it's on sale. Follow me." Grabbing the additional box so they could take advantage of the sale, the two boys followed behind Bruce who moved around to the end of the isle where a built in shelf stood nearly ceiling high with many different tubs of different substances in them. Pulling a ladder over, he climbed up a few steps so he could get a better vantage point face to face with the products. Watching the teen climb up the few steps, Steve's eyes zeroed in on the slight bulge of the teen's muscles. Bruce wasn't large by his standards, but he wasn't wimpy looking either especially the way his biceps bugled with the force necessary to hoist himself up. Steve could stop the pang of jealousy that rippled through him. "What flavors do you two like?"

"Flavors?" Steve offered, clearly confused as to what the teen was referring to.

"I have strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate—those are the traditional flavors, but if you want something different I also have fruit punch, lemonade, cookies and cream, banana, and citrus. I usually stick with the traditional flavors as mixing milk isn't necessarily the most pleasant taste with the others but it's your decision. Also know you can use water for this too, but you'll get more protein for muscle reconstruction with the milk." Pulling down the pair's respective flavors, Bruce handed them to the teens and reached for a pair of blender bottles. He handed the red one to Tony and the Blue one to Steve.

"I want to lose weight, Bruce, not gain more." Tony's eyes skimmed over the back of the container again, slightly annoyed that Bruce was handing him something that could potentially make him gain weight.

"Well if you use water with yours and only take a third to half the serving size you should be fine. For you Steve you can use milk and take the full serving size." Handing the teen an additional container, the dark haired employee had to contain a chuckle as he floundered to balance all the items in his lanky arms.

The remainder trip around the store filled their arms with performance enhancers for energy, protein bars and meal replacement packages for on-the-go dieting, water bottles for hydration and multiple other items. Since they were the only three in the small store, the two teens took to dropping off the items on the counter while Bruce started to ring the things in. Steve offered fourth a few twenties to help pay, with promises to repay Tony, but after a small squabble over who was paying Steve ended up pocketing his hard earned money back into his wallet. Tony's shiny credit card lay on the counter and Steve had to wonder how nice it would be to have his parents pay for everything he could ever want, even though he was sure the only reason they allowed their son to spend so much money was because how often they were away from him.

Steve would rather the company of his mother over the money any day.

"Bruce, what's this?" Tony called as he had taken to wandering over to a section of the store to the left of the register that they hadn't bothered to look at earlier.

"Dietary supplements, Tony, and no I don't think you should take those. On the box it even says the recommended age to start taking that crap is eighteen, and if I remember correctly your sixteenth birthday is coming up in two months." Going back to scanning each item and adding the additional discounts for all the things they bought, Bruce moved to place some of the already scanned items into a plastic shopping bag.

Steve frowned as he moved to stand behind Tony who was looking at all the brands behind the Plexiglas. "My cousin took that Hydroxi-Cut once and it didn't work. Come on, you don't need those to help you, you've got me." Placing his hand on Tony's shoulder and steering him back towards the counter, Steve made sure to block the teens escape to go back and look. Bruce appreciated Steve's persistency at keeping Tony away from those supplements.

"Are you two going to Pepper's pool part this weekend?" Bruce asked suddenly as he finished packing away all the items and completely checking his two classmates out. "I heard it was going to be another pool party."

"I wasn't planning on it." Tony mumbled, his finger mindlessly rubbing the smooth plastic of one of the bags.

"She's your girlfriend; won't she be upset that you're not going?" Bruce handed back Tony's credit card and watched with a critical eye as he slipped it back into the safety of his wallet. Tony shrugged and looked up at Steve, pleading for them to suddenly leave. "What has been going on with you two lately?"

Steve starred back at Tony with a confused expression wondering how Tony, the typical chubby high school nerd, was able to hook up with one of the hottest looking girls in the whole school and he didn't know about it. Thinking back, he had seen the two talking a lot in the halls between classes but he could also remember her being all over other guys in the auditorium. Surely as smart as Tony was, he had to have known she was cheating, but maybe he was blind to it…

"She's cheating on me with Rhodey." He mumbled quietly only so the other two could hear it. "I caught them the last day of school, though I'm pretty sure they didn't see me as I booked it out of the gymnasium and ran right into Bobby-D and his goon squad of mindless followers—hence the concussion." Pointing to his head, he rubbed the sore spot lightly with his finger before moving his hand back down to rest at his side.

"They beat you up again? Did you at least tell a teacher?"

"I did," Steve volunteered.

Bruce sighed. "Well, it looks like we're just going to have to find you a new lady friend—and you too Steve. I'll swing by your place around noon and the three of us can all drive over together. It'll be fun." Tony was puzzled, wondering how a fellow nerd could think a hormone infested high school pool party could be any sorts of fun. While Steve seemed to agree with the idea, Tony brought his hand up to rub lightly at his temples already feeling an immense headache coming on. He was positive there was going to be alcohol, and the last time he and Bruce went drinking things didn't end quiet so well.

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