Secret Dreams

Jeremy had a secret. At almost 16 his fondest wish was to be like Liam Hemsworth. Liam was tall, handsome, and most of all had a family that loved him. Jeremy had none of those. He was short for his age and got bullied at school all the time. Handsome? Ha! That was never going to happen with his acne-scarred face and fat features. And as for family, his foster parents could care less about him and more about the money the state paid them every month. They already told him he would be out the door once the money stopped on his 18^th birthday. They weren’t going to support “no freeloader” under their roof. Their kids were no better. They treated Jeremy like a second-class citizen; teasing him and making him do all their chores.

Two things only one other person knew about Jeremy: he had a very giving heart with a lot of love to give to anybody that wanted it and he was actually very smart but wouldn’t excel in academics for fear of being bullied all the more. One thing he did not do: he would not feel sorry for himself. Self-pity was not for him. So alone in his room he wrapped himself in his dreams, dreams that one day someone would love him.

Mr. Black at the corner store had watched Jeremy grow up from the time he was 9 and had come to live with the Porters. The two met every day or at least as much as they could. Black had never cared for the Porters as he considered them white-trash out to fleece anybody they could and believed they were owed a living for merely gracing the world with their divine presence. They didn’t deserve a kid like Jeremy and it broke his heart to see how they treated the lad.

Jeremy would talk to Mr. Black about his dreams sometimes. The two had bonded, Black becoming more like a father to him than Mr. Porter ever imagined being (even to his own kids Porter was no more than a provider). Only Black knew what Jeremy was capable of and how much he longed to have a real family with someone to love him. And Black alone knew Jeremy’s secret desire to be like Liam. He realized from the way Jeremy would talk about Liam that if it were possible he would love to be the actor but Jeremy would never think of such a thing as that would mean the real Liam would disappear and that would be the last thing he would ever want. He would sooner suffer an eternity of the Porters than hurt another human being, regardless of how much someone hurt him.

One day just before his 16^th birthday Jeremy came into Black’s store to say hello. On this particular day Jeremy was feeling rather down after being badly harassed at school.

“I know it isn’t quite your birthday Jeremy but I have a present for you. Here, open it up.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything Mr. Black, but thank you so much.” Jeremy’s eyes lit up as he studied the big brightly wrapped box. Nobody had ever given him a birthday present, except Mr. Black of course. He always had given him small gifts over the years but never something this size. He couldn’t wait to see what was inside.

“Take it into the back room Jeremy. You should be alone when you open this up. I’ll be in shortly after I close the store. Happy Birthday my boy.”

Jeremy rushed into the back, eager to see what his friend had given him. He carefully undid the box, not wanting to make a mess and being careful just in case whatever was inside might be breakable. Finally he opened the top of the box and there inside was something that took his breath away. It was a naked Liam Hemsworth doll! Doll? Why would Mr. Black give him a doll?

To his surprise, however, he found out his gift wasn’t actually a doll. It was more of a suit, something like a wet suit surfers would wear, and it was big and life-sized. The material was strange though. It wasn’t like any kind of suit Jeremy knew about nor had he ever seen a suit that had features so real and even included a head. He could swear this suit looked almost alive. But of course that couldn’t be. He laid the suit carefully on the long table Mr. Black sorted his merchandise on. It sure seemed to be as tall and well-built as the real Liam. How did someone ever make it so life-like?

“Try it on, Jeremy.” Mr. Black came in from the outer room. “It is one of a kind and very special.”

“But how, how did you get a suit that looks like Liam? Besides it would never fit me. It is so much larger than I am.”

“Don’t worry about that. Follow your heart for once.” Black urged the boy to give in to his desires and do something for himself for a change, to be happy. “Here I’ll help you. First you need to take your clothes off.”

That sounded rather kinky to Jeremy but he trusted Mr. Black completely. He would never do anything to hurt him. He stripped out of his second-hand outfit, shivering as he stood there in his birthday suit waiting to see what came next. Mr. Black in the meantime had unzipped the back of the suit and was holding it next to Jeremy.

“Step in lad. Put your feet into the proper foot holes.” Jeremy raised his legs, putting the right one in first followed by the left. The legs were so tall yet it seemed like they fit him perfectly.

“How can they fit me Mr. Black? They must be shorter than they look.”

Ignoring the boy’s question, Mr. Black helped him bring the arms and hands over his own, which encased the front of his torso and, after a bit of manipulation, his manhood in the suit, the suit’s head bouncing off the pecs.

“I have pecs and muscles Mr. Black!” The astonished boy couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he looked at himself in the mirror. His reflection was tall and well-built but he didn’t feel any different.

“Yes you do Jeremy. And soon you will have much more.” Mr. Black closed the zipper, totally engulfing the boy’s body in the suit. The only part of Jeremy visible was his small head sitting atop the massive body. ”Now for the final piece…” Before Jeremy could say anything Mr. Black had lifted the head and pulled it over Jeremy. Jeremy panicked as his world went dark and he thought he would pass out. “Open your eyes Jeremy.”

He stared wide-eyed at Liam Hemsworth’s reflection in the mirror, not believing what he saw.

“What did you…?” Jeremy gasped. His voice… he sounded… that couldn’t be but he did… he sounded just like Liam!

“I better get out of this suit Mr. Black. This isn’t right.” He turned around, looking in the mirror and grasping for the zipper in the back, but he could find none. He tried lifting the head over his own head but it wouldn’t budge.

“Why won’t the suit come off?” Jeremy was getting panicky again. “There can’t be two Liams. I don’t want to take his life from him.” He still couldn’t fathom that he looked and sounded like the Aussie hunk.

“You aren’t wearing a suit anymore Jeremy. This is your body now.” Mr. Black tried to reassure his young friend but he could tell beneath the handsome man exterior that Jeremy the boy was quite uncomfortable. “Trust me. There won’t be two of Liam and you won’t be hurting him at all.”

Mr. Black handed Jeremy an expensive looking set of clothes that had been in the bottom of the box but the boy had missed in his excitement.

“Put these on Jeremy. You can’t go around naked you know, no matter how hot you look.”

Jeremy could only gape at the clothes that looked way too big to ever fit him. His 16 year old mind refused to process the thought that he was now in the body of a much bigger 24 year old man. But he did as Black requested, getting dressed until he was clad in an all-black suit, the likes of which he had never seen or imagined himself wearing before.

“You look very nice. How do you feel?” Before Jeremy could respond Mr. Black jabbed him with a syringe filled with some sort of blue liquid. “Sorry Jeremy. This is going to hurt but only for a little while.”

“My head is on fire Mr. Black. What is happening to me?” New knowledge and memories of a different life came flooding into his brain like the tide at the Bay of Fundy rushing in. Mr. Black watched as the boy-man began to exude confidence, his body straightening up to his full 6’3 height while his features took on a mature guise rather than Jeremy’s scared young boy look. Jeremy’s world as he knew it was no more.

“Ah, I see you are feeling much better.”

“What? Oh yeah. I must have zoned out there for a moment. Thank you for letting me rest for a minute Mr. ….?”

“Black, my young sir. You’re most welcome. If you don’t mind my saying you bear an uncanny resemblance to that actor Liam Hemsworth. You must get mistaken for him all the time.”

“Yeah, I sure do. He’s my identical twin brother. I’m the younger by a minute. Hard to go out sometimes but I can also use it to my advantage, too. I’m just passing through on my way to L.A. to see him and Chris. Kind of a family reunion they don’t know about yet.”

“Oh. Are you an actor like your brothers?”

“No. I’m just out of law school. I’m getting ready to start my new job with a law firm in New York in a couple of weeks and thought I would take a trip before settling in. Smartest and youngest in the history of the school, or at least so I’ve been told.”

“Congratulations. That’s a most noble profession, Mr. Hemsworth.”

“There are some that would argue that point but I do hope to help kids abused by the foster system. And please call me Chase. For some reason I feel like I’ve known you for a very long time Mr. Black.”

“I often hear that my boy.”

“See that black Ferrari out there? That is a graduation and birthday present from my brothers. Isn’t she a beauty?” Chase practically beamed with pride showing off his prized possession.

“Yes, she is. I bet you have fun driving her, too.”

“I sure do. Well I should get going. I’ve a long way to travel you know. It was nice to have met you.”

“Likewise. Keep in touch if you like and please stop by if you ever happen this way again.”

“Thanks. I may just do that. Thank you again Mr. Black.” The two men shook hands as Chase left the store to get in his new car. Mr. Black watched as his young friend drove off. He was going to miss Jeremy but Chase was destined to have the amazing life and love he so richly deserved.