Page 41 of Liam

Jamal gripped the edge of his desk. "Jeezus, Liam."

I lowered my arms and smiled at him. "I'm all warmed up to work in the weight room."

"Give me a second to recover then I'll take you down there." He clutched his chest dramatically and closed his eyes to tease me. He wasn't the least bit shy around my antics.

It felt good.

He opened his eyes. "Okay. Follow me."

We made our way down the hallway past several classrooms with a few youths in each. What smelled like pasta and cheese sauce wafted out of one of them.

The weight room was at the end of the hall.

"Get set up and I'll go grab some of the kids who are interested," Jamal said and left me to look around. The equipment was rudimentary, but it would work fine for beginners. The main thing is there was a good assortment of free weights. We could do a lot with those.

Mumbling voices coming down the hall became clearer as some youths approached the door. They hesitated and then one of the kids took the initiative and wandered into the room.

Three in all. It was a good start.

"Hey, I'm Liam. I'm a friend of Noah's." I knew that would get me brownie points. Noah often shared stories of being at the centre. I knew the kids here loved him.

"Are you Noah's boyfriend?" A short teenager with a t-shirt displaying the wordbutchasked.

"No, we're just friends. Known him since high school." I sat on the workout bench. "My pronouns are he/him. Do you mind introducing yourselves?"

"Angel," the self-proclaimedbutchreplied. "I answer to she/her."

"Nice to meet you, Angel. What are your goals?"

She smirked. "Need some muscle definition to draw in the girls."

"I like it. That's an achievable goal." I looked at the next teen.

"Avery. They/them." They looked down at their feet. "I think." They ground their toe into the flooring. "I want to be able to defend myself against bullies."

"As well as the weightlifting, I have other techniques I can share with you." I had far too much experience in the world of getting beat up in the playground or when walking home.

The third teen, the one first in the room, stepped forward. "Name is Lucas. I want to be able to pass as a guy. I want to look like you. Attract the women. He/him."

"As long as you're realistic. It took me years to look like this." I'd take Lucas aside and ask him if he was on hormones. It looked like he was. He was probably at least nineteen and was already filled out through his chest. He'd be pleased with the results he'd start to see within weeks.

"I'll start you one at a time. Avery, we'll work with free weights first. You have a small frame, so we'll start you out light. I'm assuming you're mainly looking for strength."

Avery nodded. I guided them through a series of exercises and set them to it. "Lucas, I need you on the treadmill first. I'm going to be working you a little harder. You need to be warmed up."

I started him at a casual pace with a slight incline. I'd come back and speed him up.

"Are you on hormones?" I asked quietly.

"I am now. Started puberty blockers when I was thirteen."

"Your body is going to respond well."

Lucas grinned at me. "Good."

I went back for Angel. "Let's start you with some leg curls. Give you some good muscle for chasing after those girls." She didn't look convinced but took my instruction and started in.

With all three of them working, I made my rounds, checking on each one. I added to their workout, showing them more exercises and how to use the equipment. Avery and Angel finished much sooner than Lucas. His body needed a bit more exertion to push him.

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