In the gym: Aaron vs. Thom Part 1 funtime333

Thom was still smarting from his humiliating defeat at the hands of Pete in his TW debut. Pat and Dane had offered to train him on the weekends, but Thom was so intent on becoming a better wrestler that he was hitting the gym practically every night to increase his strength and stamina.

Instead of training during the day, Thom preferred to work out late at night, when there was no one else around, because it allowed him to concentrate on his workout without any distractions. On this particular night, he showed up at the gym at 11 p.m. and was somewhat annoyed to discover Aaron had just begun his own workout. He didn't have anything against Aaron, whom he barely even knew. He just resented not having the place all to himself.

"What's up?" Thom said as he and Aaron met at the bench press. The two boys shook hands. Aaron was frustrated at not having made much of an impression in the TW thus far. He was a very talented wrestler, but just hadn't had many opportunities to prove it yet. His hope was to become as lean and strong as possible, so the day his chance came, he could make an impressive showing.Aaron was itching to get in the ring with Zack. He thought Zack had put on a great showing at the Battle Royal, but Aaron was confident he could make Zack submit in a one-on-one match. He longed for the opportunity to prove it."That was a tough match you had against Pete," Aaron said. Thom couldn't tell if the other boy was making fun of him or not.

"Yeah, it was pretty embarrassing," Thom replied. "I want to make sure that never happens to me again."

"I hear you," Aaron said, and Thom decided the other teen was not being sarcastic. They began spotting each other as they took turns bench pressing 200 pounds. Thom realized he and Aaron weren't only identical in size and weight, but they also seemed to have the exact same strength. Both of them could rep the weight 12 times before their arms started trembling. Pete had outweighed him by nearly 20 pounds, and also had a size advantage on him. Thom wondered how he'd fare with a guy his same size, despite his relative lack of experience.

Thom finished his third set of 12 reps, his arm and chest muscles pumped and burning from the effort. As he got up from the bench, he realized Aaron was looking at him, as if he were sizing him up. "You're pretty strong, man," Aaron said.

"Thanks," Thom replied and flexed his 15'' biceps, showing off. "I've been lifting since I was 13."

"Pretty impressive," Aaron replied, then flexed his own 15" guns. "But not as impressive as these."

Thom laughed. "Cocky, aren't you. Wanna arm wrestle, tough guy?"

"Sure," Aaron said, shrugging his shoulders. He was curious to see whether he could pin Thom's arm, especially since their builds were so similar.

The two teens sprawled down on their stomachs on one of the gym's mats. Both were wearing tank tops, and both looked at each other's taut arm muscles as they locked hands. "Ready?" Aaron asked.

"Whenever you are, punk," Thom replied with a cocky grin.

Aaron immediately powered down against Thom's arm, catching the young bodybuilder by surprise. Thom's arm was halfway down to the mat before he started pushing back against Aaron. The muscles in the teens' arms and shoulders rippled from their efforts. Thom had been overconfident that he could overpower Aaron easily and was shocked to discover it was taking all his strength to keep the other boy from pinning his arm to the mat.

"I've got you beat, man," Aaron said through clenched teeth, staring defiantly into Thom's eyes and powering down even more on the bodybuilder's arm, which was slowly giving way. Thom grimaced as he used all his strength to try to hold Aaron's arm at bay. He took a deep breath and put everything he had into battling the tough athlete's strength.

Thom let out a small grunt as his bicep peaked under his taut skin, trembling from the effort. For a second, he thought he felt himself pushing Aaron's arm back a little. But Aaron's fast start had given him too much of an advantage, and even Thom's considerable strength couldn't make up the difference. Aaron let out a big "Aaarrrgh!" as he put everything he had into pushing Thom's arm down to the mat.

Thom resisted as long as he could, but eventually couldn't hold Aaron back any longer. Thom's hand made a thud as Aaron slammed the bodybuilder's arm onto the mat, then held it there for a few seconds, to prove his superiority. Thom not only hated the fact that he had lost, but that the other boy felt the need to hold his arm compliant after the match was over, proving his superiority.

"Let go, man, you won," Thom said. Aaron smirked at him and held his arm down for a few seconds longer, then released the other boy.

"Better luck next time, I guess," Aaron said, and this time there was no mistaking the arrogance in his voice. Despite Thom's awesome physique, Thom knew the other boy didn't respect him.

Thom rubbed his swollen bicep, which was completely pumped from the effort and glared at Aaron, who stood up from the mats and struck a double bicep pose, flexing theatrically to rub in his victory. If there was anything Thom hated more than a sore loser, it was an arrogant winner.

"You just got a headstart on me, that's all," Thom said to the other boy.

"Yeah, whatever," Aaron said dismissively, a playful glint in his eye. Aaron was actually a bit surprised he had been able to beat Thom, but he wasn't going to let that show.

Thom was becoming more and more irritated. "I'm serious, bro," he said. "I bet I could make you submit on the mat, even though I don't have that much experience."

.

Aaron immediately accepted the challenge. He was in need of wrestling practice anyways, and he liked the idea of dominating a newbie. "Oh yeah?" he said. "How about showing me, tough guy?" Feeling cocky, Aaron peeled off his tank top and struck a crab pose, showing off every muscle of his lean and defined build.

Thom couldn't take the mocking any longer. "You got it," he said, jumping to his feet, peeling off his own shirt, and striking his own double bicep pose. Even though they were practically the same weight, Thom's history of bodybuilding had given him a better build than Aaron. When he flexed, every muscle in his torso leapt out with incredible definition. For a moment, Aaron doubted himself, wondering if he hadn't gotten carried away with his teasing.

The two boys circled on the mat and Thom raised his hands for a contest of strength. He was itching to shut Aaron up and put him back in his place. Aaron hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he could really take on the bodybuilder, but then realized he had just bested him in arm wrestling, and decided to take Thom up on his challenge.

Staring intensely at each other, the two boys locked hands and began to struggle to force the other guy down. Evenly matched, neither one could take an early lead. Aaron felt like he was pushing against a wall of bricks as he tried to bend Thom's wrists back, to no avail. The muscles in Thom's ripped chest and arms strained as he powered into the other boy.

Aaron had to use every bit of his strength to hold Thom even. Both boys planted their legs firmly and renewed their attack on each other, but neither one gave in. Thom did not want to lose twice to Aaron in a contest of strength, and concentrated all the power in his body on pushing the other teen back. Aaron felt his arm muscles begin to burn and tire from the effort. His shoulders and back trembled as he fought back against his opponent's strength.

Fearing a deadlock, Thom decided to take the initiative. He suddenly pulled Aaron towards him and caught the other boy with a kick to the midsection. Aaron was caught completely by surprise and didn't have time to ward off the blow. The impact completely knocked the breath out of him, and the teen released Thom's hands and doubled over, clutching his stomach.

Thom tried to seize the opportunity but realized he didn't know what move to use. All he could think of doing was to trap Aaron in a bearhug. He moved quickly behind the stunned boy and wrapped his arms around Aaron's midsection, pinning the other boy's arms to his sides, then squeezed as hard as he could, lifting his opponent from the mat.

Aaron still hadn't caught his breath when he felt Thom's strong arms squeeze him. He tried to power out of the hold, pushing his arms against Thom's vise-like bearhug. He felt Thom's biceps clench and squeeze even harder as the boy refused to relinquish his hold.

"You give?" Thom asked prematurely. He didn't know a bearhug this early in the match almost never resulted in a submission, especially when the two fighters were so close in size.

"No way, punk," Aaron replied and once again pushed against Thom's tight hold.

Thom's arms refused to budge. The muscles on his back strained heroically as he tried to squeeze the fight out of Aaron. The hold prevented Aaron from taking a much-needed breath, and as much as he tried to get his arms free from the bearhug, he could not break Thom's iron-clad hold.

Aaron felt himself weakening and knew he had to do something soon. He kicked back against his opponent and felt his foot connect with Thom's left knee. Thom yelped in pain and immediately released his bearhug.

Filling his lungs with air, Aaron whirled around and took it to the bodybuilder, who stood there defenseless. He whipped Thom into a side headlock. Thom gripped Aaron's forearm and tried to pry the arm away, but Aaron had the lock on tight. Aaron started grinding Thom's head with his well-muscled arm.

"How ya like me now?" Aaron said. He knew Thom was susceptible to taunts, and even though Thom didn't know what he was doing, Aaron was willing to use every strategy to win this unofficial match.

Thom was growing angrier and angrier as Aaron paraded him around the mat, cinching the headlock tighter. Realizing he'd never be able to pull the other boy's arm away, he reached out and slugged Aaron's abs, which were already sore. Aaron let out a startled "Ooomph!" but managed to keep the headlock on. Thom shot out three more punches, but this time Aaron was expecting them, and he tightened his abs to ward off the punches.

Not wanting to take any more damage to his midsection, Aaron released his hold and grabbed Thom's right hand, putting the other boy into a painful armbar. Aaron unloaded a few kicks into Thom's abs, not trying to really hurt him, but just know the wind out of him a little. Thom was completely bewildered as Aaron bent his hand back at the wrist while pummeling his torso with his kicks. His shoulder was on fire from the armbar.

Aaron suddenly released the armbar, whipped around a somewhat dazed Thom and wrapped on a full nelson. He wanted to see whether he was strong enough to hold the bodybuilder compliant. He cranked the boy's neck and shoulders as hard as he could, trying to force Thom's chin down to his chest.

Even though this was simply a practice match, Thom did not want to lose. He flexed his arms and chest as hard as he could, trying to power out of Aaron's hold. Aaron managed to hold on, his biceps swelling as he kept the pressure up. He felt his locked fingers slowly start to give as Thom struggled, putting a Herculean effort into breaking the hold.

Aaron realized that if given enough time, Thom would be able to break free. Since nothing was really at stake, he decided to go all-out and use all his strength to get a submission from Thom now. He knew if he failed, he wouldn't have anything left to counter the other teen's attack, but it was a chance he was willing to take. Aaron was also curious to see if he could overpower his bodybuilding opponent.

Thom grunted as he felt the full force of Aaron's lean muscles. He cursed under his breath and once again flexed mightily, trying to break Aaron's phenomenal grip. Once again, Aaron's grip slipped a bit. Aaron realized Thom was just too strong to get a submission out of him with a full nelson alone.

Counting on his opponent's inexperience, Aaron suddenly fell on his back, pulling Thom down with him. He quickly wrapped his athletic legs around Thom's torso and squeezed, matching the pressure of the full nelson with a mean leg scissors. Thom let out a cry of pain as Aaron's legs ground into his sides. The pressure was incredible.

In desperation, Thom flexed one last time against Aaron's hold, using every bit of his bodybuilder's strength to break loose. Aaron felt the power surge through Tom's arms and back, and he extended his legs as far as he could, tightening his scissors. He knew Thom wouldn't be able to take the pain much longer.

Thom was furious at himself for having put up such a weak fight. He felt Aaron push his head down towards his chest. No matter how hard Thom struggled, Aaron had managed to immobilize him. All his power couldn't help Thom break free. Breathing heavily, his body covered in sweat, Aaron's legs crushing his sides, he reluctantly gave in.

"OK, I give," Thom said weakly.

"What was that?" Aaron said, grinning smugly and cranking down even more on the full nelson. He knew the sportsman thing to do was to immediately release his hold, but he liked the idea of completely dominating the bodybuilder.

"I said I GIVE," Thom repeated, wincing in pain from the power of Aaron's scissors, his neck and shoulder muscles no longer able to power back against the full nelson.

Aaron kept the full nelson on for a few seconds longer, just to leave no doubt who had won the match, then released his opponent. Thom immediately rolled away and laid there on the mat, breathing heavily and clutching his bruised sides.

Aaron knew that Thom's incredible strength would make him a formidable opponent if he ever developed some basic wrestling skills. But Aaron was more thrilled by the fact that he had been able to dominate Thom pretty much at will, unfair advantage or not. He looked forward now more than before to getting a match against Zack, who he assumed couldn't match Thom's power.

"Guess all the bodybuilding in the world can't make you a good wrestler," Aaron said, getting up from the mat and once again flexing over the still-recuperating Thom.

Thom didn't reply because he knew Aaron was right. He was looking forward to practicing with Pat and Dane more than ever now. His match against Pete had been one thing, but having Aaron whip him so easily on the mat was even more embarrassing. He realized overconfidence could become his biggest weakness.

"Thanks for the workout," Aaron said as he put his tank top back on. "I'm so pumped now, I don't need to lift any more weights tonight."

Thom just nodded and laid on the mat. He knew his ribs would be sore for a while from Aaron's leg scissors, and looked forward to the day when he could wrestle the teen again. Before he did, though, Thom would make sure he knew what he was doing.