Chapter 3 - Stairway to Heathen.

Brandon threw the front door open with such force that it made his older brother, Seth, who had been passing by the entryway on his way upstairs shout and cover his head with both hands out of habit. During the course of his run, Brandon’s confusion had given way to rage. His ire had reached new levels, and upon seeing his shrimpy brother cowering before him, Brandon felt the need to vent his frustrations on his favorite punching bag.  “What do you think you’re doing, cockbite.” Brandon growled at his cowering brother. “I don’t know.” Seth yelped instinctively. His hands were up in front of his face in an attempt to block the impending pummeling. “You don’t know?” Brandon asked with a mocking sneer. “Is that all you can say? ‘What do you want to do today, Seth?’” Brandon asked in a faked, friendly tone. He then answered his own question in a slow, slurred voice that was supposed to mock his brother’s mental capacity. “Durr... I dunno.” Seth continued to cower and crawl slowly up the stairs while Brandon stomped loudly towards him. Brandon continued his little one man play. With each step he would ask another sarcastic question and then answer it himself. “What’s it like being hot?” He asked maliciously. “Hurrr… I dunno. I’m a dweeb.” Brandon replied mockingly.“What’s it like being big, and buff, and manly?” Brandon asked with a sneer. “Duhh... I dunno. I’m a wimpy little nerd.” Brandon replied. “What’s it like having a huge, awesome cock that everyone wants to worship and suck?” Brandon asked. By this point he was practically screaming at his brother who was still trying to quietly crawl away. This time Brandon didn’t answer. Instead he glared menacingly at Seth and waited for his brother to reply. “I don’t know…” Seth responded in a pained whisper. “That’s right! You don’t! That’s because you’ve got a pathetic little shrimp dick that no one will ever want. All it’s good for is showing how big a real man’s dick is.” Brandon shouted. By this point Seth had given up all hope of escape and was curled into a ball with his hands over his head in an attempt to soften the blow that his younger brother was no doubt going to begin raining down on him. Despite being a year older and a few inches taller than Brandon, Seth had always been the weaker of the two. Brandon had been fit and athletic all his life, and while Seth wasn’t out of shape, he had nowhere near the sheer muscle mass of his hulking little brother. That’s not even mentioning the disparity in dick sizes. Brandon had taken all the big dick genes in the family and then some, leaving Seth with a rod that was a bit below average. Brandon never missed a chance to rub in how much bigger, how much more powerful, how much more virile and potent he was than his wimpy brother. Whenever Brandon had had a bad day Seth became the main focus of all his unbridled rage. Even on his good days Brandon never missed a chance to take pot shots at his wimpy brother. Sarah had heard the entire altercation from her room upstairs. She instinctively clutched her hands to her ears and buried her head in her knees. She had learned long ago that she was no match for Brandon, and even though Sarah was far more willful than her twin brother, she still couldn’t bring herself to stand up to her younger brother. She tried to drown out her younger brother’s shouting. All she could think about was poor Seth curled into a ball like he always did when Brandon was really angry. She wished there was something she could do. The thought flashed into her mind so suddenly that at first she wasn’t even sure she had thought it. It was more like a voice whispering into her ear as opposed to an idea in her head. She had her magic. She could finish what she started and take Brandon down for good.Sarah took a moment to gather her strength and steady her breathing. It was going to take every ounce of willpower she could muster to stand up to Brandon. Even at his surely reduced size he was sure to be a terror and a half. She just had to hope that she could play her cards right and get him to back down.Sarah strode out of her room like a model strutting down a catwalk. Every ounce of her self-control was being used to keep up her aura of calmness. She needed to make Brandon think that she was no longer afraid of him in order to beat him at his own game. Right as she turned the corner from the hallway and stepped onto the upstairs landing Brandon looked up at her and glared menacingly. “Go back and cry in your room like you always do.” The buff teen said with a sneer. Sarah had half a mind to do just that, but her desire to protect her twin brother trumped her fear. “Don’t mind me.” She said as calmly as she could muster. “What? You want to watch?” Brandon asked mockingly. “Or maybe you want to take his place.” Sarah merely shrugged in response.  Brandon’s face contorted into an even more malicious grin. “I see how it is.” He said with a sinister chuckle. “So how is it that your brother has bigger tits than you do?” “I hadn’t noticed.” Sarah responded flatly. Her voice was even but her nerves were fraying. “I have trouble seeing other than a giant, arrogant ass.” Brandon’s rage gave way to confusion and shock for a brief fleeting second, but he quickly went on the counterattack. “I don’t make it a habit of hitting girls, so I suggest you go back to bed.” Brandon glared at her threateningly and even Seth was looking up at her as if begging her to get herself to safety, but Sarah made no effort to move. “I’ll go in a minute.” She said calmly. “It’s just that I was hearing some rumors that I thought you might want to know about.” “Rumors? What rumors.” Brandon asked. His voice was dripping with venom and he practically spat the words out in contempt. “The buzz on Facebook and Twitter is that our resident bully is somewhat less of a problem than we were lead to believe.” Sarah replied with an apathetic shrug. “Fuck Facebook.” Brandon spat. “It’s a buncha fatass queers with nothing better to do than sit around and bitch about people they know are better than them.” Sarah once again shrugged dismissively. “I’ll be sure to tell Debra and the rest of her friends on the cheerleading and volleyball squad that you think they are, and I quote.” Debra raised her hands to make little air quotes as she mimicked Brandon’s taunts, “Fatass queers.” “What are they saying...”Brandon asked. His malice was suddenly ebbing away and giving way to apprehension. “Oh you know. The usual. ‘Brandon’s dick isn’t near as big as he says it is.’ ‘What’s with those muscles? Has he been slacking off at the gym lately or what?’ ‘I know, right? It’s like he’s half the man he was a week ago.’” Sarah parroted the comments on her made-up newsfeed. Her voice took on a vapid, Valley girl accent as she mimicked the cheerleaders. Brandon couldn’t even muster a response. He merely stood there on the stairway and snarled up at his sister. “Debra sounded a little disappointed that the fabled foot long wasn’t even eight inches.” Sarah continued with a wry smirk.“Fuck you. It was nine.” Brandon growled. “Oohhh. So the stories are true are they?” Sarah responded playfully.Brandon was taken aback. His sister had just played him like a fiddle. Sarah could see that she was winning this little battle of wits and decided to go on the attack. “You know what I think?” She said playfully. “I bet you pissed off an old gypsy woman or maybe some voodoo priestess.” “Sorry. Magic is as fake as your jugs.” Brandon snarled in reply.Sarah clapped her hands experimentally to her chest. “Huh. They seem real enough to me.” She replied. “And they fill out my shirt a lot better than yours do.” She added taking a quick jab at Brandon’s now slightly loose t-shirt. He still filled it out fairly well, but it was beginning to show wrinkles around the midriff, something that had never happened before. Sarah placed her hands under her small boobs and lifted them playfully as if showing off their size. “They’re not that big, I agree, but they are getting bigger every day.” Her seemingly innocent expression suddenly turned into an arrogant sneer that rivaled even Brandon’s most mocking expression as she hit Brandon with a really choice verbal barb. “...which is more than I can say for your dick.”  “Fuck you.” Brandon shouted in rage. He was about to charge up the stairs after her, but before he could make it even two steps he found himself tumbling forward. His gym shorts had somehow found their way around his ankles. He landed with a thud right next to Seth who was still cowering in fear. Brandon glared at his wimpy brother. “Finally decided to grow some balls have you?” Brandon snarled menacingly. Seth merely shook his head fervently and tried to brace himself for an oncoming punch.“Guess again, douchebag.” Sarah called down from upstairs. Brandon snapped his head up to look at her so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. Sarah smirked knowingly down at him. “Figured it out yet?” Brandon gawked silently at his sister. Sarah was slowly descending the stairs, but her feet were not even touching the ground. The lights flickered and her small blanket that she had draped over her shoulders like a shawl billowed despite the lack of a breeze. A look of understanding crossed Brandon’s face. “Ah. So you’ve started figuring it out, have you?” She asked casually. She had a look on her face that was equal parts bored disinterest and smug satisfaction. “It turns out you did piss off some dark magic user, but it wasn’t some gypsy or voodoo priestess. It was just little old me. Your friendly, neighborhood practicing witch.” Sarah explained glibly. She even touched down and even gripped the loose sides of her baggy sweatpants as if she was wearing a skirt and did a little curtsy. “So what? You want me to beg?” Brandon asked as he climbed back up to his feet and pulled his pants up.“Oh. Nothing so petty.” Sarah replied. “See? My spell only reacts to your actions. So say… every time you humiliate someone, dominate someone, and whatever else it is when you are being a total jerkwad, you’ll become slightly less of the man you were before… Although really. If you have to get your jolleys bullying others you weren’t much of a man to begin with.” Sarah explained flippantly.Brandon snarled at her. He was so furious that he looked like he could lash out and attack her at any second, but he seemed to be holding back. “I see you’re getting it now.” She responded glibly. “Now unlike you, I don’t want to humiliate you. You’re my brother, and even if I can’t stand you, I do want what’s best for you. If you could just learn a little humility you might just find that you will grow as a person.” Brandon was still glowering at her so Sarah realized she had to be a little less metaphorical when explaining. “And who knows.” She added. Her voice began to trail off a bit as she built up the suspense. “Maybe you’ll begin to grow in other ways too.” Brandon scowled at her, but remained silent. After a tense couple of minutes he finally spoke. “You promise?” He grumbled.“Promise?” She replied cryptically. The tone in her voice made it seem like she was not at all confused though; rather she was trying to goad Brandon on to say something. Brandon grumbled in annoyance but clarified her request. “If I promise to be good will you lift the curse?” He muttered half-heartedly.“It doesn’t work that way.” She replied tersely. She then went on to issue her ultimatum. “Once you prove that you are genuinely repentant I will consider lifting the curse. We can discuss growing you back later.” Brandon scowled at her, but made no effort to argue. He hated making barters with his sister, but he knew now that she had it well within his power to strip him of everything he held dear. As it was he would be hard pressed to keep his status as top player, and he could forget about his bodybuilding career. His toned, athletic body was nowhere near the hulking wall of muscles that it had been just last night. “I’ll take that to mean you agree to my conditions.” Sarah stated blithely as she continued to gaze down upon her brother with a smug smirk. Brandon continued to scowl but nodded in agreement. He had no other alternative but to play along for the moment. “One more thing.” Sarah piped in suddenly. Brandon snapped back to attention and returned to glaring at his sister. “Relax. It’s nothing that bad.” She said with a wry smirk. After another tense moment in which the two siblings glared at one another in a sort of passive aggressive vie for dominance Sarah gestured towards the stairs next to Brandon. Seth was still huddled quietly on the steps, but instead of cowering in fear he was now watching his siblings with rapt fascination. “Help him up.” Sarah said flatly. Brandon scowled at her, but he reached down to help his brother to his feet. Seth furtively held his hand for Brandon to grab. He winced as he felt his younger brother grasp his hand. He was pleasantly surprised when Brandon didn’t clamp down with a vicelike grip and try and crush his hand, but his relief was short lived. Brandon brusquely yanked Seth up to his feet. Seth yelped in pain. It felt like Brandon was trying to rip his arm out of its socket, but at least it was effective in getting Seth back to his feet. Seth rubbed his sore shoulder and glanced back up at Sarah expectantly. His twin sister merely glowered menacingly at Brandon. “What?” Brandon replied blithely. “Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.” He flashed a smarmy grin as if he was daring her to prove it wasn’t an accident. Sarah merely pursed her lips and continued to glare at him. After another tense moment she turned and waved her hand dismissively. “Fine. I’ll be in my room.” She grumbled as she headed towards the hallway. Just before she could slip from view she turned back around and uttered one final warning to her younger brother. “If you try anything funny, I will know it. I’m giving you one chance so don’t fuck it up.” The severity of her tone even gave Seth the chills, but Brandon seemed to be ignoring it completely. Once Sarah was gone Brandon turned and put his hand menacingly around Seth’s throat. He didn’t clamp down hard enough to cause any pain or even leave a mark, but the gesture was enough to make his intention clear. “Enjoy it while it lasts, pussy.” Brandon said with a sneer. “Big sister’s not gonna be around to babysit your puny ass forever.” With that Brandon stomped off to his room where he spent the rest of the night in miserable solitude.