Alex had always been a skinny kid. He hard a hard time growing up, and would sometimes go for days eating the absolute smallest amount possible, not out of insecurity, but necessity. His family was poor, and the only reason he got to go to college was because of his scholarship. In college, unless you count the occasional package of ramen, he ate quite possibly even less than he did beforehand, so that he wouldn't have to burden himself or his parents with the small bit of college debt he still had.

That being said, food was never something Alex had in abundance. Until it was. Alexander was incredibly intelligent. When he gave his application to Vernon Public High School, they interviewed him almost immediately. He ended up getting the job, clearly, and all of a sudden realized that he could afford things now. Not just food, but clothes, a home, and other necessities of life. For the first time, Alex had real friends, a real job, and a stable life. He stopped worrying about things such as what he was eating, and never worried about getting exercise because he never had to before.

Like what would happen with most, Alexander gained weight. He never really noticed, though. His body was something he payed very little attention too growing up, due to the fact that he found himself to be a wimpy looking kid and didn't feel like seeing that every single day. Alex was happy, and even though he was gaining weight relatively quickly, nobody brought it up to him. They either thought he noticed, or didn't want to ruin his cheerful oblivion.

Alexander didn't notice until his clothes got tight. As most do, he blamed it on the washing machine. It wasn't his clothes that brought his weight to his attention. It was actually the clothes that weren't his. Alex went to the store, knowing his sizes, and was quickly brought to the realization that no matter what brand, he had to go at least two sizes up to be remotely comfortable.

Ashamed of himself, he bought almost an entirely new closet, all many sizes larger then he ever thought he would have to imagine wearing. He completely avoided eye contact with the shoppers around him, and said close to nothing with the cashier. He spent the whole drive home in disbelief, and as soon as he got home he went straight to his bathroom to do what he had been dreading.

He took off his shirt, his sweatpants and slowly, almost painfully, turned towards the mirror. He took one glance at himself and had to turn back around. Alex had to gain weight after college. That was obvious to everybody who knew him. He just told himself it had been healthy weight. This was far past healthy weight. His tummy stuck out and gave him a potbelly, his thighs were touching, and were dappled with the beginnings of cellulite, he was even starting to get a double chin. It wasn't that Alex had anything against different sizes, but being somebody who had always struggled with his weight, couldn't stand being anything but in peak condition. 

For the first time since he started working, nearly two and a half years ago, Alexander missed a day. He called in sick, and everybody shrugged it off. Alex came back in better fitting clothes, and once again, nobody brought up his weight. From that point on, however, Alex noticed everything about his body. He noticed how tired things like stairs made him. He noticed how his body jiggled. He noticed how much he was eating. But he couldn't seem to lose weight.

He was too embarrassed to go the gym, and didn't have the room or equipment to work out in his apartment. He knew starving himself was unhealthy, and it reminded him too much of his childhood. He tried diets, but he always ended up cheating and giving in. After a certain point, Alex just decided that he would have to live with a severe displeasure with his body.

After this whole ordeal, Alex told himself that John could never love somebody with a body like his.