s k i n n y ➳ cth

➳ n i n e

Ashleigh absolutely hated the way that she looked in the mirror. All that she could ever notice was the lumps and layers of fat that accumulated on her stomach. She never thought that she had a good figure, and hated how it sometimes looked like she had a double chin. Despite hating her appearance, Ashleigh made it part of her daily routine to scrutinize her reflection in the mirror. She often snapped pictures to track her progress, and checked her weight all throughout the day. Ashleigh stepped on the high tech, accurate scale that she had bought the other day, and looked straight ahead into the mirror, waiting for the numbers to set. She looked down, and nervously chewed on her lip. One hundred and nineteen pounds. Ashleigh believed that was definitely way too much weight for someone of her size, and decided to find a better way to lose it. Skipping meals hadn't been very effective for her, so the next step would be rigorous exercise.

Ashleigh walked across her bedroom, and into her closet. She slipped on a pair of elastic waisted exercising shorts. As Ashleigh turned around to find a matching shirt, she was met by one of the many mirrors in her closet. Ashleigh cringed when she saw the way that her thighs touched, and her belly poked out over her shorts. She closed her eyes when she saw her bra digging into that fat on her stomach and leaving red lines, and walked over to find a top that would hide all of the fat on her stomach. Ashleigh tossed on a gray t-shirt with her middle school name on it, and quickly put on a pair of running shoes. Ashleigh jogged down the stairs and headed for the front door. "I'm going out, Mum," Ashleigh called as she walked out of the front door. She began to jog down the block, and decided to head toward the playground.

"Hey, Ashleigh," Calum called. Ashleigh turned around to see the kiwi boy running to catch up with her. "Where are you headed?"

"I'm just out on a run." Ashleigh said. She desperately tried to fix her hair, and hoped that there weren't any sweat stains showing on her shirt. The last person that she expected to see out was Calum, and therefore hadn't made herself very presentable. "Take in this good weather before it starts getting hotter, yeah?"

"That's actually really smart," Calum told her. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Um," Ashleigh hesitated. She really wanted to have some time with Calum, but not while she was sweaty, and trying to manage her personal issues. She had nothing against him being with her, per say, she just wasn't ready to be all hot and sweaty around him yet. "I guess so."

"Great, because I'd come anyway." Calum laughed, and Ashleigh felt her heart swoon at the sound. She absolutely loved hearing Calum laugh, and seeing his face get scrunched up as he smiled was just about her favorite thing in the world.

"Let's get going then," Ashleigh said. She took one of the brown hair ties off of her wrist and put her hair up into a high ponytail before sprinting down the sidewalk.

"You're in quite a rush, eh?" Calum called. He took bigger steps in attempt to catch up to Ashleigh, which only caused her to run faster.

"Running," Ashleigh yelled back. She started to follow all the tips that Google had given her on how to run faster.

"I can tell," Calum called as he caught up with her. "Don't you want to hang out with me?"

"Of course," Ashleigh said as she began to slow down. "You just managed to catch me at a time that I'm really busy."

"Are you alright?" Calum asked her, speed walking to catch up to Ashleigh.

Ashleigh stopped in her tracks, surprised by the question. She thought about whether she really was okay or not. She then pondered whether she should tell Calum how she really felt or not. Despite the fact that Ashleigh felt close to Calum, she wasn't sure if she should spill her guts to him or not. Ashleigh turned around to be faced with Calum's chest. "I-I'm fine," Ashleigh stamered.

"You sure?" Calum interrogated. He dipped his head down so that he was looking into Ashleigh's eyes. She melted slightly at the eye contact, and got lost in Calum's eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Ashleigh snapped out of her trance.

"Well let's go then." Calum said as he continued to run ahead. Ashleigh sighed and ran behind him, slowly but steadily catching up.

"You're fast," Ashleigh noticed aloud as she saw Calum run ahead of her. She breathed in and out of her mouth, and pumped her arms beside her. Ashleigh hunched her back forward the slightest so that the wind wouldn't resist against her.

"I think it's the long legs," Calum replied. He slowed down a little bit so that Ashleigh could catch up with him.

"Calum," Ashleigh started, "why do you continue to talk to me and be nice to me. I don't make any amount of the same effort that you do, so why me?"

"Well," Calum stopped running in order to catch pace with Ashleigh. "You look like you need someone in your life."

"So you pity me?" Ashleigh asked.

"No," Calum said. "I've taken a fancy to you."

this took me mONTHS
TO REWRITE BUT ITS
DONE YAYAY
I couldn't think of
a way to get up my
word count but it's like
904 words aye

[updates august 2, 2016]