𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡

Ch. 34 - The Oldhead

"Finish it."

"No."

"Come on now......finish it."

"I AM finished."

"Mhmm....sure you are." He nodded, without a doubt eyeing my limp form incredulously. "Finish that set, princess. You got five more."

My eyes snapped open, glaring hatred at the cheery afternoon sky and weightless clouds sailing above me. My entire body was spread out helplessly on the grass, nothing more than a slab of lead. "No", I growled.

We are currently in a park. My dearest Dean has graciously decided to shake up our old pattern since we both agreed to keep up with this whole.... arrangement.

It was three days ago that I finally swallowed my pride and asked if he was open to continuing training me, exactly a week after the party. We had been awkwardly skirting around each other, like two opposing magnets with an unseen force between them, equally unsure what ground we stood on after everything that night. Not strangers, not enemies, and not exactly friends, but we both knew there was an attraction between us. Even Faye had pushed me to talk to him after she learned what went down while she had been incoherent.

And so I did.

Of course what she was hoping for was something entirely different, a certain something Dean and I both seemed to silently agree was a subject we'd mutually ignore...

As if anything would come of it anyway.

But I do know I need him. I needed him if I truly wanted to improve in this quest of mine. After all, it's not like I had money to throw out on fight classes, and I'd probably need guardian permission if I were to even try, as well.....

What's embarrassing to think about was just how tightly I'd clung onto my phone all night, anxiously waiting on a response. When he finally materialized by my locker the next morning, the flittering wings in my chest went mad the second said "Okay".

Pathetic.

We agreed to meet up after school today, leading to our current predicament.

I might punch him in the jewels if he tells me to 'correct my form' again.

A cold pair of trainers nudged not so softly into my side.

"Come on now, we don't quit halfway through sets around here."

"Easy for you to say." The boy was clearly a robotic abomination not limited by human restrictions. Dean's evil smile grew tenfold as his large body shadowed over my spread-out limbs in the grass, kneeling down just beside my head to sit on his haunches. Those ever-present dog tags waved just over my face by their chain.

Had I the energy I would've reached out and choked him with it.

Our competitive stare down was deadlocked until Dean haunched over even further to lean his face closer to mine. "Finish...," He started ominously, that familiar heat and scent radiating over me, nearly causing my first blush of the day. "Or next time it's double." Oh, god no.

"You're trying to kill me." I whined, sluggishly pulling myself back into a crunch position. By some miracle of god, I completed the last set of core exercises before plopping right back down out of exertion.

"See? There you go. You gotta learn to push yourself, Patience. Stop getting into your own head."

Push me right into an early grave.

"I have limits, you jerk. We can't all be bionic monstrosities." The freak had barely even broken a sweat this whole time.

"Stop selling yourself short." A large finger came down to flick me dead center in the forehead, forcing me to hiss ouch. I rubbed the spot with a pout, which turned into a pathetic scowl as I reached a shaky hand toward his shoelaces and spitefully jerked them loose in a huff. Take that.