When We Crossed Paths

Chapter Five: Not Really How I Planned To Spend My Weekend

My alarm went off with an annoying buzz. Humanity's immortal enemy. A noise despised the world over. It was Saturday morning. The start of the weekend, lie-ins, relaxing. Not for me, though! I had a day of training.

He, well, suppose I should call him Nishimura, convinced me to meet him early for "special training". First up is an early morning run, then some weight training and Volleyball practice in the afternoon. I really wasn't looking forward to it. I absolutely hated being up so early on a Saturday, and even though this would be extremely beneficial, I wasn't quite looking forward to being in close quarters to him all day. I had to keep reminding myself that it was for a good reason and that I should be grateful for him helping me out like this.
Still...with extreme reluctance, I forced myself out of my comfortable bed and got ready. He was meeting me at the crossing.

I literally dragged myself to the crossing. There weren't many people around. Probably because most of them were enjoying a lie-in. I could see a well-figured Nishimura standing by the crossing. Once he noticed me, he quite energetically jogged over to me.

"Good morning!" He said with a bright smile.

"You're too happy for a Saturday morning!" I droned.

"It's a bright, beautiful morning. A great day for a run!" He smirked.

"A bright, beautiful morning for a lie-in!" I remarked.

"Come on! It'll be great!" He joked, lightly punching my arm. "Let's do a quick warm up before heading off!"

"I hate you!" I declared.

The warm up was brutal. Well, brutal for an early Saturday morning. Plus, it was proof at how unfit I was. He would frequently chuckle as I struggled to reach my toes. His perkiness really pissed me off. It was unnatural.

"Do you seriously do this every Saturday morning?" I groaned.

"I do this every morning." He smirked.

"Every morning?" I gawked. "Why!?"

"I've done it for years. I needed to make sure I was fit enough to play Volleyball. It's very important to me." He explained. "Plus, I quite enjoy exercising."

"You enjoy exercising?" I sneered to which he nodded in response.

There was silence as my brain processed what he just said. And then...

"You're a freak!"

That caused him to burst out in laughter. It actually made me smile. He had a cute, infectious laugh.

"OK! Let's get started!" He began. "...oh hold on! Need to tie my shoe."

Now, normally, that would be harmless. But no no, instead of kneeling down to tie his shoe, he bent over. And I found myself trying not to stare at his rear end.

Ultimately, that failed because while I was in the middle of an internal turmoil about why I feel the way I feel, something else had to crop up and add to it. I mean... I already knew that he was quite toned, I saw that the other day but his rear end? Seriously? That can be toned too? I had no idea! But...I couldn't stop staring. Such a weird thing to be fascinated by. I couldn't understand. Very firm...

What the hell was I doing!? It was such a creepy thing for me to do. I was so embarrassed even though he didn't see me, but still...I'm so pathetic.

"Shall we?" He said after tying his laces.

I just nodded. Too scared to open my mouth.

We started our jog. He jogged with grace and composure, whereas I, jogged like I was a drunk elephant. I didn't realise how unfit I was until that moment. I was already out of breath. In hindsight, I probably should've asked what our route was before we started...