This isn't weird.

Too Much Too Soon

Ben was not a praying man, but he damn near became one on Friday night as he desperately willed the following morning not to come.

It came anyway.

It was apparent from the moment he woke up that something was wrong. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up, only to crumple straight to the ground in a white hot flash of pain. His legs roundly refused to bear his weight.

He inhaled a sharp breath and forced himself back up. Stumbling to his bathroom, he found a bottle of ibuprofen, and swallowed four before lowering himself to the ground. With gritted teeth, he did his best to stretch and breathe through the pain.

He was just a little sore, he told himself. He could do this.

He met Tess at the same spot as last time. It took every bit of his self-control not to limp; he even made an extra effort to seem cheerful. She called him Brian, and this time he laughed, as if it was an inside joke between two old friends.

"Alright," he said, "Let's do this!"

The first step was agony; the second far worse. The pain was exponential.

There was no amount of willpower that could carry him to the end this time. The searing pain escalated every time his feet touched the ground. They had made it just over half a mile when his body suddenly refused to take another step, and he tumbled onto the pavement.

Tess stopped short and whirled around to look at him. He was on the ground, knees drawn to his chest, drawing in rapid, agonized breaths as he clutched his elbow where it had caught his fall.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed, racing back to him.

"I'm fine!" Ben blurted, sitting up as quickly as he could. He braced his hands on the pavement and tried to force himself back up, but again, his feet gave out from under him. "Just give me a second—"

"Jesus Christ, stay the fuck down!" Tess threw her hands up in frustration.

"I can keep going," Ben insisted. "I just need to catch my breath—"

"Stop, Ben! For fuck's sake, give it up!" Scowling, she rubbed her brow. "You've obviously had shin splints for a fucking week, and if you keep trying to run through them, you're going to give yourself a goddamn stress fracture, if you haven't already!"

"What?" Ben gave her an incredulous look. "Why would you be dragging me out here if you thought I—"

"Because you were supposed to give up! I didn't think you'd take it this far, you fucking idiot!"

"You didn't think I would take it this far? Are you fucking serious right now? You're the one who keeps cornering me into agreeing to do this bullshit!"

"You're the one who keeps fucking agreeing! Why the fuck are you still doing this?"

"Because I want you to like me!" Ben shouted.

Tess fell silent, and after several seconds, walked a little closer. She took a seat on the pavement next to him.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because—" He hesitated a moment, then sighed. "Because it's important to Millie."

"You're fucking insane, dude."

"You saw how happy it makes her to think we're friends."

"Yeah... I guess." She shook her head. "Fuck. Okay. Let's get you to a doctor. Make sure it's not a fracture. Can you walk?"

"I don't know. I think so."

She helped him to his feet, and caught his arm as he stumbled. "Fuck. Okay, lean on me. We'll go slow."