Love At First Kick

4

It was almost 10 when I opened my eyes. I could see the sun through the little cracks in my curtains. I stretched, laying back in the bed for a bit longer. It was getting colder day by day as it's October, so I can't bring myself to get out of the warm bed.

I took my phone, checking for any notifications.

'I'm doing it. I swear.' I read a message from Youji.
She is gonna look so weird. It will be funny to watch, at least.

I finally got some motivation to get out of bed and go for a run. I might put on a bit thicker hoodie today. It is sunny, but the cold bites a little. I can't get sick.

'Seriously? Even on the weekend?' My brother groans, seeing me out on my running shoes. He looked like he was up all night again.

'Wanna join me?' I ask him

'I'd rather drown myself in the toilet.' He says

'If you do, I'll play games with you later.' He always asks me to play because he doesn't have anyone else to annoy. His face lit up.

'Are you serious?' He gets on his knees on the couch

'Sure. I'll wait. Go get ready.' I smile at him. He got ready in 2 minutes. He ran over to grab his shoes. He bought these shoes when he wanted to work out. I'm pretty sure they have been worn maybe twice.

'Let's go. I'm ready.' He grins

I laugh at him, but we head out. I told him to stretch his legs a little before the run, but he didn't want to listen.

He kept stopping every 2 minutes, wheezing. He held onto his stomach, dragging himself behind me.

'My spleen is gonna explode!' He yells, flapping his arms as he runs behind me.
'Hold up.' He didn't sound well, so I stopped only to turn around and see him throw up by the side of the road. A few people who were passing by looked weirdly at us.

I wanted to laugh, but it looked disgusting. He tried, at least. Anything for games.

'Let's head back then. You've done well.' I tap him on the back as he is still hunched over, catching his breath.

'I'm dizzy. Can we walk back?' He asks, leaning on me

'Sure.' I chuckle. It took him a while to gather himself and start walking properly.

'Ugh, how do you do this every day?' He asks

'It was hard in the beginning, but now I'm so used to it that it feels weird when I don't do it.' I shrug my shoulders

'I know I mock you all the time. It's simply my job as your sibling. 'I laughed at that one, 'But you really do insane things. It's just that I don't understand why you're trying so hard when you're not sure it's gonna work for you.' He sighs. I guess he is worried, in his own weird way.

'Because this is what I love. I want to be able to teach others. I want to use my talent to the fullest. I'm not thinking that it won't work. That's not an option. It will work.' I already decided that I won't fail myself

'We are so different. I only think of failure and how it's not gonna work out before I even start something. And you don't even consider failure, even if it slapped you in the face.' He chuckles

'Is there nothing that you want to do?' I ask, genuinely curious

'Well, there is something, but...' he trails off

'But...?' I urge him to continue

He exhales before he speaks, but he does speak, 'I want to make games. I've been learning programming for a while. That's why I'm not sleeping. I'm hoping one day I can make a career out of it.' This might be the first time he told me his real thoughts