ENG - My best friend's sister ᵐᶦᵏᵉʸ ˣ ᵒᶜ

8

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

I stand up and say, "I'm going home," then I turn and run away with quick steps.

I'm an idiot - a fucking idiot! Why did I say that? Why can't I keep my mouth shut? Now a complete stranger knows I'm being harassed by patrons at the brothel - and the worst part is that he's Kenny's friend! He'll tell him for sure. Despair gathers in me and tears form in my eyes. How could I have been so stupid? I keep calling myself an idiot and blaming myself. Why did I go with him in the first place? I don't even know him.

At the bottom of the hill where we are, I stop and look around. A crossroads - great. I don't even know which direction we came from! Why didn't I remember the way, even though I tried hard to memorize it? I dig my phone out of my pocket to open the navigation app and as luck would have it, the battery is dead.
Typical me.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I curse in exasperation and look around frantically. Almost automatically, I turn around and look up the stairs I just ran down. Should I really go back and ask him for help? But how will I ever find my way back if I don't? Then I turn back to the intersection and look around in despair. In every direction stretches an unfamiliar landscape, the place names on the signs tell me nothing at all, and no direction seems to lead to downtown. At this moment, I hate myself a little for never being around people and always walking the same damn path.
The way to school, to the grocery store, and my gym rounds - that's all I know. Any route beyond that leaves me completely helpless, and without a navigation app, I'm completely lost.
"Didn't you want to go home?" a voice suddenly sounds next to me, and as so often today, I flinch and almost jump a few steps to the side.
"Yes, I was," I admit meekly, looking to the side in shame. "I just have to figure out which direction we came from..."
"But actually, it's your fault, you brought me here, so bring me back!", I say, probably sounding bitchier than I really want to, and I notice it myself. "Please...", I whisper quickly after and squint over at him.

He just smiles and says nothing. Then he walks ahead, and I hesitate for a moment before following him. I make sure to stay a few steps behind him at all times, constantly looking down at the ground - at his feet, to be exact - to see where he's going. When his steps suddenly quicken, I look up to see him. He grins at me and then sprints off. Is he really running? Is he serious?

I furiously pinch my eyebrows together and run after him. Fortunately, I can keep up well, but he is still faster than me. I feel the wind in my face and hear my own breaths, which drives me crazy. He's been doing this for what feels like an eternity, but finally he stops and turns to me. Surprised, he looks at me and I see that he is breathing as hard as I am. We are standing on a bridge and a small river is flowing below us. By now the moon is already shining brightly in the night sky. Fascinated by how the water glistens under the starry sky, I lean a little over the railing and look at it. For a brief moment, I forget what kind of situation I'm in right now.
"Really surprising," Mikey's voice breaks the silence and through it I look back in his direction.
"What the fuck?", I just ask annoyed and look at him accordingly.
"I didn't think you could run behind me for 20 minutes, and I wasn't exactly slow," he says. 20 minutes? That seems like an eternity.
"I'm really impressed," he grins, and suddenly starts running again. Is he actually kidding me? I take a deep breath and follow him again, I really don't feel like it anymore. How can anyone be so childish? Fortunately, I can keep up with him, but if he continues like this, I'll give up.

When I finally catch up with him, after what feels like an eternity, I stop, panting, and lean on my knees. He turns to me and grins again. Slowly, my lungs start to burn, too.
"Are you an endurance athlete or what?", I ask him annoyed. My feet are on fire. I'm definitely wearing the wrong shoes for this kind of crap.
I'm still gasping hard for air, and he seems to be recovering already, because his breathing is slowly returning to normal, I note in passing as I look at him.
"You must exercise quite a bit to keep up like that, don't you?" he asks me, smiling again. I drop onto my butt and gasp.
"I do," I reply curtly, resting my head on the back of my neck and trying to regulate my breathing. I look around and notice that we are in the park where I always go jogging. We are very close to my home, no more than five minutes away.
I then look at him skeptically and quietly say, "You're crazy," I gasp. "I can't run as fast as you."
He sits down across from me and looks at me. "Are you okay?" he asks, and I could smack him for that. Still, I nod and try to get my breathing back under control. "Yeah," I say. "I'm just a little out of breath."

He leans back, propping his arms on the floor, and says, "I didn't think you were that unathletic," he laughs.
I look at him angrily and punch him in the arm. "I'm not unathletic," I say. "I go jogging regularly. But I'm not used to running that fast."
"That almost hurt," he continues to laugh at me.
"Tell me, how long have we been running now?", I just change the subject.
"Mhmm... about 40 minutes," he shrugs. 40 minutes it is. I've never really tested it, but I guess that's my limit too, what I can manage to run for real.
"What was that shit about anyway! What would have happened if I hadn't kept up? I didn't even know where we were. How was I supposed to find my way home?", I ask, upset, moving closer to him, bracing my hands left and right next to his legs and looking at him angrily.
"And besides, that was pretty childish of you," I just rant, pointing my finger at him in between warnings.
"Apparently you recover very quickly, just like you can grumble again," he continues to laugh at me. And so slowly I get really angry.
"That's not funny, Mikey! What if I had fallen down and hurt myself? That would have been quite possible in those bathing slippers," without me realizing it I move closer to him, frantically tapping my index finger on his chest to make my annoyance more obvious.
"Don't worry, if you hadn't come after me, I would have come back. And if you had fallen and hurt yourself, I would have taken you home or to the hospital. But that's not the case, so no need to get so upset! That was fun, wasn't it?" he grins at me. That grin is driving me crazy and yet I can't help but shake my head.

"Mikey... wouldn't you tell Kenny about what I told you earlier?", I suddenly ask gently.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰