️♥𝕾𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊♥

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 7 : 𝕹𝖊𝖜𝖘𝖕𝖆𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕭𝖆𝖗𝖇𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖘

Gideon's POV

Knowing I only have four years left to live is a heavy thought to carry around, and yet, I don't want to spend another minute worrying about things I can't change. I've spent too much time thinking about the future, and not enough living in the present. So I'm going to focus on what I can do, even if it's something as simple as getting on my bike and delivering newspapers.

I cycle along the pathway as I throw newspapers at people's porches to my left and right. My doctor said that I need more physical exercise, so i decided to go on nightly runs after dinner and i plan to work out at the gym whenever i get free time, I should call Julian and ask him to help me out, he works out a lot to maintain his physique for swimming.

I cycle as i near Julian's house. I see him already standing outside his porch watering his milkweed, he turns and finds me opposite to his house and beckons me over. I walk towards him  and wave "Hey Jules! Don't you have swimming practise right now"? "No, I still have half an hour left" he replies. I quickly ask him about helping me out at the gym and he agrees deciding the time with me and going over the details. I then pass his newspaper over to him and bid farewell to him as i walk back to my cycle.

"Wait, are you going to Oasis right now"? Julian asks. "Yeah, after i drop off a few more newspapers, why"? i tilt my head towards the street as i question him. "Just wait a few minutes i'll come along with you" he says wiping the grime from his hands onto his jeans and rushes into his house. After a few minutes of waiting he exits his house with his swim pack slung loosely from his shoulder. I gesture my cycle and urge him to get on the back while I hang his bag from the side of the handle.

He puts his arms around my waist as i feel my cheeks heat up, that's weird i've never felt this way. I turn back to him to see his face skewed with embarrassment, "Are you scared of riding on a bike"? I ask as my lips raise with amusement. "I guess i'm just more used to driving a car" he says as he darts his eyes away from me while chewing on his lip nervously. I couldn't help but tease him when he tried to act tough while looking like he might flee at any second from the sight of a bike.

I ride on as I drop a the newspapers on my way with a few people shouting at me "Stop throwing the papers"! Me and Julian laugh "Are you that lazy that you can't get off your cycle and place the papers neatly instead of throwing them"? he asks. "Now what would be the fun in that"? I grin turning my head back to face him. I cycle nimbly across the street with Julian screaming in a frenzy of exaltation, clinging to me tightly. I then swiftly come to a stop at Oasis and get off the cycle with Julian tailing behind me "The show is over" I say bowing to him. He rolls his eyes laughing as he walks toward the door.

I unlock the door to my studio with my keys and sit in front of my painting, the setting around me feels comfortable, every time I paint I feel like i'm transported into the artwork I do and I love that feeling, it's a feeling close to home. I'm almost done with my swan painting as i heave a sigh of contentment. I try to look for the small errors and let my brush take control of my hand. After a few hours I get up knowing that this is the usual time that Julian finishes his practise and i go down to the swimming pools to see him going into the locker room to pack his things.

I wait till he comes out to walk up to him "Hey you ready to go to the gym now"? I ask. "I'm not doing anything since i'm really tired from swimming, but i'll just help you out and teach you a few techniques" he says as i notice the circles under his eyes, he must be really tired right now i should have been more considerate of how he felt. I apologise as i lead us both out the door.

"Nah it's fine i really don't mind" he says, getting behind me on the cycle. I feel my chest get heavy while he wraps his arms around me. Oh no, it's that feeling again i should probably just ignore it. We ride up to Planet Fitness (Author's note : it's a real gym in Brattleboro) and park the cycle near the curb.

"I'm kinda nervous" I tell Julian as i shy my eyes away from his face. "You'll be fine, don't worry" he says shooing away all my earlier anxiety as we enter the gym. "Wow, it's REALLY purple" I say laughing. "Yeah i guess that's kind of the theme" he replies chuckling. The distinct smell of sweat washes over me as we walk. and I find quite a few people around, not too crowded though, I think to myself. We walk to a small corner near the huge mirror and as a warm up we start doing some cardio exercises while jumping i turn to Julian to see him not breaking a sweat at all, how can someone look good and not perspire while working out! It's simply unfair. He said he wasn't going to do anything at the gym but I guess he changed his mind, I feel really bad though since he must be exhausted from swimming for so long.

 We then run on the treadmill, this is my favourite part of the gym! I usually like running so it was quite fun, my dad used to work out all the time and sometimes he would take me to the treadmill and I would watch him run, I sigh as the memory makes my heart get heavy. Then comes my least favorite part, weightlifting. I suck ass at it, my useless muscles shake as I try to lift a simple 18 pounds weight. "Come on, man. Just 9 more times" Julian tries to encourage me as he watches me struggle while he lifts way more than I ever could. We move to the barbells, and I lie back on the bench, Julian leaning over me, his face inches from mine as he prepares to spot me. My heart races, and I can feel the heat rushing to my face. This is fine. It's fine. I push the weight up with shaky arms, but it feels like my body is betraying me. I glance up at Julian, and his gaze is so close, his eyes focused, his lips parted slightly. My breath hitches.

Suddenly, I sit up, startled by how real the moment feels. "Uh, I think we've done enough for today," I stammer, standing quickly. I blush as his face inches closer and closer to mine. I get off the chair startled "Um I think we did enough" as if to show a response my arms quiver. Oh shit that's really embarrassing, i think while forcing my hands to stop making me look like a fool. "Yeah, okay..." he says looking equally embarrassed. 

Oh my god, why do i keep getting this weird feeling whenever i'm around him? I don't know what's happening... but I can't ignore it anymore.

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