Rosie's One-Shots

Merome: Kicking Rocks

:{Jerome's POV}:

After over ten years of being best friends, it took me up until now to notice that whenever Mitch was stressed or upset, he left everything behind but his phone and his earbuds and disappears for hours on end, walking around the neighborhood or the entire city.

One day, when he looked particularly sad, he told me he was going for a walk. "Can I come with? I need some fresh air." I asked, hoping he wouldn't turn me down. "Uh... Sure, if you want. I go for miles though." He replied. "That's good, I need a break anyway." I answered, getting up from my spot at the kitchen table to find my sneakers.

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We definitely walked for miles, I had no idea how he did it. He does this all the time, like seriously? And he just walked in silence. One earbud I'm and the other hanging, he just walked straight on for hours. I wonder what went on in that head of his.

It took me a few more times leaving with me to notice something else. He kept kicking the rocks. He found one in the sidewalk and kicked it, following it to where it ended up and kicked it again. And when the one he was focused on skipped out of his view, he just found a new one and started again with that.

One day, a few times after I noticed his fascination with the rocks, I asked him about it. "Why am I always kicking rocks? I dunno... I have since I was little. It's a whole other story though, you wouldn't care." He said, running his hands through his hair. "C'mon Mitch, tell me! Of course I'd care, I'm your best friend!" I replied, and he sighed. "Fine. If you insist." He said, pulling out his phone and pausing whatever song he was listening to.

"I've always walked when I was stressed or whatever. When I was upset if kick the rocks, because when I was littler I thought I was strong enough that when I kicked them they'd break. But as I got older I realized they wouldn't. Then I kicked them because I wanted to know that I wasn't the only thing being kicked around by everything around me. And then, a few years ago, I noticed something. That no matter how much I kicked and threw the rock that it wasn't going to break. And that's how I wanted to be. It's sounds weird comparing myself to a rock, but it's true. I wanted to be strong, so that whenever life tried to kick me around I didn't break. Kicking the rocks reminds me that I'm strong."

I looked at Mitch with a shocked expression, not knowing how to respond to that. "It's stupid, I know." He muttered, looking away from me. "No. I understand. Can I tell you something?" He looked back at me and nodded. "I can see how you compare yourself to a rock. You've kept me grounded so many times, Mitch. You've kept me stable and kept me from losing myself to the wind. I never knew how much I loved rocks until right now." I said, and Mitch looked taken aback. "Wow... I didn't know I meant that much..." He said after a moment. I sighed and shook my head, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "Of course you mean that much, Mitch. You always have." I told him, and he smiled at me. "Thanks, Jerome. You mean equally as much to me. Maybe more." I smiled back, and the two of us kept walking.

And while Mitch always kicked rocks, I made sure never to do so. The rocks reminded me too much of him.

::A/N::
Yes this was more of a brotherly Merome but I loved it all the same ~Rosie <3