False Start (Boyxboy)

35: DISCOMFORT ZONE

"Holy eyebags," Hiro teased as I approached him outside the schoolyard.

He was perched against the gate wearing black from head to toe, XC = HARDCORE printed across the front of his shirt.  It was the first time I'd seen him since he broke down in front of me.  On my way to meet him I'd been a bit nervous, anticipating that heavy mood redux, but his smirk was reassuring.

"Heh," I chuckled, extending my fist to bump against his.  "Long night."

Everything had been pale when I woke up that morning: my face, the sunlight, and the memories. But despite the disorder in my head, I felt better than I had in a long time.

Hiro gave me a once-over. "I bet, dude. Who is she?"

Oh, right. I accidentally texted him.

His eyes were hungry for information. It gave me a strange sense of pride.

"The girl?" He didn't know the truth behind my grin. "Uh, she's younger. She lives in my neighborhood."

He pulled at a strand of red hair, smug in my stead.  "Nice! That makes it easy to sneak around.  What's her name?"

I stuffed my hands in my pockets, thinking fast. "A-Aimi...."

Awkward.

Aimi was the name of my little cousin.

"That's cute.  Do you have a picture?"

Averting my eyes, I said, "No," and turned my body toward the street, hoping we could start walking and change the subject.  "It's nothing serious yet.  But, we drank some last night so I'm not exactly in the best condition for this run.  Just a forewarning."

Hiro patted my leg.  "But you are good to run?"

I nodded.

"All right, I'll take your word for it.  I'm wiped out from the meet earlier, so I'll be struggling too, but that's perfect."  He spread his legs, tucking his hands under his arms like he was mimicking Yamamoto's serious stance.  "Rule number one: to be better, you have you get comfortable with being uncomfortable."

"Hai, Coach!"

"Sooo...." He narrowed his eyes and studied me mischievously.  "What kind of stuff makes you uncomfortable?"

That took me aback.  A lot came to mind, none of which I felt like I could share with him.  And so I admitted the one thing that seemed the least daunting.

"Arts and crafts."

We both laughed, but I really did hate the stuff.  Trying to make that box in shop class, the one that Keiji put all our memorabilia in, had stressed me out more than a math test.

To my surprise, though, Hiro threw his arm around my shoulders, declaring, "I can work with that," as he led me away.

"Aren't we going to run?"

"Not yet."

We wound up at the convenience store on the corner closest to the school, the place our teammate Shun worked at.  I felt like a lost puppy shuffling up and down the aisles, trailing behind Hiro.  With his black attire and dyed hair he seemed like the type to cause trouble, which may be why the cashier called out to us.

"Is there anything I can help you two find?"

It was a guy a little older than us, hunched over the counter, a bored look on his face.  When Hiro noticed him, his eyebrows lifted in recognition, but his voice remained wary.

"Yeah, maybe...  Well, is Shun here?"

The guy held Hiro's piercing gaze.  "Not today.  You friends of his?"