Weightless

2) Goals and Girlfriends

21st of January 2017

Both brothers have many clear memories of pestering each other when they wanted something, back when they were children.

For instance, Ethan would nag Cal until he agreed to walk down to the park with him or ask his mum for something that Ethan was too shy to. Or Cal would bother Ethan until he did his homework for him, hoovered their shared bedroom or did the dishes. Occasionally, it was all three.

Time changes a lot of things but pestering each other has never ceased.

"Cal?" Ethan asks, using the same voice that Cal does when he wants something. "Can I tell you something?"

Ethan can't keep it to himself; he just needs someone, anyone, to know. And of course, Cal is the first person who Ethan wants to tell his achievements to. It's never fun, being the one who never achieves their goals or does it last. This time, though, Cal will never hear the end of the banished two pounds of weight.

"Can it wait, Ethan?"

Ethan sighs and leans into the bathroom door frame a tad more. Cal is standing in the bathroom, where he had been alone until Ethan had walked straight in, doing his hair and just being Cal, really. He's using more body spray than is healthy.

"Uh, not really."

Cal doesn't reply, closing his eyes and spritzing yet more body spray. Ethan chokes on the citrus polluted air, forced to take a step back at a very real risk of suffocation.

"I need to go soon, Ethan, so we can talk later," Cal says. He coughs too, but hides it badly. "Right, how do I look?"

"Fine. But you're going to kill her if you spray any more of that stuff, you know," Ethan says.

Ethan knows that Cal must be nervous if he's asking for an opinion on how he looks. It's usually a last minute resort when he does that.

Ethan takes the body spray from Cal. "It's probably not ideal to kill your girlfriend on the fifth or sixth date, to be honest."

Cal's anxiety and nervousness is rooted by the knowledge that in five minutes, he'll be off on another date with Mollie. That, apparently, is his new girlfriend who Ethan has heard far too much about. Honestly, Ethan hasn't heard the end of it.

"Uh. You might be right," Cal takes the body spray back defiantly. " Actually, I might shower again just to be sure I don't smell too strong. You can't be too careful of these things, nibbles."

Ethan leans against the wall in Cal's room, which is typically untidy, and sighs. "You can't shower again, Cal, as you're meeting her at six. It's almost six now."

Cal drops the can with a clatter onto the desk. "Shit, really? Damn it! We need to go."

"Uh, what do you mean by 'we'? I'm not going on a date with her!"

"It's for moral support, Eth. And you can even tell me what you're so pleased about as we drive there. Sound good?"

Ethan doesn't need anymore convincing than that.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A curtain of darkness falls over the landscape of buildings, which is visible through her wide window, and several paint splashes of white dot the sky. The clock resting on the smart night stand has just struck six in the evening.

Well, he's late, then.

Mollie Sanderson can only feel concern as to why he's running late, but decides to use this extra time for good. For example, she still needs to sort out her hair and finish her lipstick. It's not all bad. Mollie can make the best out of this.