Break of Dawn

02 | narcissus

RORY DIDN'T like summer.

She knew it was not the most popular opinion to have, but there was nothing about the season that actually appealed to her. Summer usually meant humidity, frizzy hair and a great amount of sunscreen lotion, it was too hot and overall uncomfortable and she didn't understand how people actually enjoyed it. Rory wasn't one of those people who got a nice tan after staying under the sun, unlike her father and brother, who had beautiful tanned mediterranean complexion, she'd skipped when it came to that part of her italian heritage, her skin was fair and the most she ever got from staying out in the sun was sunburn and the darkening of her signature face freckles.

Thus, she had been avoiding the outdoors like the plague. It was late August, but the temperatures were still hitting the eighties and Rory could not wait for summer to be over.

The sky was turning all shades of orange announcing dusk when she finally went out. The warmth felt almost unbearable, the air was muggy and Rory couldn't think of one reason as to why she'd agreed to go out running — of all things.

Her natural reaction to the heat was getting moody, hence, she scrunched her face when she saw Damien — in all of his glory — seemingly unfazed by the weather.

"Did you have to chose today, of all days, to go running?" It was senseless complaint, but she voiced it anyway.

She and Damien usually met at the same time on the same days every week. Running had been their thing since they were both still in high school and they had reincorporated it to their lives, adapting it to both their schedules, ever since Damien —coincidentally — ended up in the same college as her. Thursdays were one of the days they usually met, so it came to no surprise that they were actually there. Granted, Rory had tried taking a rain check, but Damien obviously had none of it. He had laughed her off and told her that the weather was just perfect for a run — go figure — when she complained about it.

She had once read an article that talked about how birth dates could affect people's relation to the weather. It had something to do with how most people tended to prefer the season in which they were born, mostly because that was their first frame reference of the world. She had no idea, whatsoever, if that was truth or not, but it certainly explained why she, a late October baby, preferred chiller weather, while Damien, born mid July, had no problem with the sweltering heat.

"Stop complaining and start stretching" Damien quipped, his gunmetal blue eyes rolling skyward as he stretched his left arm.

Rory scowled in annoyance but started stretching her legs. She could already feel her skin turning sticky, her shorts and sports bra starting to cling to her body while she thought about making a run for it — no pun intended.

They stretched for a few minutes before start jogging. There was a stillness in the sultry air as they took their beaten path along the park, the only sound she could hear were their trainers hitting the asphalt and her heavy breathing as Damien picked up his pace. Considering how hard it always was keeping up with his athlete rhythm, the hot weather only made it worse and it took her an herculean effort to stay by his side at all times.

An hour — and eight miles — later, they were back at their starting point. It usually took her at least two hours to complete that same route and Rory legitimately thought she would collapse by the time they came to a halt. Her breathing was ragged, her body drenched in sweat and even the hair in her ponytail is dripping — and she had no idea how that was even possible.

"Was the mad man pace really necessary?" Rory asked in between pants, both hands on her knees as she tried catching her breath

"I needed to blow off some steam" Damien answered simply. Rory looked up to notice how candid he seemed, the only sign he had been through any type of exercise was the sweat covering his chest.