I'm the Secret You'll Swear to Keep

/Eight/

Late release, so sorry!

You'll love it, Pete said. You'll get addicted, Will said.

He's not.

It's only his sixth lap around the track, and he's barely jogging. He's sure Pete's at least on his thirteenth by now. How long has it been?

His blue eyes peek at the clock. Only twenty minutes? It feels like an hour. They've been here since two, and it started with a little walking to warm up. Patrick walks constantly, so that wasn't the issue. When they started running, Patrick couldn't do it. He was winded after his second lap, and he got yelled at for walking.

"You're doing great, babe." Pete says, his breathing mildly affected. How often does he run?

"I ca-can't anymo-more." Patrick whines.

"Come on, Stump!" Will yells.

"Coach, ease up, he doesn't train like us." Pete calls.

"I want two miles from him. That's what I start all agents off with."

Patrick's stopped moving. "P-Pete, no-o more ru-unning."

"Walk them."

"He-e yells."

"Ignore him."

"Wentz! Keep going! I want five in thirty-five minutes!"

"That's imposs-possible." Patrick mutters.

"I've been training for a while, babe."

"Wentz!"

"Yes, sir." Pete plants a kiss to Patrick's red cheek before sprinting off.

"Run, Stump!"

"I can't!" He cries out. He wants to cry and give up. This is torture. Pure torture.

"Look at me," Coach is now standing in front of him. "You can do it. I know you can."

"N-No." He's gonna cry. He wants Pete.

"Yes, listen to me, okay? You've got two laps left. That's it. You're doing fine. You're not the worst I've coached." He pauses. His voice hushes to something softer. "How about we make a deal?"

"O-Okay."

"You run until you get to the curve of the track. You can walk the curves."

"Wa-alk the curves and ru-u-un the straight parts?"

"Exactly. Can you do that for me?" He asks, offering Patrick a water bottle.

Patrick nods. He takes a long sip before starting to run. It's tough, and his knees ache. Pete's blowing by him at record speed. Patrick finishes his seventh lap, earning a high five and some praise. Pete finishes his twentieth just before his time limit, and also earns some praise. Patrick's feet drag as he runs, losing hope.

"You're doing great, 'Tricky." Pete's now jogging next to him.

It encourages him to go faster, and together the two run past Coach.

"Good job, Patrick!" Will cheers.

It makes him smile. And Pete does too. It appears he's barely been sweating, and his cheeks are merely pink. Patrick's a sweaty red blob, and it's making him self-conscious.

"I want to shower." Patrick mumbles.

"Now?" Coach frowns. "We've got a little more than an hour left."

Patrick groans.

~~~

"I can't feel my body." Patrick drips with sweat, his hands smell of rusty metal. The weigh room was terrible. It turned into a sauna, and the several other people in there were staring at him.