His Truth

III

CHAPTER THREE - Ethan
His Truth

"Kid, hurry up! You're behind three steps!" I frustratedly sighed, clicking my ttilted my head sideways and blankly stared, focusing on his sequence. He's been repeating it for the past four hours and constantly making the same mistake all over again.

"Wrong! Kick and spin forward, then jump and slide!" I barked, showing a hint of annoyance. What the hell is he doing? "Backward then kick." I huffed. "Why aren't you getting it?"

He's better than this...

"Well, excuse me Ethan for always f'cking things up, okay?" He blatantly glowered, continuing the sequence, taking me aback. Though I kept my poker face, I mentally sighed.

Of course, he had to be stressed. He's a normal (yet technically not even near normal) Human being with emotions if that isn't the most obvious thing in this entire world. I've been pressuring him to finish learning the seventh stance for the past couple of days and putting a deadline for him by today. For sure, he's keeping his pace up but I fully understand him. Learning a stance cannot be done in just a span of days. It takes months, at the minimum, to fully execute it perfectly.

I sighed, But still, we cannot stop now.

"Why am I even...learning the seventh stance...this fast...Ethan?" He paused between phrases and stopped, trying to balance himself with both hands on his knees. He is panting and dripping with sweat.

"You...said a stance won't be needed...for me to go to...the Capitol, remember?" He managed to breathe out in between pants.

I exhaled, loud enough for him to hear that I'm very f'cking stressed as well. Yes, of course I remember. It's just that— "Continue doing the sequence, James." I drawled as I turned and slowly marched towards the hut. I continued, announcing under my breath, "We have no time left. We're leaving tomorrow."

I paused as I heard him growl. "Why are you being so f'cking insensitive, Ethan? Can't we just go without the seventh stance? You're just tiring the shit out of—"

"No!" I shouted, cutting him off as I glanced back, I saw him flinch at my sudden outburst. His face had shocked written all over it. I, for the longest time, saw a hint of fear in his eyes. Of course, I had to go out of control in front of him. I sighed, regretting raising my voice. I walked a few steps towards him yet stopped when I saw him slowly back away. I lowered my tone as I fixated my gaze on him, "You need to learn the seventh stance, James. End of story."

"You don't need to shout about it..." He hung his head low as he mumbled under his breath in the smallest of voice, I almost didn't catch it. James slowly tread to where he was previously at and decided to take stance and probably learn the sequence he was constantly failing to perfect. He muttered with the same tone yet I swear I heard him break a syllable, "I've never heard you this angry before..."

I sighed in a shaky breath, raking my right hand through my hair. I closed my eyes to calm myself for a bit and walked over to him.

Oh gods, I'm becoming unbearable.

He glanced at me with that blank pout on his face. He still continued to do the sequence at a purposely sluggish pace but stopped in his tracks when he felt me standing behind him. He flinched, bracing himself. When I saw him slightly hesitating to hug his sides, the side of my lips unconsciously twitched into a curl.

I quiveringly exhaled and wrapped my arms around his torso and rest my head between his neck and shoulders. I breathed in his sweaty nape. He smelled like minty coconuts, his usual scent, despite him drenched in perspiration. I heard him lightly gasp then slightly shiver at the sudden contact. He flinched then reluctantly relaxed seconds after, slumping his back onto my chest. I knew that he knew that I was only doing this to calm myself down.