G.R.O.W.T.H

~ Ethan's Pov, back at Ryan's house ~

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I went home, wanting to get today's events off my mind.

I guess one way to look at it would be that I was paying nearly a thousand dollars less on my rent. That was good… Right?

Still, my mind kept circling back to that whole mess at the diner. The way Josh came at me, the way Lena looked at me, like she was trying to piece something together. And that weird, annoying tightness in my chest when I saw her all broken up over some other guy.

I ran a hand down my face. Whatever. It was over.

I climbed the stairs, deciding to talk to Ryan about it all. Maybe venting would help get it out of my system. Or maybe he'd just call me an idiot. Either way, at least it'd be a distraction.

I knocked on his door. A second later—

"If you're here to whine, just know I'm charging a therapist fee."

I huffed, shoving the door open. "Yeah, yeah... Put it on my tab."

Ryan was sitting on his couch, scrolling through his phone with one hand, a protein shake in the other. He barely glanced up. "Lemme guess. Your little 'prior commitment' turned into some kind of natural disaster?"

I flopped onto the chair across from him. "Man... You have no idea."

Ryan smirked, finally looking up from his phone. "Oh, I have some idea. You've got that 'I-just-got-dragged-into-bullshit' look all over your face."

I let out a slow breath, leaning back in the chair. "Lena's ex showed up."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, setting his phone down. "Her ex?"

"Yeah. Some guy named Josh."

Ryan let out a low whistle. "Damn. That was fast. What, was he stalking her or something?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Probably saw us together and lost his shit. Tried to start a fight with me in the middle of a diner."

Ryan's smirk widened. "And? What'd you do?"

"Well, I flipped him."

Ryan blinked. Then snorted... "Wait, what?"

I rolled my shoulders, still feeling some tension from the whole thing. "Dude tried to grab me. I used his own momentum against him."

Ryan shook his head, laughing. "You flipped him? Like full-on, over-the-shoulder, straight out of a damn action movie?"

"Pretty much."

Ryan leaned forward, grinning. "And here I was worried all that training wasn't sticking."

I exhaled, rubbing my temples. "Yeah, well, I didn't want to fight the guy. He just came at me swinging."

Ryan leaned back, crossing his arms. "So, what, Lena call you up crying about him, then?"

I hesitated. "Sort of."

Ryan scoffed. "Unbelievable. Bro, I told you she was bad news."

"She's not—" I stopped myself, exhaling. "I don't know. She was a mess. I just figured I'd hear her out."

Ryan gave me a pointed look. "And?"

"...And nothing. Took her out to eat, tried to cheer her up, then her ex showed up acting like a jealous idiot. That's all."

Ryan studied me for a second, then shook his head. "You're getting too involved, man."

I frowned, "I'm not getting involved."

Ryan tilted his head. "Really? So that weird look on your face when you walked in—totally nothing to do with her?"

I exhaled through my nose. "It's just—" I hesitated, then sighed. "I don't know. I can't explain it."

Ryan watched me for a few seconds, then clicked his tongue. "Yup. You're screwed."

I groaned, running a hand down my face, "I hate you."

Ryan grinned, picking up his phone again. "Nah dude, you love me."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah... Anyway, I'm using the ten-pound weights on my body today for training."

Ryan paused mid-scroll, then slowly looked up at me. "...You, what?"

"I'm using the ten-pound weights." I repeated, stretching my arms out. "Strapping them on before we start."

Ryan squinted at me, then scoffed. "Right now? You just got back from dealing with all that Lena crap, and your big idea is to throw extra weight on yourself like some kind of anime protagonist?"

I shrugged it off. "Might as well make the day worth something."

Ryan let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "Damn. You're really spiraling, huh?"

I scowled. "I'm not spiraling."

"Uh-huh. So it has nothing to do with the fact that your ex almost kissed you, then her jealous-ass boyfriend tried to fight you, and now you're weirdly pissed about something you won't even admit?"

I clenched my jaw. "...It's about getting stronger." At least, strong enough for that underground tournament thing I've got going on soon.

Ryan just gave me a deadpan look. "Sure. And I train every day because I love waking up at 5 AM."

I exhaled through my nose, ignoring him as I moved to grab the weighted straps. Ryan watched me with the kind of expression someone has when they know their friend is being stupid, but they also know they can't stop them.

"Alright, fine. You wanna destroy your legs today? Be my guest," he said, standing up. "But don't start crying when you can't even walk up the stairs later."

I smiled, securing all the weights around my calves and wrists... "Wouldn't even dream of it."

Ryan shook his head, muttering, "Dumbass."

I didn't argue. Because maybe I was being a dumbass.

But right now, I needed this.

Needed to push myself. Needed to focus on something that wasn't a girl from my past and the weird, frustrating feelings I couldn't shake off. Now, I'm wondering if this is really me, or the Ethan side of me that's getting affected by all this. Actually, that might be a decent enough explanation as to why I've been like this ever since that squabble...

"Alright, man." Ryan said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get to work."

And with that, training started again.

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Jogging for half an hour with 40 pounds of extra weight is not fun. 

At first, I thought it wouldn't be that bad. After all, it was just ten extra pounds on each limb—manageable, right?

Wrong.

By the ten-minute mark, my legs felt like lead. My arms weren't any better; every swing forward felt like I was essentially dragging bricks. Sweat dripped down my back, and my breathing was heavier than usual too. Every step had sent a dull ache up my thighs, and my calves were screaming at me to stop.

Ryan, the ever sadistic bastard as he is, jogged alongside me like this was entertainment.

"Man~" he said, barely winded, "This is even funnier than I thought it'd be."

I shot him a glare. "Bite. Me."

Ryan smirked. "Tempting, but I think watching you suffer is enough for now."

I gritted my teeth and kept pushing forward.

I needed this.

Even as exhaustion crept in. Even as my thoughts blurred between frustration, irritation, and that damn tightness in my chest that still hadn't fully gone away since the diner.

Lena.

Josh.

The way she looked at me. Hell, even the way I almost leaned in.

I forced the thoughts away and focused on my steps. One foot in front of the other. Breathe in, breathe out.

By the time the thirty minutes were up, I practically collapsed onto the pavement, chest heaving.

Ryan crouched down next to me, grinning. "So, what'd we learn today?"

I groaned, barely lifting my head. "That I hate you."

He clapped me on the shoulder. "Good, good. Anything else?"

"That I might've... slightly overestimated myself."

Ryan snorted. "Understatement of the year brother."

I rolled onto my back, staring up at the sky. My whole body felt like dead weight. "You know... I do feel a little better, though."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

I nodded. "Or maybe I'm just too tired to think about anything else."

He laughed, standing up. "Well, that definitely works too."

I let out a slow breath, eyes closing for a moment. My mind wasn't totally clear, but at least now, the weight in my chest wasn't as bad as the weight on my limbs...

That was something. I'm gonna rest up and continue. I wanna get at least two hours in...

Ryan let out an exaggerated sigh towards me, "Dude, you just collapsed. Take the win and call it a day."

I shook my head, forcing myself to sit up. My arms felt like literal jelly, and my legs were still burning, but I wasn't done. Not yet... I feel I could go on despite this pain...

"I wanna get two more hours of exercise." I said, rolling my shoulders. "I can rest when I'm actually dead."

Ryan gave me a long, unimpressed stare. Then he let out a short laugh. "You're actually insane."

I smirked, pushing myself to my feet—albeit, much slower than I would've liked. My muscles protested immediately, but I ignored them.

"You sticking around, or you heading out?" I asked, stretching out my arms.

Ryan shook his head. "I'm not gonna stop you from making bad decisions, but I am gonna make sure you don't pass out in a ditch somewhere."

"Aww... You do care." I teased.

"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered. "Now hurry up. If we're doing this, we're not wasting time."

I nodded, rolling out my neck. My body was already screaming, but that was the whole point.

More pain. More focus. Less room for thoughts I didn't really want.

"Alright, let's go again."

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END