(STRESS RUN)

"River, slow down," I tell him.

"Stress run is exactly what it is a run," he says as he comes to a halt to wait for me.

I catch up to him and take a deep breath, my legs wanting to give out when I stand next to him.

We were on this stress run because River asked the cute ginger head girl on a date and she said yes. You would think that's great but my brother is simply an overthinker and has no idea what to do for the date.

"I see . . no reason . . . for this," I tell him, heaving as I try to regulate my breathing.

"Well that's because you haven't been on a perfect date," he says beginning to jog lightly in respect for me.

I jog slowly alongside him, "Just take her to a movie or something it's just the first date,"

"But what if she's like really classy and wants dinner,"

"Then go to dinner afterwards," I say, "I'm sorry, I am just not seeing the problem here,"

"I don't know, I just really fucking like her," he says stopping again but jogs on the spot.

I stop with him but don't jog in the spot, I smile slightly, "You're making me believe all boys act like this, stop it," I joke.

River is the type of guy who will never be scared to communicate his feelings when he gets close to you; if you go on a few dates with him, he'll profess his love to you and leave +the ball in your court.

He feels it's best to get it over with; if you like him back and believe you can return the same passion he provides, there's no use in wasting time; if you don't, don't waste his time making him believe you're madly in love with him.

I agree with him in certain areas but not others; I don't believe you should rush into a relationship with someone who seems to love you back. But he'd disagree because River is a really sympathetic person. The person who would bring you fruits while you were doing your schoolwork or offer to pay for your ice cream. Acts of service are his love language.

"She's gonna love whatever you do, I'm sure," I tell him.

He takes a deep breath and smiles with a nod, "You're right,"

"Can we please go home now?" I beg, feeling the scorching burn in my legs that would undoubtedly be sore the next day.

"Sure, but I need to get some snacks from that store a few blocks down," he continues, making me groan in frustration.

We practically walk to the shop because if I have to use my legs for anything other than walking, I might just collapse.

When we get there River offers to buy basically whatever I can hold, so obviously being the younger sister I am, I fill my hands to the point where things are falling out.

I take a turn into one of the rows looking for a pack of blue Skittles when one of my sour patch kids drop.

I groan lightly, but when I look down to see where it is, it isn't there. I quickly look back up to see Christian with the snack in his hand.

He places back onto my pile with an arched brow, "What does someone so small do with some many snacks?"

I wait as his eyes slowly take me in, and it's only then that I realize I'm wearing short tights for working out with a matching top, but luckily River's sweatshirt I asked to wear covers my upper body.

Christian always seems to have two styles, overly fancy and extremely casual. Unfortunately, I get to notice the latter.

He wears short great sweats with a dark navy hoodie and a white t shirt peeks out the bottom of his hoodie. He wears his usual necklace but I notice it has a few letters U and O on two of the beads.

"I can tell you what a girl this small does actually, and it's minds her business, you should take some tips," I tell him.

He chuckles lightly and I walk past him before spotting the blue Skittles, I reach my hand forward a bit but I feel the pile slipping.

I mentally curse myself, I should probably give up but I really want those Skittles, maybe I can sacrifice one for one.

I quickly scan the pile with my eyes but suddenly a blue Skittles get placed at the top.

"I think that's all you can hold," River tells me and I laugh softly as we make our way towards the cashier.

Christian is trying to pay for a bottle of vodka in front of us. Clearly, he's having problems, and even though he is turning nineteen this year, it doesn't really matter. I hear him attempt to bribe the guy by suggesting he'd pay more, but he refuses.

"When shit, unless you turned twenty-one about sixteen hours ago, I can't see how you're getting this bottle today," the man says from behind the counter.

"Wait, shit is that Christian?" River whispers to me and I nod.

River hadn't seen Christian since we were thirteen years old. Obviously, since then Christian had grown eight inches taller and grew a lot more muscular. His features were still the same but a lot darker than when we were younger. His voice is obviously not the same, it's a lot more husky  and deep now, along with the poshness in his stupid voice.

His smile is almost never noticeable, even though back when he had braces he'd love to smile I guess now after everything that's happened it's hard for him to find happiness in anything.

River takes a step towards them, "I'm buying it, he was just holding it for me," he says, pulling out his wallet to give the man his ID.

River motions for me to come up, and I set the snacks on the table while he pays for everything. He thanks the man and when we go outside he hands Christian the bottle.

"You didn't need to do that," Christian says and for once I agree with him.

"I was your age once, I'd want someone to do it for me, but just so we've got this clear I didn't buy that for you," River tells him.

A noise sounds in his throat like a laugh as one of the corners of his lips rises, "You guys walking? I could drive you if you want," he says.

"We're good," I say before River can, but he doesn't catch the hint.

"Are you sure, I thought you said you were gonna collapse if we had to take another step,"

I close my eyes for a few seconds and take a deep breath before I glance at my brother, "Thank you for saying that," I say.

"But we want to get home safely and not with someone who's drinking," I gesture to the bottle.

"I'm waiting until I get home, I'm not that reckless," he says.

"We'll take the lift," River says, not giving me a second more to protest.

I roll my eyes as he leads us toward his car, I'd only ever seen Christian ride his bike, but I wasn't exactly surprised at the fact that he also owed a car.

The tint is almost certainly banned, the rims are black, and the car itself is black. It's a blacked-out Audi Rs7. The only thing that would draw your attention to this car after dark would be the headlights.

Cars aren't my speciality but I can appreciate a nice car, the interior has soft black leather with red accents to frame practically everything in the car.

I can basically see River's mouth on the floor from the backseat, "Don't drool in his car, he'll say you owe him a thousand dollars for detailing,"

I notice the small smile on his face in the rearview mirror as he pulls out of the parking lot. Because River called shotgun like a child, I was stranded in the backseat.

"How fast can this thing go?" River asks.

Christian gives him a short glance before returning his gaze to the road. "If I push it, a little over two hundred," he replies.

River struggles to hold back the gasp when his eyes widen, "Have you actually gone that fast?"

Christian nods and chuckles a bit, "But if you want fast you should try a bike, you feel the speed,"

"A bike, what are your calves? Flash," River says.

I immediately want to facepalm, "River shut up, you're embarrassing me," I tell him.

After hearing a few more conversations about cars and turbo engines, I'm two snacks short when Christian finally pulls up to our house. I didn't even realize how far away we ran.

"Thanks for the ride, dude," River tells him giving him a quick fist bump as I exit the backseat.

"It's the least I could do," he tells him.

As I walk up to the house I turn around just a bit, "Get home safely," I say.

He smiles a bit, "Thanks,"

⋅───⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰───⋅

𝗼. ⁞ 𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒 !

Hey guys, chapter six is completed, I greatly do hope that you liked this chapter. Again let me know your opinions and how I can improve the book. Chapter seven is coming soon.

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