The Gravity of Tempered Grace [Luke]

“I happen to read plenty, thank-you-very-much,” I frown as though I’ve been hurt by his retort. In truth, I wasn’t as voracious a reader as he probably was, but… that didn’t mean that he had to know. Reading wasn’t necessarily all that important—it wasn’t something that interested me—not that I knew just exactly what interested me in the first place. I wiped an arm across my forehead and mock-threw the sweat down onto the ground. He’d no doubt be disgusted. He seemed like the type of boy that liked everything pristine and pretty, which was odd, considering careers were supposed to revel in the idea of draining the bodily fluids from their opponents. I opened my mouth again, but he was already up from his seat and ready to go.

“You’re right, I have gotten a little bit bigger, but I’m putting it on so that I can cut some of it and look even bigger. And at least I’m not looking as thin and scrawny as someone else,” I snipe back at him, though he’s a few steps in front of me now. I don’t really want to hurt his feelings. It already feels as though I’m losing him, what with the fact that Jemmifer wasn’t even putting up a fight against me. I took off at a jog again and began to follow him. Once I’d reached where he was I began to jog in place, at his speed, with a grin on my face. It was still fun to act absolutely goofy around him, I found. There was just something about flabbergasting him that made me… excited.

“You know, it’s actually better for me to have someone around to challenge me, and push me harder to burn off some of this extra weight,” I say as I huff and puff along. The heat of the sun singes into me and I can feel the sweat dripping down my back. For a moment, I’m struck at how he looks in the sun—his silvery blond hair gleaming—and am almost thrown off my rhythm. If I could get him to crack a smile, just even a little one, I think I’d be happy. I shake off the thought and start to jog backwards in front of him. It’s a little tough to keep pace, and I turn for a moment to make sure no one’s in my way before proceeding.

“Hey… now… listen,” My voice is lower now as I hunch my body forward some. As much as Jem has tried my nerves, as much as he pricks me like a thorn in my side, I can’t help but feel something else for him. It hurt to think that he’d let someone—anyone—get away with what they were doing to him. I’d been confused at first, and then… angry. Even though it was none of my business, it made me riproaring made when I’d been in the gym and seen the piece of trash’s face that had done that to Jem. We exchanged glances at the water fountain, and his smirk all but caused me to seethe with rage. I very nearly broke the arm of the boy I’d been wrestling because of it. He’s got to know that I’m here for him. It was strange, taking to Jem in a way I’d never really taken to anyone.

My friends were all… well, none of them mattered so much to me. The only ones that had ever mattered were my brother and sister. I’d never had someone that I’d wanted to truly protect before. No one that was worth defending. Not that he should have needed it. But still, I wasn’t going to just let him walk away from me and shut me out. “Why don’t you help me train, you’re good at whipping me into shape, Jemmy. I need someone that’s going to yell and get my heart rate up. And I bet you wouldn’t mind helping me reach my… physical peak…” I say the last bit with a wink, still jogging backwards in front of him.

I could tell that I had worn him down. Sometimes, it’s how I worked best. He was in a place where he needed someone, that was for certain, and I wasn’t above pushing him until he let me inside. And after all, what better way to do that than to give him control over me. He liked that sort of thing, didn’t he? And it wasn’t as though I didn’t mind that sort of thing, either. So it was music to my ears when I saw that he was obliging me in what I’d asked. As he came to a halt I continued to run up and down in front of him, almost comically so.

“Hey, that’s okay, I don’t mind going the extra distance with you,” I say as I think about the distance between here and his more than palatial estate. It also seemed as though his mood had changed some—for the better, if he wasn’t thinking about what had been hurting him—and I didn’t even mind so much his look of disdain that he was trying to give me. Because it’s hard enough to resist, I know it. And I was not one to take something lying down well not here because the more that he pushed the greater I was going to push back. He could be as smug as he wanted, but I knew that I could chip away and see what was really sitting underneath.

“And who are you calling tubby?” I make a face as I move my hands down my sweaty chest and slide down to my stomach. I grab a handful of my skin—the bulk of which was water weight, I swear—and wiggle it some for him. I stick out my tongue and get back to grinning. “You know that the only way to get bigger is to put the weight on and burn it off again, right? Got to have something to push you to that next step…”

I also made sure to note that I didn’t alter Jem’s name in the future… unless he really deserved it. Because inevitably, he would. But for now, I suppose I could call him by his given name. I moved to put a hand on his back and wipe my sweat onto him with a wide grin. It seemed like just the right thing to do at that moment—sometimes I amaze myself with the ideas that I have. “All right Jem, it’s a deal. Now why don’t we get back to your place and you can change, and I can do some sit-ups while I wait…”

The slap against my arm made me grin. It was playful, not meant to harm, but showed me that Jem certainly wasn’t going to be bullied. I opened my mouth in mock surprise, feigning injury on my arm, only to laugh at his calling me gross. I was many things, so much more than gross. And as I looked to him then I didn’t see so much the boy that had been shaking in bed, or the one that had locked me out on the balcony. It was a warmer Jem, one that almost seemed human enough to want to hang around. His expression changed as we made our way along the park, through the winding streets towards the more exclusive end of the district. Large homes were surrounded by tall, leafy hedges to block out the compounds behind them from view. We edged along the row of houses until at last we came to the Morgan mansion, one of the most storied homes in the district.

He led me through the back door and into the expansive white kitchen, one that was as meticulous as he, and I brought my arms up across my chest in a shiver. The air conditioning made the hair on my skin stand, and I realized then just how coated in sweat I was. It was nice enough to get inside though, and I wondered if his mother was anywhere around. Despite my mingling with the snobs of District One, I’d yet to see the elusive mayor up close. The thought of her in this kitchen—as if she would ever come to where the servants would come—seemed laughable to me. No, it would be some other time, I had the feeling that we would get a chance to cross paths.

“Wait here… If you’re hungry or thirsty, the cooks can get you something while I change.” With that he flitted out the door and up the stairs, and I was left to my own devices. I was particularly hungry after my run—though I knew that we would soon be heading back out again—and decided against my better judgment that I would take him up on his offer. A ham and cheese sandwich, with slices of apple, some yogurt, maybe a few chocolate chip cookies… All of it whipped up in a hurry, despite their glares at my shirtless physique, placed on a piece of china in front of me. I set about finishing it quickly, though it seemed as though Jem was taking more time than I thought… I had thought him more the decisive type, that he would know what he wanted and be down again in a flash, but such my luck, and I kept eating.

When Jem rounded a corner I was halfway through my last bite of my sandwich, and I gave a grin as I sank my teeth into it. A few drops of mustard splatter onto the plate below, and as he asked if I were ready, I downed the last bite and nodded my head. “Oh yesh—o’ course—“ I spoke with my mouth full, suddenly ignoring all the etiquette classes that I’d been forced to endure. There was just something more natural and freeing, speaking to Jem, than having to put on a show in front of everyone else. I dabbed at my lips with a napkin before letting out a belch. “I do believe that I’m ready… I just hope that you happen to be…”