[Silver]

“You’re kidding me…” Kurai looked down at the clothes that his girlfriend picked out for him, and he almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The neon colored stretchy spandex clung to his body in an uncomfortable way. It was clinging to him and showing off every wrinkle and bump in his skin. It was eye blindingly bright; his eyes hurt just from looking at it.

“You look awesome!” Tara cheered. She stuck both of her thumbs up in the air for encouragement.

“Are you sure about this…?” Kurai grumbled, tugging at the hem of his singlet.

[Silver]

“C’mon, you promised,” Tara said in the way only she could.

Kurai let out a little defeated sigh. He knew that she was right and there was nothing he could do to change that. Somehow, she had encouraged him to agree, and he had. He was grumpy and dramatic, sure, but he wasn’t a liar or a dealbreaker. He was going to go through with this, whether he liked it or not.

“After you,” Tara bowed toward the door dramatically. There was a huge smile on her face that suggested she found her own joke hilarious.

[Silver]

He shook his head and started toward the door. As he passed her, she stood up straight and enthusiastically tapped him on the butt with her palm. It looked like it was going to be a full fledged slap, but she slowed down just in time to not hurt him. He still jumped up into the air and blushed furiously.

“Tara!” he hissed. She merely laughed and walked past him and out the front door.

He squinted at the sunlight that bathed him as he stepped out into the outside world. He was really much more of a night person. The high morning sun made his eyes hurt. It was like he couldn’t think about anything else.

[Silver]

Tara took a deep breath of the warm spring air. It brought a huge grin to her face. The sun didn’t seem to bother her at all. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?” she mused aloud. Though she knew he would disagree, she got some kind of enjoyment out of asking.

“Can’t we come back when it’s cool and dark out?” Kurai whined. He was already starting to sweat, something he very much did not like to do.

“That’s not how it works. You have to exercise in the morning.”

[Silver]

“Why? Who made that rule? It’s a dumb rule.”

“Yea, but it’s still a rule!”

“We could do this at night when I’m all done with everything for the day, when it’s nice and cool and the sun isn’t trying to kill me, and then I could flop right into bed and not be sore all day.”

“You’d be too tired to do it at night time, you have to do it when you first wake up and still have all the energy for the day! Then you do the stuff you have to do because you have no choice.”

[Silver]

“If you think I wake up full of energy, I don’t know who I’ve been living with this whole time.”

Tara laughed and patted Kurai on the back. He would get there eventually. Nobody liked to start exercising, but she knew that, once he got there, he would start enjoying himself. It was good for his body and his soul. She would try to tell him that, but she knew that it would be a futile conversation. Instead, she had to bribe him to come along until he decided to do it for himself.

[Silver]

The two of them wandered at a walking pace toward the local park. They lived in a nice, cheery suburban area that wasn’t too far from a school, a playground, and a place to walk around a track. It was picturesque, really. Needless to say, Kurai hated it.

As they approached the park, other people started to come into view. Especially the joggers wearing bright neon clothes not unlike the ones they were wearing. They stood out like a sore thumb against the bright green grass and the dark pine trees that lined the further half of the path.

[Silver]

“Okay, I’ve had enough. Time to go home…” Kurai turned on his heels and started walking back to where they came from.

“Kurai,” Tara said firmly. “You can’t give up now, we’re so close!”

“I didn’t realize there would be other people out here this early,” he said.

“Of course there are! Didn’t I just say that it was a rule?”

“It’s not funny. I want to go home.”

“Kurai, it’s okay. Nobody is going to notice you.”

“I beg to differ,” he said, tugging at his neon clothes for emphasis.

[Silver]

“That’s silly. Everyone is wearing bright clothes, just like you. They’re not going to think anything of you.”

There was a sad, desperate look in Kurai’s eyes. He wanted to follow through with what he said he would do, but he felt embarrassed to be seen doing it. His past experiences had trained him to avoid others, and he was having a hard time overcoming it. Even for Tara.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want,” Tara said sincerely, “but I would be really proud of you if you did. I promise that nobody will laugh at you. … and if they do, I’ll punch ‘em right in the groin!”

[Silver]

Tara made some exaggerated punching motions and put a soft smile on her face. She knew that Kurai didn’t really like being around others, but she wanted to encourage him to try anyway. It was all she could do. She accepted before they walked out the door that this might be how it ended, and they would just have to try again later.

“You’ll stay by me, right? And not run ahead?” Kurai finally said after a long silence.

“Of course I will. Always.”

“Okay, I think I’m ready to try. Just… one lap, alright?”

“Just one lap,” she said with a nod.

[Wild Pet Found]