Grey

Forty

[RORY]

Everything hurt as I cursed under my breath, doing my best to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I had Metallica blaring in my ears, hoping the aggression would get me through the pain as I glanced at the people around me. I loathed each and every one of them, seeing smiles and even some casually chatting.

Even in the most ideal setting, a light jog was torturous for me. Add jet lag, rain pelting your face and below freezing temperatures and my body was in a new kind of hell. I couldn't feel the tip of my nose, my ears were throbbing, my chest was aching and my legs were burning, but I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I only had a quarter mile left and while I knew I hadn't accomplished anything that impressive, I hoped with all of me my efforts would pay off.

I was so happy I could have cried as I spotted the finish line, immediately seeing Anna standing to the side. She waved, confirming she saw me too as she cheered. I knew I looked a mess as I finally came to a slow walk, hands on my hips to catch my breath.

"Jesus Christ," I gasped out, chest heaving. Anna walked over with a big smile, clapping her hands. "How come you look fine?!"

"I finished a bit ago," she laughed, handing me a water bottle. "You did great!"

"You don't have to lie to me," I laughed, taking a few big sips of the water. "I ran like, a fourth of what you did. I'm terrified to look in the mirror right now."

"Come off it, you still look pretty. All wind-swept and rosy."

I wasn't buying it as she gave me time to gather myself, the elephant in the room ever present. She raised her eyebrows at me knowingly as I exhaled a long breath, nodding nervously.

"I'm freaking out."

"Don't, he's going to lose his shit," she tried to reassure me, but I was still terrified. "Trust me, the boy is going to be so happy. Come on, he's probably in need of being saved about now anyway."

The rain picked up and Anna made room for me under her umbrella, guiding us through the crowd towards the ribbon tent. I could feel my heart nearly pounding out of my chest, seeing a sea of people - the majority female - knowing exactly what that meant.

"I mean, at least he's got to be good for sales."

"Precisely why he's on ribbon duty," Anna grinned, ushering me to the front of the line. "Good way to force him to smile, he's been pouting ever since he got the cast on."

I could hear Finn before I saw him, his familiar voice fueling my nerves. He spoke quietly but loud enough to be heard over the rain hitting the tent, listening to a girl ramble on and on about how much she adored him and the band. As always, he was polite and kind and gracious, agreeing to a photo. Anna tugged me to the side so we were covered by the tent, putting the umbrella away and simultaneously giving me a perfectly clear view of Finn.

I felt like I couldn't breathe, seeing him again. Oli was right by his side, the best sidekick ever, going through boxes and handing Finn what he needed. The sight was too much as I chewed on my lip, watching them.

I didn't have a chance to fully gather myself as Anna abruptly interrupted.

"We need 200 ribbons for this woman right here, please."

The ridiculous statement grabbed Finn's attention as he looked over, those soft brown eyes meeting mine. He was clearly rendered speechless, his jaw slightly agape as if he was going to say something - but nothing came out.

"Rory!" Oli beat Finn to it, rushing over to say hi. The table was blocking us but he didn't let that get in the way, crawling under. Anna was laughing but scolding him as he got all muddy, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I didn't know you were coming!"