Acquired Tastes

Chapter Three

Neil woke up the next morning to the smell of cigarette smoke. He propped himself up against his elbows, finding Roman lying sideways on his bed, one leg over the edge, the other knee raised, hoodie and shorts, staring blankly up at the ceiling, a cigarette between his lips. When Neil moved, Roman glanced over, then looked away, demeanor unchanged as he slowly lifted his hand to take the cigarette out, blowing a little cloud of smoke towards the ceiling.

"Could you not have opened the window?"

"It's by your bed," Roman replied, voice uninterested. He stuck the cigarette back in, speaking around it. "We can trade if you fuckin want."

"Maybe if you'd gotten here on time you could have had some say in that," Neil said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. He crouched beside his dresser, collecting the clothes he needed. When he stood up, his eyes drifted back to Roman, and something about the whole situation just felt like too much. Stepping over, he pulled the cigarette out of Roman's hand, stamping it out on Roman's dresser, then turned and strode out of the room.

When he returned, Roman was sitting on the edge of his bed, pulling on his socks, the cigarette relit and between his lips again. Neil tried not to think about it, instead pulling on his shoes. A quick glance at his phone let him know there wasn't much time before they were supposed to be at the track for the first drill, and he didn't want to make the walk over with Roman. He picked up his water bottle and pulled the door open, glancing back at Roman as it went out. "You better show up." The door closed between them.

Neil jogged laps as more students began to arrive at the track. After a few, he dropped to the ground to stretch his legs, eyes drifting around from face to face around him. His eyes landed on Roman, strolling across the grass towards them beside the guy Neil recognized from the previous day- Luca, was it? He found himself detesting the crooked little grin on Roman's lips, the way he walked with his shoulders back and his hands in his pockets. Unable to take it anymore, Neil dropped his gaze to his legs, switching to stretching the other one.

When Harrison clicked his megaphone a few times, Roman left Luca and made his way over to Neil. Neil pushed himself to his feet, absentmindedly stretching his arms while Harrison laid out the guidelines; this was a simple relay, no weighted vests. Forty times down and back. Partners had to alternate each time.

Neil prepared himself wordlessly, and Roman didn't dispute him going first. When the whistle sounded, Neil took off, feet skimming across the track. His muscles didn't hesitate to remind him that they hadn't had a chance to recover from the previous morning, but the pain wasn't intense enough to slow him down much. He made it back to their starting square, barely out of breath, and Roman took off. Hands on his hips, Neil watched him go. He found himself a little impressed by Roman's speed; compared to his strength capacity, Roman was actually pretty fast, his strides long and even. The automatic stab of annoyance that Neil felt at this left him feeling ridiculous; Roman's impressive speed was an incredible thing for him, and it should have produced nothing but relief. Eyes absentmindedly following Roman as he turned, Neil resolved to sort this stuff with Roman out. They didn't need to be friends, but contention between them would do nothing but exacerbate an already terrifying situation.

Roman arrived back, and Neil took off, pushing himself a little harder this time, even harder the next one. By the 30th trip, Neil's muscles were beginning to throb, but he knew the two of them were making good time and was determined not to let that change. It was a little difficult to tell how hard Roman was pushing himself; his expression remained nonchalant, unbothered, as he chewed his gum, the wind ruffled his hair, his fingers wrapped around the ends of his hoodie sleeves. He was doing well, though, and Neil didn't feel like it would accomplish anything to tell him to run faster, even if he might be able to.