Chapter 9: But, wait! Running sucks….

A/N: I'm sorry I've been gone so long, it's been a rough couple of months. I promise I will finish this story, it just may take a bit sometimes to get a new chapter out.

*Steph's P.O.V.*

After Tank showed me my desk, I took a few minutes to settle into my desk area. It's not a large space, but it has quick access to the windows and the break room, so that's a plus. I messed around for a few minutes before I gave up and headed back to my apartment. It's been a long day and I'm more than ready to call it and sleep like the dead. I sleep-walked into my apartment and face-planted on the bed. I was asleep before I hit the pillow.

The Next Day

I woke up to my alarm clock blaring. I don't remember setting it, but that's good I guess. It's too early for in-depth analysis of my sleep-deprived actions. I just wish the magic breakfast fairy had visited while I was passed out. Eh, I can always get something nutritious when I get to RangeMan. I think I'm running with Les first thing, anyway. I'll do better on an empty stomach; less to throw up that way. I'm still dressed from yesterday so I brush my hair and teeth and head out the door.

I fob my way into the parking garage and see Les waiting on my by the elevator. Oh goody, time to voluntarily torture myself. I drag myself out of my car and slowly walk over towards him.

"Hey, Beautiful. You gonna get over here today or should I come back tomorrow?" Les shoots me his best shit-eating grin and I flip him off. He laughs and starts stretching. It took me another couple of seconds to make it to him before I reluctantly joined in with my own stretches.

After another couple of stretches, I'm feeling impatient. "Can we get started? I'm ready to be done with this." He laughed again but straightens up.

"Sure, Steph." He flashes me another smile before taking off in a light jog. I sigh and take off after him.

We jog for a couple of minutes in silence. I'm grumbling to myself and Les seems to have reached a zen-like state. I hate him. Ranger does that, too; must be a family trait. We reach what must be a milestone in his head and he ups the pace. Now we're running for real. It's not a full-out sprint but it's close and I know I won't last very long. I'm focused on my breathing and mental groaning and don't notice that Les is trying to say something to me.

"Steph!" I stumble slightly when his words break through my brain fog. I look over at him and he's grinning again. Great.

"What….Les?" I pant. I'm already tired, and I'm regretting not eating anything for breakfast.

"I was just trying to tell you we're almost done for today. We've already gone about a mile and I don't want you to burn out this early in the day." How in the world can he talk so calmly when we're running this fast?

"Oh….Good!…So…'cited…." I can't even be bothered to make full sentences. I'm just crying internally and just want to stop. I won't because I'm stubborn, but it's going to be a close one. I can't even be mad because I chose to do this to myself. I could've just gotten a job at the personal products plant like my mother wanted me to.

We ran for a couple more minutes before Les slowed down to a jog and then started walking. I followed suit, gasping quietly beside him. God, I hate running. He looked over at me and chuckled. He wasn't even really sweating. I really hate him.

"While we're cooling down, why don't you tell me why you hate running so much?" Well, that's a fair but complicated question. I continued panting for a few more minutes before I answered. It's hard to talk when you're trying not to die.

"Well, I've always been fairly uncoordinated and that leads to accidents when running. So I basically avoided it my entire childhood because… ouch. When I was a teenager, my Mom decided that I was getting 'chubby' so I needed to start exercising to get the weight off. She made me start running with my sister every day before school. I tripped… a lot. She didn't really care that I was constantly hurting myself, she just wanted me to be as skinny as Valarie was. She really thought it would help me get a boyfriend and that would lead to a husband, home, etc. She didn't really care if I wanted that or not. It's led to some bad habits throughout the years where I stress-eat and then go on a 'health kick' where I don't eat a lot and run until I puke." I glanced at him before continuing, "I realized a couple of years ago how unhealthy this was so I stopped and tried to do other workouts that don't encourage that cycle of behavior."

Les stopped walking and looked at me with an odd expression on his face. "Does Ranger know about this?"

I shook my head, "No. We haven't had a lot of deep conversations. That doesn't really come up in office chatter."

"Steph, you should tell Tank about this. If running has such negative connotations for you, we don't have to do it. There's no reason to torture yourself or risk your mental health just for fitness." I shook my head and started to speak but he cut me off, "No. This isn't going to become some self-sacrificing crap. Ranger does enough of that for everyone. We can get you up to snuff without this. We're going to head inside now, and you're going to tell Tank what you just told me. It will all work out, I promise."

I looked up and realized we were back in front of the building. Huh. I guess with all the panting and soul-baring I didn't pay attention to where we were. That's probably something I need to work on. I glanced at Les and he's staring at me like he's waiting on something. Oh yea, I guess I should answer him.

"Um… I guess. It's really not that big of a deal, though. I can work through this, it's just going to take some time. I'm good, really!" He just shook his head and led me into the lobby and headed towards the elevator. I guess it's story time for Tank now. Yippee.