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“You’re so much stronger than I thought!”
That’s what she told Jan on Saturday. She’s not sure why she said it, really. Hadn’t she known for a month, since the contest first started, that Jan was tough? She can still remember that first day, when everyone met each other. It seemed like so many people… Yes, there were a couple of all-too-familiar faces, but they were vastly outnumbered by all the new people Philly was thrilled to meet.
Ana, Jan, Tetsu and their girlfriend, Cedric… even Lucy. Philly frowns. She’s guilty about them, about that, still. But now isn’t really the time to dwell on it, anyway.
She thinks about the first time she met Jan, instead. She’d extended a friendly hand to everyone new, and most of them reciprocated, but out of everyone, Jan and Ana seemed to like her the most. It was nice to be taken seriously, even if she was out of her depth. And it was nice to have friends who weren’t cherrypicked by her dad, obligated to go places with her because of how much money they had and paying more attention to each other anyway.
January might not be perfect, but she sure pays attention to Philomena. Ever since day one, she's been eager to hear all about her life, and even more so to share details of her own. Phil didn’t initially notice that the loud girl had fixated on her, but by now it’s kinda obvious. She doesn’t mind, not really.
Well, that’s not totally true anymore. Philly remembers the way Jan looked at her, talked to her on Saturday morning, and she groans aloud. Tully looks up at her, and she laughs.
“Ah, sorry, Tully. I was just thinking…”
“What about?”
“Hm, just what happened on Saturday.”
Tully nods seriously. Philly sits back, looking at the paintings on the wall. She thinks she’s figured out why she said that Jan was stronger than she looked. She hadn’t been bothered by January’s initial reluctance to fight her, not really. But then she had to go and open her mouth and say all that nonsense about how funny it was that Philly thought she could beat a “level a million” guard apprentice.
How cute it was that she was worried.
It was the first time someone had babied her about sports. Back when she was involved in heavyweight, everyone took her seriously. She wasn’t “the cute one with a big heart” to her opponents. She was the champ.
And then some featherweight who didn’t know anything about her record was gonna stand there and act like she was being naïve for even thinking she could beat her at all? Not a chance! At the very least, not without Philly giving her a taste of her own medicine.
She’s not really mad at Jan, though. It was a couple stupid comments, nothing more. And January seemed to get over herself pretty quick anyway. Philly wouldn’t have invited her to her house, wouldn’t be excited for her to get here, if she was mad. It’s just that the annoyance prickles again, when she remembers it. Nothing too serious.
It’s not much longer before she hears a knock on the big front door. She sits up and hurries to the entry hall, wanting to greet January personally. Sure enough, when she pulls open the heavy wooden door, January’s standing in front of her, Friday perched on her head.
“Hi, January! Good morning!”
January grins like she wasn’t expecting Philomena to say hi. It’s a little dopey, really, but Philly thinks it’s kinda cute. She smiles right back until Jan snaps out of it.
“Ha, good morning to you too. Man, what is it with rich people and your fancy houses?”
“Huh?”
“Oh, uh – nothing, really. I just feel kinda underdressed.”
Philomena laughs.
“Well, why would you? I’m in workout clothes, too!”
January briefly glances up and down, taking in Philly’s outfit.
“Yeah, I guess. I guess what I mean to say is – your grounds are really nice!”
Philomena laughs, letting the door swing shut. January follows her into the entry hall, looking around.
“Thanks! I tend to most of it myself! Well, the flowers, anyway. I love gardening!”
“Huh, that’s cool. How long have you been doing it?”
“Oh, pretty much forever. I remember I was pretty young when I got really into it. I wanted my other friends to garden with me – my brother didn’t like being outside very much, and Seiji got bored of it. Sylas was actually pretty good, but you know how those two are.”
She laughs at the memory, then notices Jan’s making a face.
“Uh, not really…”
“Oh! Right, sorry. I just meant they always hung out with each other more than me, and Seiji kept bugging Sylas instead of paying attention to what we were supposed to be doing. It doesn’t really matter. Besides, you didn’t really come here to listen to me talk about gardening, huh?”
She turns to January and sees she looks kind of stunned again. That’s definitely cute. She can’t help but grin broadly, which makes January start to giggle.
“Uh. Yeah! I mean, uh, no. I mean–”
Philly laughs again, reaching up to touch Jan’s shoulder. She watches her blue eyes follow her arm up from her hand until she’s looking right into Philly’s face. She’s definitely red in the face now, so Philly drops her hand.
“C’mon, let’s go.”
Philly leads the way through her house. It’s nice – she can’t remember the last time she really had guests over. Probably never, if she thinks about it. Most people who come over are here to see her dad. She decides it’s nice, getting the chance to host for herself. The house feels much less empty with another set of footsteps following her around.
The questions January asks are nice, too. At first she’s still a little nervous, but soon she starts pointing out rooms and paintings and weird furniture they pass.
“I mean, if you’d like, I can just give you the whole tour,” Philly offers when Jan pokes her head through a branching hallway.
“Hm… maybe after?”
“Yeah, okay-”
They’ve reached their destination, and Philly pulls open the door. It’s a decent-sized room, unevenly accumulating dust. Singlets that haven’t fit in years are mounted on the walls alongside magical captures from her various victories, and the room’s decently full of equipment: mats, weights, punching bags. January steps forward, gaping.
“Is this all yours?”
“Well, Franco’s never been much for sports…”
“That’s so cool!”
January’s made herself at home by now – as they talk, she finds a handheld weight and lifts it experimentally.
“Aw, thanks! I’ve got more stuff in my room, but that’s mostly, uh, tapestries and trophies. Not the kinda stuff I’d use to train with, y’know? The displays are mostly stuff that doesn’t really fit with my room, or that my dad likes to show off sometimes.”
She wishes he’d show it off more, really. Maybe if he did, she’d keep some trophies in here, too.
January’s still holding the weight, but it’s loose at her side. She’s mostly casting her gaze around the room, seeming lost again.
“So, uh… do we just…”
“Well, yeah! Sometimes on nice days I like to jump rope outside, but I kinda thought it’d be fun to try a bunch of different stuff, so just… pick up whatever looks nice! If you wanna know what something does, feel free to ask!”
Jan picks up the dumbbell’s twin and starts doing some more reps. After a second, she’s not bashful anymore.
“Yeah, okay.”
Philly laughs, dragging a punching bag over to where she was standing so they can chat. It’s nice to see January acting like herself again. She’s cute when she’s flustered, sure, but Philly’s friends with tough Jan, not bashful Jan.
They don’t say much for the first few minutes. January’s mostly moving around the room, settling into a more comfortable routine. It’s not until Friday reminds Jan of her water bottle that they both take a break.
“So, are you having fun?”
January wipes her mouth off, setting down her water, now half-empty.
“Yeah! You’ve got some really nice stuff – usually me and my brothers just do calisthenics.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, most of our exercising is just roughhousing. The little gremlins love it – well, except for Mason.”
“He’s the baby, right?”
“Heh, don’t let him hear you say that. I mean, he wouldn’t get mad, but… you know how little kids are when their magic is new.”
“… No, not really.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, your brother is older than you, isn’t he?”
“Only by a year, but yeah. Tell me about Mason?”
“Eh, I dunno how to explain. It’s like… it’s not like he’s trying to act all grown up or anything, but he doesn’t wanna be treated like a baby.”
Philly nods, taking a gulp of water before responding.
“Oh, I know how that feels.”
It’s quiet again, and Philly realizes a little too late that Jan’s looking at her. It’s one of those expressions Philomena’s never been very good at reading – conflicted or subtle or unexpected. They both open their mouths like they’re about to say something, and eventually they start laughing. Finally, January speaks up.
“Do you, uh, wanna keep going?”
“Oh, yeah! Maybe do some calisthenics? I don’t usually have a partner…”
January goes bright red at that, but quickly recovers.
“Yeah, okay. Uh, usually I kinda carry them, but that only works when they’re a lot smaller than me. Uh, when Fred got to be about my size he’d help me with crunches. We can take turns holding each other’s feet in place?”
“All right!”
January lies back, getting into position. Philly gets down right in front of her, feeling her feet under her knees, and as she leans forward to hold her ankles steady she realizes how close they are. It’s a warm realization, especially when January sits up and brings their faces closer together. Realistically, it’s not closer than they’d be in a normal conversation facing each other, but it still feels… different.
Philly’s not sure what to say, just that she wants to say something, and she’s surprised at what comes out of her mouth.
“I don’t really mean that you treat me like a baby.”
“Huh?”
Jan’s surprised, falling back to the mat in surprise. She bounces back quickly, and eases back into her rhythm.
“Oh, uh… I don’t know, really. I was thinking about Saturday, earlier…”
January’s face darkens, and she breaks eye contact with Philomena for a moment. It’s a brief moment, though, and soon her blue eyes are right back on her face.
“You mean, uh… what I said, right? About how you shouldn’t worry?”
“Well, you sure didn’t say it like that! Anyways, I’m not actually… mad, really. I know you were bragging, mostly, and you learned your lesson all right.”
“Uh… what do you mean?”
Philomena pauses.
“Well… I guess I’m kinda used to people treating me like I’m… cute.”
“You are cute.”
January’s eyes widen, and it’s clear the red on her face isn’t from exertion.
“Sorry, I mean, uh.”
Philly laughs, shaking her head.
“I know what you mean. And I think you know it’s not that kinda cute that bugs me. And… I guess from most people, it doesn’t actually? It’s just…”
She shrugs.
“I guess I keep thinking about my dad. He’s really nice, I mean, and I get a lot from him. Like the way we get excited about things… but sometimes, it really stresses me out!”
“It stresses you out when he’s excited?”
“Not really… it’s more when he gets so excited about an idea that he doesn’t stop and think it might be a bad one. Like this whole representative contest thing! Did you know I’ve spent basically the whole month since it started freaking out?”
“Aw, Phil…”
She shakes her head.
“I’m better now. But it was just… really crazy and overwhelming, the way he assumed how I felt about it all the time. He thought I was thrilled every time I made it through a round, and when I finally got dropped… it was like I had to pretend to be disappointed just because he thought I was lying about being fine with it!”
Jan nods, but it’s clear the reps are starting to get to her. Her face is shiny with sweat, and Philly can hear her panting as she strains to sit up.
“Um, we can switch out…”
Jan shakes her head, leaning back down again.
“Not… yet.”
Finally, January lets out a heavy sigh and flops back onto the mat. Philly eases up, letting her roll over and grab her water bottle again.
“I like to do ‘em in even numbers. Ready for your turn?”
“You bet!”
They switch places, and Philly finds she feels just the same about January helping her with sit-ups as she did about helping January. It’s a nice feeling, though, and she grins as she does the first few reps.
“Y’know, you could maybe come to my place next time. I bet the kids’d love you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, they’re just balls of energy.”
Philly smiles, pausing for a moment before doing another crunch.
“What’s it like having little brothers?”
“Well, uh… I dunno, I don’t remember not having little brothers. Fred’s been around since I was two, so we really grew up together. We’ve been playing together basically forever. We kinda got into scrapes when we were really young.”
“Scrapes?”
“Yeah, we didn’t know how to use our words when we got mad. We got it mostly out of our system by the time the twins came along, but we were pretty rough with each other sometimes. We all still kinda can be, but…”
Jan makes a face like she’d be shrugging if her hands weren’t busy. And then it seems to hit her why her hands are busy, and she goes red again.
“Man, are you even breaking a sweat?”
Philly laughs. She’s starting to feel a little strain, she guesses, but she’s a pro at endurance.
“What’s the matter, Jan? Scared I’ll outlast you?”
“Pfft, no.”
“You don’t think I’ll outlast you, or you’re not scared?”
“Uh. I’m not scared. Hey, do you wanna see how many push-ups we can do after this?”
“Yeah, sure!”
A couple hours (and a few trips to refill their water bottles) later, they’ve finally called it a day. The two of them lie in the grass in front of her house, snacking as they stare at the clouds.
“Hey, thanks for inviting me over. I had a great time.”
“No problem! Wanna do this again next week, at your place?”
“Yeah, that sounds fun. I wanna see how many push-ups you can do while carrying my brothers.”
“Hey, you almost matched me! I was actually kinda surprised.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, most people as skinny as you don’t last that long.”
“Most people as skinny as me don’t have little brothers.”
“You mean aren’t show-offs!”
“Psh, just wait until you hear them hollering about how great you are. That’d make anyone a show-off.”
Philly sighs, watching a bug fly overhead.
“Sounds nice…”
They turn to look at each other. Philly feels a sappy grin spread onto her face all on its own as she looks at January, beaming just as ridiculously back. She’s not sure how much time they look at each other before she finally takes another deep breath and returns her eyes to the sky.
January sits up, groaning.
“Ha, I’m gonna feel this in the morning.”
“Yeah, me too. I don’t remember the last time I worked out that long, actually…”
“It was fun!”
Philly laughs, standing up and extending her hand to help January to her feet. She walks her to the edge of the property, and on an impulse, she pulls the other girl into a hug. It’s sweaty and sticky and sore, but January quickly leans into it, and it feels even nicer than Philomena honestly expected it to.
“Thanks for being my friend,” says Philly quietly, her arms still around January’s warm back. It’s amazing how small and thin she feels in her arms.
“You’re welcome. I mean, uh… thanks for being my friend too?”
Philly laughs, leaning away to a more comfortable distance.
“Hee hee, sorry, that sounded kinda weird. I guess I mean… for the longest time, I didn’t know what it was like to actually have friends? I mean, I love Franco, but we don’t really have anything in common. And I guess Sylas and Seiji are my friends, and we grew up together, but… I dunno, I guess I always felt like everyone I knew growing up was only my friend because they had to be. Because I was related to them, or because our parents wanted us to make nice when they were at the same parties. And meeting you and the others really changed that, you know?”
January looks at the sky.
“I mean, I don’t know, but I think I see what you mean.”
Philly nods.
“Yeah. But… I dunno, you guys were the first ones who liked me without anyone telling you to. And… I never really knew how good that could feel!”
January laughs, blushing again.
“Well, I’m glad. You deserve that.”
There’s not much more to say, after that.