
He had his running outfit on, simple black t-shirt and running shorts, also black, and on his feet were running shoes the same colour as his eyes, red and blue. Eve had started running with normal clothes when he had been 14 but had noticed that it was much comfier if you actually used clothes designed for running. Sweat or not. Eve had his hair loose because no matter what he tried Eve could not get it to behave. And then, of course, he had his belt with pouches big enough for a small water bottle and, no surprise here, small sketchbook. Eve had had a long internal debate whether to take it or not but, after all, he was an artist. And the sketchbook was the only thing able to keep him calm if he got emotionally unstable. It rarely happened, almost never nowadays, but you could never be too sure. After all, this was the first time Eve was going running with someone else. He was a bit scared, which was also rare for him.
Eve was walking along a trail near the edge of the woods, approaching the place he and Jake had agreed to meet. Yes, Jake. A fellow running enthusiast, who had seemed quite nice when Eve had met him in a, well, tense situation. Eve was a bit worried. Eve really liked running but he was afraid it was for different reasons than Jake. He seemed like the jock type, who enjoyed sports for the sweat and adrenaline, though Eve was not one to draw conclusions lightly.
Eve just liked the feeling of running, your sweet hitting the ground, breath getting short and the wind in your hair. He really appreciated Jake's offer to go running but Eve was afraid the boy would be disappointed. After all, Eve was just, well, Eve. Expressionless and plain in all other ways except looks.
Eve liked Natasha, his new friend, partly because she was an empath. Eve didn't have to force his facial expressions with her because she knew how Eve felt. Sometimes Eve hoped everyone could do it. Then he wouldn't have to change.
But the world wasn't fair and Eve had to at least try. Because he had liked Jake, and wanted to try knowing him.
Eve turned to right in a fork on the trail and saw Jake. He brought a small but genuine smile on his face, it was the best Eve could manage, and waved.