Cacophony (PAUSED FOR EDITING AND UPDATES)

21: f r e s h t e n d r i l s

***

  Sydney woke inexplicably early the next morning. Her stomach felt a little sour from the beer she'd drank the day before, which is what had woken her up while Chris slept soundly in their bed. She had lie there for a long while, listening to him sleep as she lay in his arms. It was a luxury that she felt as if she would never get used to, snoring and all.
  Eventually pushing herself out of bed, she brushed her teeth and made her way downstairs toward the kitchen. Matt was sitting at the table with a glass of water in front of him. He looked up from where he sat with his head cradled in his hands and smiled sleepily when he saw her.
"Morning, Syd kid." He greeted, using her nickname that had been appointed to her by himself and Kim.
"Good morning. How are you feeling?" She asked, starting a pot of coffee.
"Oh, you know... just a little bit like death. But like, if death was boiled for too long and then left on the stove overnight to get all stale and molded."
  She offered him a teasing smile.
"Maybe you shouldn't drink so much next time."
"Awh, come on. It was your house warming party, let a guy live a little."
"You live all you want. I won't judge you."
  He smiled again at her back, watching her. She had mastered the art of only primarily using one arm to do things. In fact, she'd handled this entire situation with strength and grace. Yet, Matt knew Sydney well. She might as well be his little sister. He noticed the way her hands kept busy, even busier than normal. He also noticed her tense shoulders, and the way she moved about the kitchen erratically, cleaning here and there. It wasn't lost on him that she wasn't entirely alright... her presence filled the room like a grenade primed to explode.
"What's wrong, Syd?" He asked after a long while.
  She turned to him with a surprising amount of vulnerability written into her pretty features. Walking forward, she sat herself down heavily at the table opposite him.
"I don't know." She said honestly. "I have everything I ever wanted. That's the problem I think. My life is so great right now that I feel like I'm just waiting for the floor to be pulled from underneath my feet. I can't seem to hold still. It's so stupid... it's like I'm waiting for a bad thing to happen. Bad things always happen when I'm happy."
  Matt tried his best to focus his hungover brain. Sydney was feeling anxious. He didn't know much about anxiety himself, but he wanted her to feel better.
"Anything I can do to help?"
"No, it's okay. It's just my brain being dumb." She shrugged. "I took up running, before. When I was in California with Adam. It made me feel better to keep moving. Forced my brain to be quiet for a little while. Maybe I should take that up again one of these days."
  Matt thought a moment, wishing Chris was awake to handle this. He was always the best at making her feel better. However, it was just the two of them in this kitchen, so Matt pulled himself together.
"Alright. Let's go for a run then." He sighed, knowing he was going to regret this.
"You want to go on a run?" She asked, shocked.
"Yeah. Show me what it's all about." He lied, not missing the glimmer of hope in her eyes that he would actually go with her.
  They both got ready, pulling on shoes and leaving Chris a note before going out into the grey, cloudy morning. Exercising was more difficult than Sydney expected, as she hadn't done it in weeks and her arm was still in a cast. Matt told her to take it slow, mostly for himself. He wasn't a runner, and he was also hungover, so he happily advocated for a slower pace. They stretched for a few minutes, Sydney wincing a little as she carefully raised her arms over her head and woke up her sleepy muscles.
  After three blocks of walking, she told Matt that she was ready to pick up the pace. They increased their speed to a jog, and then to a run. Houses passed one by one as he followed her lead, block by block. Matt struggled to keep up with her, even though his legs were nearly twice as long as hers. It seemed as if she'd finally hit her stride as she weaved her way through the streets and the hidden sun rose fully behind the cloudy sky.
"Syd! Can we... slow down... a little?" He gasped after what had to have been at least a mile.
"Come on, man! You're Matt motherfuckin' Cameron! We're almost there, you can keep up!"
  When her house eventually came back into view, Matt couldn't be happier. His chest was heaving and he felt light headed. Sydney was smiling as they slowed to a stop in the front yard, but Matt promptly doubled over and emptied his stomach into a shrub.
"Fuck." He groaned, heaving again.
  Sydney was laughing, bent over with her hands on her knees and trying to catch her own breath.
"Oh, shit... you okay?" She asked, laughing still.
"Yeah. I'll be alright." He groaned.
"Come inside and get some water."
  He followed her in the house, collapsing in his previous spot at their dining room table and downing his unfinished glass of water from before. Chris was standing at the counter, bare-chested. He wore a pair of black 90 sweats and a grey beanie, and Sydney drank in the sight of him before falling into his arms.
"What'd she do to you?" He asked Matt with a small smirk.
"Apparently Syd's the damn Flash."
"It was your idea to go for a run." She pointed out.
"I have terrible ideas."
"You do not. I feel a lot better though. How about you, how's your hangover?"
  Matt thought about it for a second. He actually did feel a lot better than he had when he'd first woken up. He felt ready to eat something now that his stomach was empty. Looking up at her with raised brows, she smiled.
"Looks like going on a run was good for us both. Thanks, by the way."
"Any time. In fact, next time I'll outrun you and your damn chicken legs. I blame it all on the beer."