Hard to Handle

Marnie awoke in the lounge of The Badlands, disoriented yet somehow…lighter.

Still a bit shaken by the experience, he spent some time drinking tea with Kaede, who had been reading a book across from him. They chatted about courage and how Marnie was feeling, never broaching the topic of what exactly happened on the Other Side. Marnie took great care to keep the jarring details between himself and Chez.

When he felt stable enough to move on, the daydreamer departed for home. One would have expected him to be traumatized by all that transpired — Marnie himself expected it.
Yet, he felt fine.

Better than fine, actually.

His whole way home, through his dinner and nightly routines, Marnie felt happy. Uplifted. Empowered. Who would have thought that persevering through duress could be so healing? Even his sleep was more restful, and absent of nightmares.

The next day, Marnie rose feeling rejuvenated and motivated. He finally understood the concept of rise and shine! Determined, he ate breakfast, made a plan, and set out for Rock Hard Fitness.

Even when he opened his door to a heavy rain storm, Marnie didn't discourage. He simply grabbed the charming clover umbrella that he'd yet to return to Kaede and headed out.

Rock Hard Fitness was a lively gym, full of beautiful and well-fit men who enjoyed healthy, active lifestyles. It made Marnie feel out of place being there, but he bought a membership because he thought it would get his therapist off his back. Besides, the personal trainer who pitched the program was kind, and incredibly hard to say no to.

The very same trainer who greeted him when he walked through the door.

“Wh-hoa, Marnie! That you?” A lean, muscular man about Marnie's age called from the welcome counter. He had a golden blonde two-block cut and the friendliest smile one could ever imagine.

“Ah, h-hey, Chris,” Marnie replied a little nervously, shaking the rain from his umbrella before he approached. Chris had the most beautiful brown eyes Marnie had ever seen, and he honestly found that pretty intimidating.

“It's been a while, bro,” Chris continued with the same positive energy as a dog that was eagerly awaiting its owner. “What's up? Did’ya finally decide to come train with me?”

“Well, er, not exactly,” Marnie may have been filled with conviction, but that didn't mean he was any good at articulating it. Nervousness existed, whether he was prepared to conquer it or not. “Though I am ...kinda here about that..? I was actually hoping to, uh… You know… Cancel my membership.”

Chris' smile faltered a little, making him look genuinely disappointed. “Aw, canceling already? But you've barely ever visited us. I never got the chance to really get to know you.”

“Yeah, that's kinda my point,” Marnie cleared his throat, hoping to regain his composure. “I just don't think I'm really a gym guy, ya know? It's hard to fit it into my life right now, and it's a lot of money to be wasting on something that I don't even use.”

“Mmm, yeah, I feel ya,” Chris nodded thoughtfully. He then began flipping through some sort of hardcover binder that was on the counter. “I really would hate to lose you, though, Marnie. I think this place is somewhere you could really connect with people! If money and time are your concerns, I bet I can find a membership plan that's better suited for—”

“Look, Christopher, I really appreciate your enthusiasm and…dazzling smile, or whatever. But I really do just want to cancel everything altogether.”

The trainer halted, eyes fixed on Marnie with surprise. He looked like he was about to recompose himself and try a different approach when instead, his gaze fell to Marnie's umbrella.

Instead of a charismatic sales pitch, the only noise that left Chris’ mouth was “Huh…”

“W-what..?” Marnie blinked in confusion. The way Chris’ expression shifted from overly enthusiastic to genuine intrigue was almost alarming.

“Oh, sorry,” Chris smiled again, only this time it was less like a salesman and more like a friend. “I just feel like I've seen that umbrella before.”

He inhaled a little sharply, as if making a mental decision after a few moments’ debate. Then he locked eyes with Marnie and leaned forward on the counter, lowering his voice to a near whisper.

“Hey, do you happen to visit The Badlands?”

Marnie felt stunned. Another one of Kaede's customers, and in this environment of all places? Chris was suddenly being more genuine with him than ever before, too. It was almost too much to process. How was he supposed to respond to such a question?

When the uncertainty clouded his mind with messy thoughts, Marnie decided the simplest thing to do was be honest and hope for the best.

“Uh, yeah, actually…” he replied, matching Chris’ hushed tone. “I go there a lot. Do… Do you?”

Chris grinned. “Haha, I knew you were a cool guy, Marnie. Yeah, Kaede's been helping me with RabbitHole for a while now.”

“Really?!” Marnie's eyes widened in shock.

“Oh yeah, bro,” Chris answered. “I used to struggle with all kinds of anxiety and body image issues. Man, I was a wreck! But RH fixed me up. Then I started coming here, and dude, life has never been better.”

Marnie almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. To think that someone as positive as Chris struggled with similar issues… No, that they shared medication as well as a mutual friend! The initial surprise quickly melted into a sort of kinship that tugged the corners of Marnie's lips into an excited grin.

“That's amazing— I-I’m so happy for you!”

“Yeah. Thanks, Marn,” the trainer straightened and raised his voice to a more casual tone again. From this point on, he no longer gave Marnie his fake enthusiasm. Instead, he treated Marnie like a true friend.

“Look, don't worry about anything, bro. I'll cancel everything for you, free of charge. But, hey, would you maybe be interested in hanging out sometime? I'm having a house party on Saturday night and it'd be awesome if you came by.”

“A… a house party?”

Marnie's voice cracked a little. Large scale socialization like that felt like a very big step outside of his very small, and only gradually expanding, comfort zone. He was only just getting used to socializing with Kaede and Chez, and now apparently Chris. How was he supposed to handle an entire building of strangers?

Noticing his apprehension, Chris tried to give a reassuring smile.

“Look, it's okay if you don't wanna go,” he said. “But it'll be real chill, I promise. Just a bunch of friends who all have similar experiences to us, ya know? Hanging out and having a good time together. You'll be in good company, and if anything freaks you out, just come find me, okay?”

Marnie once again found it hard to say no, but this time it wasn't because of any sort of pressure or manipulation. Chris seemed like a really kind person — someone that Marnie would love to get to know better — and his words of reassurance were genuine and warm. He was the kind of guy that could make you feel safe and independent at the same time.

No wonder he was a personal trainer.

Chuckling at his own thoughts, Marnie had convinced himself. He smiled with conviction.

“Ah, sure, what the hell? I'll be there, Chris.”

Delighted to hear him agree, the trainer lit up. After a few moments of chatting and exchanging contact information, Marnie left Rock Hard Fitness having successfully achieved his goals as well as acquired a new friend.