...Hi.

I'm not dead, I'll verify that right now. I've been focusing on a story I'm posting on FanFiction, and also college has drained my energy. I am planning on finishing this story though, so hopefully I can post more than 2 chapters for this this year. I should also share that I'm not making a prompt list for 2025 so I can focus on this year and 2024's GotDs.

Enjoy.

There was nothing to do, and she was petrified.

Payton had woken up at 6 a.m., her usual time to start the day. But when she double checked her calendar to remember what she had going on, it was empty. She had homework, no martial arts classes, nothing. When she checked her messages, nobody was asking for help with anything.

She could feel herself getting antsy already. This had to be wrong, it just had to. But as she continued to scroll through her calendar and texts, nothing popped up at all. The last text she had received was from her mom, and Payton could only feel a sinking feeling in her stomach growing.

If she had nothing to do, the most she could do was make herself busy.

The gym was not crowded. The fabric of the workout clothes was uncomfortable against her skin, and Payton's black hair was up in its usual ponytail as though trying to give her some form of solace for the day. Nobody really acknowledged that she was there. Yet, as she looked at all the machines, she felt lost.

She must've been zoning out, because someone on a machine looked at her with a scowl. "Stop staring!" the person yelled, catching her horribly off guard. With a rather meek 'sorry,' she headed over to the dumbbell area.

Once she picked up the dumbbells, she went over to a bench and sat down. Payton looked at the weights for a minute before beginning to do a dumbbell shoulder press. Eventually she lost count of how many lifts she'd done, but it was okay. She could continue.

Someone was trying to catch her attention. She kept her eyes closed shut. One more rep Payton told herself. 'One more rep and I can go-'

But where would she have gone? She had nothing left to do, this was her one stop. So she kept lifting, despite the arm strain she was beginning to feel. But to Payton it was nothing. She could keep going, she was telling herself. Payton knew she could, but her arms continued to ache with each rep, despite the person's continuous attempts to communicate. Eventually she couldn't ignore the person any longer.

"-ton? Payton!"

She opened her eyes as she finished the last rep.

"Remy?" Payton asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Doing what you're doing, a work out," the martial artist answered casually. "What brings you here though?"

"Trying to keep myself busy."

"Busy?" Remy repeated, furrowing their brow. "Elaborate."

"Well," she let out a breath, trying to ignore how uncomfortable the sweat on her forehead felt. "I didn't have anything planned, so I came here."

"Nothing wrong with going to the gym, but you were overexerting yourself."

"Oh. I didn't notice." Payton didn't even think about it half the time. To her, it was normal and something to be proud of. Friends, as well as her mother and sister, would tell her they admired her work ethic. Payton hadn't even thought on how her body would feel.

But now everything in her arms was hurting, and her clothes felt too uncomfortable. She was so used to the dress shirts and pants that anything else felt weird, and the sweat just made her feel horrible.

"My advice," Remy said, keeping their tone blunt. "Go home. Get some rest."

Payton wanted to argue, she really did. But she couldn't bring herself to. She'd never been an argumentative person, but this went against what she wanted to do. But the martial artist didn't seem to be paying attention to what she was doing anymore, having moved on to find the gym's track.

Her arms were still sore. That made up her mind.

Payton stepped out of the bathroom, trying to keep her appearance composed in spite of her lazy day. Even regular clothes felt horrible in her mind, but at least they weren't the scratchy gym clothes. She lay in bed and felt the pit in her stomach return, but at this point there was nothing she could do. Even if she wanted to, her body continued to ache. Maybe she should get some rest, but it also felt horribly wrong to her.

Payton moved her arm and felt a bit of pain. She checked the time. It was around 1:35 in the afternoon, and she'd been awake for a while. That influenced her decision, even if it was one she didn't like.

It felt so wrong, but also felt right considering the day's circumstances. Reluctantly, she closed her eyes and tried to relax.

Prompt: Free Day (originally day 22)

Song: "Gilded Lily" by Cults