8

"Try to keep up!" Nova says between breaths, speeding up a little just for fun. She glances behind her, watching as he slows to a walk and then stops, resting his hands  on his knees. She walks back, noticing as he takes deep breaths that it sounds as if he is wheezing, "Are you okay?"

He looks up at her, nodding, "Yeah," he wheezes out, standing up straight and putting his hands above his head. "I have asthma," He tells her, taking another deep breath, but it sounds almost like a whistle.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Her eyes are wide, not knowing how she can help.

"I try not to tell anyone." His breaths are becoming more controlled, but the whistle is still there.

"When I said that I like to run and you agreed to go, that was your time to back out or tell me."

"I'm fine. I don't let it change my life." She rolls her eyes, looking around for a restaurant or café.

"Let's go get some water." He nods, following her as they walk side by side toward the nearest café.

"Can I get some hot coffee instead? It'll help. Unless they have warm water."

"They should. Which would you prefer?"

"Water,"

She takes a step forward in line, seeing warm water under the register. She grabs a warm one for Camden, and a cold one in the tiny fridge for herself. She pays for the drinks, handing Camden his.

"Thank you, but I could've paid." He lifts the water to his lips, drinking almost half the bottle.

Nova laughs at him, shaking her head, "You can barely speak," she informed, "I wouldn't want to put any more strain on your lungs," She lifts her own water to her lips, wondering if he doesn't like cold water at all.

"Well, what else do you like? Anything that isn't life or death for me?" They begin to walk in no particular direction, just enjoying the fresh air and each other's company.

She pauses before answering, "I like video games."

Camden tries not to sound shocked as he replies, "Really? What is your favorite?"

"Recently, I have been into SIMS and GTA, but I'm okay with playing anything."

"You should try Mortal Kombat. I would crush you." He drinks more of his water, hoping that she doesn't take that the wrong way.

"I don't know. I'm really good at playing games." Nova says in a teasing tone, turning her head to look at him before focusing back on the path in front of them.

He laughs a little, "I'm not," She looks over, wanting him to elaborate. He feels her eyes on him, so he continues, "I've always been more into music than anything else. I spent a lot of my childhood trying to learn as many instruments as possible."

Nova feels a smile form and raises her water bottle to her lips in order to hide it. "Music was always a big part of my life too." She chuckles, remembering who her dad is, "I know it always would've been because of my dad. I don't know though. It brought me joy, and it was something my sister and I bonded over." She didn't let him respond. Instead, she took a deep breath and stopped walking, "We should probably start to leave. My dad wants to talk to you about setting up a music video for the most recent song."

He nods as they turn in the opposite direction, heading toward his car.