"So are you coming or do I need to wait another century?" Jeff was jumping around slightly, a habit that always showed up when he was being impatient. Nick just shook his hair out of his eyes, giving his friend a look that said enough to make Jeff laugh. "You know I'm just kidding. But hurry up already!"
Nick grabbed his bicycle, groaning. "It's not like it's my fault that I had to pump the wheels first.", he stated, swinging himself on the bike.
"Well, it actually is.. considering that you're just too much of a lazy ass to actually USE it!"
Nick was already forming an argument in his head as Jeff jumped on his bike and took off, laughing.
"I hate you!", was the only thing that came into his mind and out of his mouth, kicking the pedals harshly to catch up with Jeff.
The sun was finally breaking through the clouds, after hiding behind them for a whole week which seemed more like a year. The air was still smelling like rain, flowers in bright yellow and white blossoming on several square patches of green grass in front of the neat buildings that belonged to Nick's neighbours, as the two teenage boys made their way to the cinema. Nick didn't really understand why Jeff insisted on going there by bike, it wouldn't have taken them that long to walk. They probably would have been there by now, considering how long it took him to get his bike going. But at some point of their friendship, Nick stopped questioning the things that were going through Jeff Sterling's brain. Ever since he realized that some of them were brilliant ideas, just lying under a mask of lunatic words, ready to surprise him.
They filled their lungs with fresh air, riding in the same tempo, while they enjoyed how the spring turned the nature around them into pure beauty. Nick even spied a squirrel as it rescued itself high up into a tree.
"Do you wanna know what wonderful idea I just had?", Jeff then asked, a wide grin growing on his face. Nick sighed, not sure if he wanted to know but then nodded.
"Let's do a race.. You'll never get there before me.", the smile on his face grew bigger, Nick felt almost blinded as the sunlight got reflected by his white teeth. Nick wondered for a few seconds if the other was joking, realizing too late that he wasn't.
"Aren't we too old for that?", he shouted, seeing Jeff riding off and being way ahead of him in seconds, as he quickly started pedalling after him. He was right, they hadn't done a race in at least 3 years and Nick's former passion for sports has faded over the time. Jeff by contrast was the most athletic guy he knew, making them both such an unusual pair of friends with all their differences. Somehow, the similarities still managed to outweigh them though and that was what kept them together. Minds that shared similar thoughts, hearts that seemed to be beat in the same rhythm, two souls that could almost be counted as only one. Others might have described them as a perfect match, two human beings that found their better half on earth without searching for it. But for them, it was not something worth to mention. They were just friends, had always been, they worked together knowing the other one better than themselves sometimes. And as long as it worked, what was there to question about?
There was something about Jeff's back and the hint of his boxers peeking out under the waistband of his jeans that drove Nick mad. It felt like Jeff was mocking him, telling him that Nick would lose this game while he still managed to keep that chill attitude of his. But exactly that was what Nick needed, something that kept him going.
And it did.
While they were riding their bikes, the blanket of clouds above them was contracting again, turning the sunny spring day into a scenery that rather resembled the setting of an autumn day. The rain surprised them both, starting harshly, soaking them within seconds until they were wet all over. But their competition wasn't over, Jeff gaining even more space between them. And Nick still wasn't ready to give up.
They crossed a park, barely noticing a few people that found shelter under a pavilion, being disturbed by the rain on their walk home or a shared picnic.
"Jeff! Maybe we should slow down!", his voice was hoarse, potentially because of the wetness that had reached his skin, leaving his neck and chest completely cold. Additional to many other parts of his body. Crazy how fast nature worked its way through a human body, not letting anything stop it. Even though Nick knew how strong his body was, how it was able to regain health.
"You're just realizing that you're gonna lose!", Jeff's response got almost lost in the noise of the pouring rain. Nick gulped, feeling the wheels slipping a bit underneath him.
No, it wasn't that. It was the possibility of him crashing into something or someone as soon as he would lose control over his bike.
Well, if Jeff wanted to play this game, then they'd better get it over and done with as quickly as possible. There was a sudden energy rushing through him, giving him strength that he didn't know he had and he took the lead, surprising himself more than Jeff.
"Hey! How did that happen?", he heard Jeff shouting behind him and he turned his head to stick out his tongue.
"You're too slow for me, Sterling!"
And then he was rushing away, feeling the muscles in his legs tensing as he kept on kicking into his pedals. There was a laughter escaping his mouth, loud and bright. He noticed how much time he had spent inside lately, missing out on all the fun outside while he kept burying his nose in a book or getting lost in a video game.
He felt free.
For the first time in months he felt free. The pressure of school and society were just blurry thoughts in the back of his head, being washed away by the rain like the dirt from the streets. He looked back to see Jeff smiling at him, and the bitter coldness that was dragging him down swept away, being replaced by a warmth that heated him up from the inside.
Huh. That was new.
He didn't have enough time to capture this new thought, to spot the meaning behind it. They got into a crossroad, and Nick turned forward just a few seconds too late.
There was quite a possibility that nothing would have happened if the streets had been completely dry. Nick was a good biker, had always been. But under these circumstances, he had no chance.
There was no time left for him to stop his bike and therefore no time left to stop the collision. The last thing he remembered was losing grip of the handlebar, a weird crack that didn't fit the situation. Or maybe it did. All air got knocked out of his lungs, the world around him getting fuzzy.
It was like this one time he fainted during a concert in summertime, his muscles no longer under his control, as he drifted into a world of unconsciousness.
