Challenging Changes

'Sometimes you need to challenge yourself to change'.

Trees covered most of the sunlight, but the rays of the biggest star were shining down on the hiking trail with no mercy. The rock-covered track was surrounded by trees that were firmly rooted on lower ground. If one steered too close to the edge, one could find themselves falling to a potential death.

Brick was panting heavily as he hiked up the trail. His brown army crew-cut hair and green shirt was damp with sweat as he used one of his arms to shield his face from the beating rays of the sun. With squinted eyes, Brick looked into the distance in search of his destination. He scanned the area slowly until his eyes rested on the roof of the cabin that he and his friend/enemy, Scott, were staying for the next few days.

The two boys were forced on this trip by the newlywed couple that consisted of Brick's mom and Scott's papi. They figured that the boys needed to challenge themselves in order to change their views about each other. Brick was eager to welcome the challenge, whereas Scott was very resistant. It was only when he found out that the married couple weren't going to be accompanying them did Scott finally caved in to the persistent whining of his papi.

Speaking of Scott, he was arriving by Brick's side, clearly exhausted. Using his hand, Scott moved some strands of his spiked orange hair out of his face as he unzipped his backpack to retrieve a bottle of water. After hearing the sound of the pack unzip, Brick swirled around to meet Scott's gaze with a massive grin on his face.

"Isn't this fun?" He stated with the enthusiasm evident in his voice. "We're getting out and about, no parents around so we can do whatever we want with the money they gave us..." Scott listened as he swallowed some of his water. Realizing his thirst, Brick grabbed his water bottle out of his backpack and opened it as Scott was putting his away.

"This is your idea of fun?" Scott asked. "I'm not enjoying all this walking and having the sun beat down on us." He grabbed Brick's water bottle out his hand and doused some water over his head in an attempt to cool down. Brick was slightly annoyed at Scott's action. If the redhead asked beforehand, Brick would have willingly given him the bottle to use. Scott screwed the lid to the bottle back on and handed it to Brick.

When Brick reached out to grab the bottle, his hand brushed against Scott's gently. Both blushed as they quickly pulled away from the unexpected touch, causing the water bottle to fall to the ground. It started rolling towards the edge of the ledge as Brick chased after the bottle. Reacting too fast, Brick stepped on the water bottle and fell forward over the Cliffside.

Scott put his hand out to try and grab Brick before he fell, but he was just out of reach as he saw Brick fall down to the ground. The redhead raced to the edge as he saw Brick on the ground. What used to be a nice green shirt had been ripped due to Brick hitting branches on the way down. His knee was bleeding and his left arm had some skin peeling off it.

It was a very bad sight.

"Nice going there, dofus" Scott smirked. "Are you alright?" Although the mean demeanour, Scott hoped Brick didn't have any serious injuries.

"Just a few scratches and a ripped shirt, I think I'll be okay." Brick replied as he smiled at the redhead, showing that he was alright. The smile caused Scott's heart to flutter, though he did not know why. He shrugged it off as he started looking through his bag for something to help Brick get out of that mess. Panicking hands rummaged restlessly through Scott's bag until finally he found a rope.

Scott couldn't have moved quicker when he grabbed the rope and threw one end down to Brick. The brown-haired man tied the rope around himself as he asked Scott a question.

"This might be a bit of a challenge, are you going to be able to lift me up?" Brick asked. "I do not doubt you or anything, just that in comparison I'm much more buff than you." It was true; Brick was much more buff than Scott was, not to take anything away from Scott's muscles.

"I'm stronger than I look, you know?" Scott informed Brick as he started pulling him up. "And to be honest, you're pretty light for someone so strong and muscular." Brick's face lit up at that sentence.

"You think I'm strong and muscular?"

"You're kidding, right?" Scott leaned back as Brick reached the top of the edge. Momentum not favouring him, Brick was pulled forward and landed on top of Scott, their lips crashing together in the process. They broke the kiss and looked away blushing furiously, not being able to look each other in the eye.

As much as he hated to admit it, Scott liked the feeling of having a shirtless Brick on top of him, and he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't like the taste of Brick's lips or the way they felt against his own.

Brick was reacting the same way in his head. He really enjoyed the short kiss he had experienced with someone as cute as Scott, and he secretly loved the way Scott's lips felt alongside his own. Brick reluctantly got off of Scott and offered his hand to Scott. He looked at the hand before accepting it and was pulled up by the buffer man.

"We should get moving," Brick grinned as he put his backpack on his shoulders, not worrying to put another t-shirt on. "We still have a fair trek ahead of us, and I'd like to get there before it gets too dark."