I already know what my happiness is. That was the biggest lie Langa ever told himself.

Langa's nerves were on fire. His heart pounded at his ribcage, almost shattering it and breaking free. It hadn't beat this hard ever. Not even hours earlier when he was racing over 100 mph along the crooked narrow ledges of the abandoned course. Not even while Adam swung his skateboard like a baseball bat at him. Even falling hundreds of feet to his possible demise was nothing compared to how heavy he felt.

The frigid night wind tore through his thin jacket, but he felt so hot. An inferno raged inside his body. It wasn't like he was sick or anything either. Just minutes earlier he was skating down the road to the main "S" track. A smile was permanently etched onto his face. It was finally time- his race with Reki. He had let gravity pull him towards the start line, not wanting to rush but instead thoroughly enjoy every millisecond he spent staking with Reki.

Skating had completely consumed every moment of his life. He reminisced about all the joyful moments skating brought him. Learning and practicing new tricks with Reki. Fanboying about the latest skateboard magazines with Reki. Playing finger skating in class with Reki and then skating away from detention with him. Langa felt warm inside just by skating on the board that Reki made him. Langa was completely in love. With skating.

Reki flashed him a smile that illuminated the sky, "We can finally make do on that promise."

"Yeah, our fantasy of a final race."

"Don't go easy on me, okay?"

"You'd better not either!"

"Ready…" All the anticipation building up inside him started to boil. It felt surreal, being able to skate all out with Reki. Somewhere buried inside his mind was the fact that he would be able to skate with Reki countless more times, but it didn't matter - he was having fun.

Langa knew that he didn't fully comprehend his love of skating. Sometimes everything would seem so dull and empty, the thrill, the sound of his heart beating - it would disappear. At times like that, he would question "Why am I standing on a wooden plank with wheels? What's the point?" No matter how far lost skating seemed to him, the pounding of his heart - his joy and happiness would always return.

At some point, the excitement, the drumming in his heart became an indicator of how much fun he was having. With Reki, he was always having fun.

"Go!" In an instant both boys shot through the first straightaway, their boards basically flying off of the ground.

Reki was trailing slightly behind, but that could change in a single moment. That's what it was like for Adam. One second Reki was being thrown around the course like a ragdoll, and in the next Adam was a complete mess.

Langa's heartbeat so fast while watching Reki's amazing skating, but he was having so much more fun now. So much more, that his heart was rocketing in and out of his chest.

What strategy is he going to use in our race?

A spark ignited in Langa's heart.

The first turn was a couple seconds away. Would Reki pull off some amazing move that only he could pull off with his extensive knowledge of skateboarding? Would Reki completely blow him away leaving him in the dust? Whatever it was, Langa wanted to see it- no, he needed to see it.

Langa cut the corner as short as he possibly could, but to Langa's slight disappointment Reki didn't pull off some physics-defying stunt. The disappointment didn't even last a second.

After glancing behind himself, miniature flames burst out of every pore in Langa's body. Reki's amber eyes were glowing. His scarlet hair flowed in the wind. Beats of sweat trickled down his face that was so singularly focused. Reki looked so cool, amazing, pretty, confident, beautiful, badass… breathtaking.

Langa turned back towards the path ahead and let out a gasp that he didn't know that he was holding in.

Reki chuckled behind him, playful, but so very dangerous. "You better keep your eyes ahead, because I'm about to leave in the dust."

A volcano erupted inside of him and his legs turned to mush. He was drowning in excitement, and Reki's warning only furthered his anticipation. What's going to happen?

And then dark sky burst open in an explosion of light.

Radiant light filled his irises and suddenly he was tumbling through the air. Yet his eyes stayed open, glued to Reki. No matter how much light flooded senses, Reki zipping past him seemed so much brighter.

Langa let out a surprised yelp when his body bounced off the ground, and he rolled into a nearby rock. He tried pushing off the ground and getting up, but when did his breathing become so short? He's fallen countless times and was only skating for around a minute, so why was he choking on the very air itself?

"Hey, are you alright?" Langa jerked his head in the direction of Reki's voice. Light bombarded his eyes once more.

Reki burst out into laughter. "Sorry, sorry, I should have told you about the sunrise beforehand."

A series of incomprehensible sounds left Langa's mouth as he continued trying to figure out how to breathe again.

Suddenly he felt a vice grip on his wrist and was hoisted upright. Oxygen finally flowed back into his lungs. He stared at Reki's face now with sunglasses on- it looked good on him. Wait, why was he thinking about how nice Reki looked?

"Is everything okay?"

A pinkish tint colored Langa's face. "Sorry, I feel really hot all of a sudden."

"You're probably just tired from skating with Adam, you need some rest… wait, where's your skateboard?"

"Huh?"

A loud crash came from below a nearby ledge.