Later that day, Skippy and Lexx had made it back to Skippy's house. They wouldn't have the whole day to practice and after this day they'd only have three days to do so, but all the time they had left counted. Leif's injury, the day before, had been a cost. Skippy was wearing just a pair of green briefs again as he was spraying the mud pit with the hose to get it the right consistency.

Lexx was standing on the porch, he was wearing just his underpants, a pair of white briefs. His arms were folded over his chest as he looked around the backyard. Skippy and he weren't close, Skippy was Leif's friend, not his, he'd never been to Skippy's house before.

"Do I really have to be like this?" Lexx whined.

"You really don't want to wrestle in your clothes, do you?" Skippy asked, "All that mud?"

The blonde boy shook his head. The thought of being able to take a bath afterwards provided some comfort for Lexx.

"Are we going to be like this during the competition?" Lexx asked.

"Nah, we're going to wear swim briefs," Skippy said.

"Oh great," Lexx said sarcastically.

Skippy touched the mud it was cool, it was right between thick and runny, and was perfect texture. He walked up to the deck and put his arm around Lexx. "I know um, well, thank you for coming, I was gonna quit, but Leif really didn't want to, and well thanks."

"Yeah, well, my brother cares about you, I guess and this all he's been talking about for the past week and a half and… well let's get this over," Lexx said.

The two boys walked down the steps from the deck on to the grass, then toward the mud pit. The warm sun beat down on their skin. Skippy got in the mud pit first, but Lexx was standing there. He was breathing heavily as he moved his right foot close but then backed up.

"It's alright, dude, the mud isn't hot, it won't hurt," Skippy said.

"I can not believe I'm doing this," Lexx responded.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stepped forward, cringing as the wet mud squished under his feet. Despite his brain telling him to run, he opened his eyes and let out a sigh.

"See, you can do it," Skippy assured him.

"I can't believe you like this stuff too," Lexx said.

"It's alright, it's fun to get a little muddy, because people say you're ain't supposed to," Skippy replied, "Kind of like being in your undies outside, or…"

"Or like how boys aren't supposed to like pink, but I do," Lexx said.

Skippy smiled. "The rules are simple: you don't kick, punch, bite, pull hair, head butts, chocking, or anything like that. You can throw mud, but no foreign objects. Keep your at least your feet in the ring during the fight, yelling stop ends the fight. Leg holds, arm holds are fine, um, oh, for our age range of 6 to 9 years old, our matches are three minutes each, yeah," he explained.

Lexx nodded, confirming he understood the rules. He thought it was just people rolling and mud and grabbing each other, so it having some rules were a surprise.

Skippy was ready to start teaching the newbie on how to do it. In the back of his mind, he wasn't sure if this was going to work out.

Skippy showed Lexx a move where he grabs his opponent's arm, spins them around and throws them to the ground. "Okay, now you try," Skippy said, gesturing to Lexx.

Lexx tentatively grabbed Skippy's arm, but instead of spinning him, he pulled him closer. Skippy stumbled and fell to the ground. "Sorry," Lexx said, looking embarrassed. Skippy laughed it off and encouraged him to try again.

Feeling the cold and wet mud on his arm, Lexx quivered but held back from screaming. He realized that his twin brother Leif must have wanted this experience badly if he was willing to ask Lexx to take his place.

Skippy and Lexx tried the move again, it wasn't working. Skippy was patient and thoughtful. He knew Lexx, but the two boys never hung out and their actions were mostly because of Leif. He knew about Lexx and some things but didn't really know him. He showed him the move slowly and Lexx nodded like he understood.

They tried the move yet again, and this time Lexx was able to spin Skippy around and throw him to the ground. Skippy got up and smiled. "Good job! Now let's try a different move."

Skippy demonstrated how to perform a clothesline, but Lexx struggled with timing, causing him to trip over his own feet. Skippy encouraged Lexx not to be too hard on himself and reminded him that it would take time to get it right.

Lexx acknowledged the difficulty but was determined to keep practicing, not only to make his twin brother Leif proud, but also to boost his own competitiveness and pride. The next morning, with three days to go before the contest, the two boys were up early, practicing in the yard. Lexx felt the cold mud beneath him and couldn't believe this.

Skippy instructed Lexx to lay down in the mud, explaining that they needed to practice getting up quickly and avoiding pins. Lexx was hesitant, but he complied and lay down in the mud, trying to ignore his discomfort. Skippy stood over him, but Lexx couldn't discern his expression.

Finally, Skippy broke his silence, "You're forgetting a rule," he said.

"What rule? I've not gouged any eyes out or…"

"Not that," Skippy started, he jumped into the mud and rolled around then made his way crashed into Lexx then propped himself over the other him. "You're supposed to be having fun, this is all for fun!"

"I know you and my brother have fun with this and all, but…"

"You won't be able to do anything if you aren't trying to have fun with it, now try and get me with a move," Skippy said.

Lexx's eyes darted around as he looked at both of Skippy's arms holding him up above him. There would be a point that Skippy's arms would get tired and he would just either move or collapse on top of him. Skippy was smiling, some mud was dripping from his hair.

Lexx wasn't sure what to do, he hadn't been taught that yet, was this how Skippy was teaching him?

"Remember the rules, but this is mud wrestling you can use mud," Skippy pointed out.

He looked at his body, he was already using it. Then he tried to squirm, but Skippy grabbed his arms and pinned them down. Lexx growled.

"I'm making a mistake, you have to figure out what it is and counter it," Skippy said.

"You grabbing me is mistake," he said as he struggled to get out of Skippy's rather strong grip, he was taken aback.

Then, he moved his right foot and realized something. He looked and saw Skippy's feet and decided to take one of his own and try and push Skippy's. Of course, Skippy felt this and tried to counter, but he ended up slipping , letting go of Lexx's arms and collapsing on Lexx. He waited about 30 seconds as Lexx squirmed.

"You also almost had it," Skippy replied, "You found a weakness, but you didn't counter act by grabbing me when I collapsed, push and get on top and pin me."

"I was supposed to what?!" Lexx squealed.

The two boys got up. They both were catching their breath before Skippy started to say something else. "So, I'm going to lay in the mud the same way, you are going to be way I was, and I'm gonna show ya, how it works," he said.

Lexx groaned, it was probably the first time in his life he wished his foot was sprained, instead. Skippy laid down in the mud and Lexx got in the same position Skippy was in before.

"Now, you see my arms are free, hold them like I did yours," Skippy instructed.

Lexx did as he was instructed.

"Hold me down tighter," Skippy said.

Lexx pushed down a little more.

"Come on, ugly, hold me down," Skippy taunted.

Lexx clinched the boys arms harder, Skippy squirmed and smiled. "Good, I didn't meant that crack either, but you can use insults in competition, but don't be too mean,' he explained.

"Uh, ok," Lexx said.

Skippy pushed his feet up and this got Lexx's attention and the boy tried to stop them with his legs but he let go of Skippy's arms. This caused Skippy to be able to grab around Lexx's chest pulling him down, then he rolled the blonde boy on to his back in the mud and Skippy got on top of his legs and pinned the boy's arms down. "That's how you do it!"

"That was pretty good, too bad your undies are trying to fall down," Lexx said.

"Huh? Skippy questioned, he let go of Lexx's arms to check. Lexx moved quickly and grabbed him and pushed him on this back and pinned him.

Skippy laughed, "Well played," he said.

Lexx smiled, grabbed some mud, and splattered it into Skippy's face. "This is kind of fun."

They spent the day working on pinning, holds, tactics, and moves. It was near time for Lexx to go home, he was tired, his body ached, and wet. The two boys were sitting on the porch drying off after washing off the mud. It was quiet, except for the sounds of birds and the pond. Lexx and Skippy didn't have much in common and they only had talked when it came to wrestling moves or what they were doing next.

Lexx felt an unexpected sense of enjoyment. Had he let himself get caught up in the moment?

He informed Skippy that he was going inside to take a bath and change before leaving. Skippy nodded and stayed sitting there on the deck.

Lexx finished and got dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, with brown belt, and brown boots. He had fixed his hair back to it's normal neat look and made sure he had everything he needed before putting his backpack on. He went to find Skippy who was sitting on the back deck.

"Same start time tomorrow?" Lexx asked.

Skippy gazed at Lexx from his slouching position in the deck chair, "Yep, same time."

"Uh, thanks for um letting me use your bath tub here, I'd hate to go home with mud in my hair," Lexx said.

"Sure, you're welcome," Skippy said, "So you're going home now?"

"Yeah, it's almost dinner time," Lexx said.

"I understand," Skippy said, "Um, I hope Leif is getting better."

"He is, but it still hurts," Lexx explained.

Skippy gave a glint smile, "Tell him, I miss him, and I'll see him tomorrow."

"I will," Lexx said, "Bye Skippy."

He walked back into the house and went to the front door and left to his toy riding car. With a sigh, Skippy also went inside.

Skippy and Lexx trained hard for the next couple days, until they were exhausted. Despite the grueling schedule, Lexx was making good progress, though he still had a long way to go. Lexx was a hard worker, and it showed in his dedication to modeling and even in his participation in boy pageants. To his surprise, he was also starting to have fun, despite still finding mud repulsive.

On the day before the competition, Skippy decided to take it a little easier and end their training session earlier. They were sitting on the deck, soaking in the warm summer sun and enjoying the light breeze. They each had a can of soda on the table and were relaxing after washing off.

"Are you sure you want to stop for the day?" Lexx asked, "Was there something I did wrong?"

"Nah, I think it's good we rest, and I want to see Leif soon," Skippy said, "But um, you were great, um thanks again."

Lexx leaned back and let the breeze hit him, but it couldn't move his damp hair. "Please, don't tell Leif this..." he started to say.

Skippy's eyes widened; Was Lexx going to confide in him? "If you don't want me to, I won't."

"I kind of enjoyed this, now don't get me wrong, I've not become some mud lover, but this wasn't too bad," Lexx explained.

Skippy chuckled, "Now, I know why you don't want me to tell him, I really won't tell him."

That afternoon, Skippy rode his bike to Leif's house, taking off his green helmet as he hopped off and rang the doorbell. Leif's brother, Lynn, answered and directed Skippy up the stairs. As Skippy reached the door to Leif and Lexx's room, he opened it to find Leif lying in bed with his leg propped up.

"Skippy!" Leif called out, a smile spreading across his face.

Skippy rushed over, concern etched on his face. "How are you feeling, dude?"

"Getting there, but it's not going to be any better tomorrow," Leif replied with a sigh.

Skippy placed a hand on Leif's shoulder, frowning. "So, how's it going with Lexx?" Leif asked.

"He's doing better than I thought he would," Skippy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "In fact, he's been kind of fun to be around. I know, I know, but he's not too bad."

Leif chuckled. "It's alright, Skip. He can be a bit uptight, bossy, and weird at times, but he's still the best brother I have."

"Even better than your other brothers?" Skippy asked, surprised.

"Twin thing," Leif replied with a shrug.

Skippy found a chair to sit in and the two friends talked for a bit longer. Skippy expressed his disappointment that Leif couldn't participate in the competition with him, to which Leif sympathetically replied. The conversation ended when Skippy realized he had to run errands before dinner. The big competition was the next day.