Race to Finish
Author Notes: Loooove Sk8 the Infinity, though despite my love for the series, never really had the chance to do anything with it. Well...tis the season to try some new fandoms.
So, time for some festive fun. Remember to look for the special word that's been thrown into each of the one shots this holiday season. I do not own Sk8 the Infinity!
3rd P.O.V
Hot breathe puffed out slowly as the daybreak slowly rose onto the snow covered ground. Trucks drove around, salting and plowing the roads, creating a brown and gray slush. More snow was on the horizon, a true white Christmas.
A surprise considering how hot and humid it normally was even for this time of year. Setbacks with the weather aside, Reki wasn't going to let it slow him down. He stood atop the hill with his skateboard in hand as he took in the quiet.
Adjusting the straps of his backpack he took another breathe before leaping forward. Muscle memory kicked in as he smoothly transitioned from ground to skateboard, soaring down the road despite the slush and salt. The sun illuminated his world as he pushed himself to his destination.
Through the nearly empty streets, he maneuvered to a little spot he had been working on the last two weeks. It was hard to hide this from his friends while going to school, the races, work, and his typical hangouts, but it would be worth it. He would make sure it would.
He spent nearly three months of his paychecks to get his presents the way he wanted them to be, even all wrapped up in nice little bows. A table folded against the wall sat at an angle as he skidded to a stop, nearly slipping but caught himself just in time.
Sighing he pulled off his backpack full of supplies off, releasing the ache from his shoulders. "Almost done." His mental checklist was slowly but surely getting done. He got the presents, the decorations, the food though couldn't come till later, was already prepped...but that left just one thing.
With a grin he unzipped his backpack, he pulled out two canisters. He twirled them three times in his hands. The one in his left, was called "Ash Black" the other that nestled snugly in his right, was called "Minty Emerald."
Swift, expert movements, his fingers rose, lifting the canisters and sprayed. Zigzags with sharp tips in a black outline, all before filling the insides with green. There were more colors waiting to be used, but this was going to take time.
He drew the design over and over with pencil, then paintbrush before practicing on a canvas with his sprays. At this point he could manipulate his tools with ease, practically in his sleep as the fumes from the sprays burrowed into his nose.
Not that he was bothered by it. He found himself desensitized to it ages ago. Hunger growled at him in impatience, also fine. He had fruitcake bars in his bag, with water and energy drinks. It would get done.
XxXXxXXxXxXxXxXxX
"It seems Mr. Kyan is the only one absent." Langa furrowed his brows in worry as he snuck a text to his friend. It wasn't like Reki to be absent. As far as yesterday went, his friend was fine.
He even promised to see Langa the next day. No text to alert him that he was running late. It just...felt off. It made him think back to when Reki was distancing himself. When his depression went to dangerous levels.
Though Reki's mom assured him after speaking with her one day, that Reki's medication and the boy himself was constantly monitored, but there was always that lingering concern.
Thankfully things have been fine. Still, paranoia liked to show up at the most undesired times, like now, when there was no reason for him to be even remotely worried. His phone buzzed immediately after he sent his message.
'Can we hang out later? Meet me over by the little skating area with the graffiti star at 6.'
Langa furrowed his brows at the message. Reki purposely skipped school today? But why? Though it was the last day of classes before the break, Reki wasn't the type to skip. In fact he was probably one of the smartest people in their grade.
"Mr. Hasegawa, answer this question please." No matter how much he wanted to ask questions, he was interrupted. "Yes sir." Time and time again. "Mr. Hasegawa, what is the answer to this?" Regardless of the class, it felt to him as if the teacher's were targeting him.
Every time his fingers twitched near the phone..."Mr. Hasegawa." It made him miss Reki even more since the day just seemed to drag on. "Hey Langa! Come eat with us!" Not even during lunch was he able to dial a single digit before someone came to bother him.
It didn't help that his access to the roof was cut off due to the maintenance man locking it to clean. The day couldn't end soon enough. The instant the bell rang signaling the end of class, Langa hopped on his skateboard, avoiding the teacher that decided to chase him that day, and bolted out of school.
As much as he wanted to just zoom to his meet up spot with Reki, he still wanted to see his mom and drop off his backpack. But of course, things just couldn't go his way when he made it home.
"Hi honey! Welcome back. Can you do me a favor and help me with this?" What was supposed to be a quick 5 minute stop at most, turned into an hour long struggle with helping his mom set up their Christmas tree.
Not that he could blame her for wanting help. Those instruction manuals were absolutely awful and whoever wrote it clearly had no clue what they were doing. All the same, he couldn't afford to waste any time. Well, not anymore time.
But then as he started getting out onto the streets speeding away towards the hangout spot, he was stopped once more. "Hey Langa, come over and eat." And unfortunately, it was Joe.
Langa liked Joe, the chef was a good guy that alongside Cherry essentially adopted him, Reki and Mia. Not at all a problem, except being stopped and escorted to Joe's restaurant where the rest of their group settled in.
All but one. "Hey why isn't the punk with you?" Shadow looked up from his hand of cards, grunting when Mia added to his War pile. "He said he wanted me to meet him at 6. He skipped school." Cherry tsked hearing that, folding his fan over his mouth with narrowed eyes.
"Reki is not one to just ditch, especially with how high his grades are. He's up to something." Mia cheered as he fully cleaned Shadow out. "Mommy's instincts striking again? Let's go find the loser and see what he's hiding." Langa was already turning around, more than eager to move.
Of course, only to be stopped, literally by Joe. "Food first. I'll make some to go for Reki, but you need to eat, Langa. I could hear your stomach growling the entire time in the car." Blocked once more, this time by a plate of lasagna...Langa relented.
Shoveling the food into his mouth he ate, well as much as he could without enraging Cherry, or disgusting Mia. Even when he finished ten minutes later, it felt like a life time. "Let's go!" All of them grabbed their skateboards, rushing through the streets.
"What's all the rush guys?" Only for the group to then be stopped by Oka. "We're heading off to go see Reki." Langa wanted to scream in frustration. All. Day. But of course, not only was Oka another good friend, but more importantly, he was also Langa and Reki's boss.
Can't just tell him he's busy and leave. "Reki's done already? I thought he said to meet at 6..." Langa blinked, now registering his boss having a heavy sack lifted over his shoulder.
Cherry narrowed his eyes, his instincts kicking in once more. "You're helping Reki?" Oka shrugged, a nervous grin on his face. "Fraid I can't say. I really think you guys should hold off unless Reki tells you to come early." Suspicious.
Far too much for the group's taste. So Shadow and Joe each grab the Dope Sketch manager by the shoulder. "We're going." Together, all of them proceeded to their destination, where all of them stood gobsmacked.
A beautiful graffiti painted tree in several shades of green, decorated with multi-colored bulbs and mini skateboards. Tables set up with clean white tablecloths patterned with little poinsettias. A boombox, wired to his phone played softly from a playlist of cheery Christmas tunes.
"Reki?" That teen himself was distracted, tinkering with a little light projector he was struggling to angle along the alley. "What took you so long Oka? Did you bring the presents?" The manager snorted as he took in his employee.
He wasn't even looking in his direction, unaware of the additional people with him. "Yes, and some stragglers along the way." Hearing that, Reki snapped his head up, groaning when he saw the group. "Noooo! This was supposed to be a surprise dammit! Oka!"
Oka could only shrug, offering him an apologetic smile. "I tried kid. When's your mom coming?" Ignoring the others for a moment, Reki sighed. "She'll be here any minute with my sisters and the food."
The redhead gave everyone else a look, which made all of them, even Cherry, turn away with a bit of guilt. He managed for a solid thirty seconds before laughing. "Well, cat's outta the bag now. Surprise! Merry Christmas!"
The End
Author Notes: This is something I can totally see happening. Poor Langa, the guy was just so unlucky being stopped. Well, that's another done for the books! Ladies and gents thank you so much for reading my story.
As always I appreciate it. And if you like how this turned out, feel free to fav/follow/review as it always means the world to me. Or you can check out some of the many other stories I've done. With that said I'll see you next time, tchao for now!