Freerunner

Chapter 2

I fell to the dust, turning to see him fly at me to finish me off. My body reacted before my mind did. My feet hit his abdomen and threw him across the canopy, giving me time to flip up and land an arm on his throat. I had won.

Almost.

Sure, I had him but he had me too.

"Curse your luck," I choked. He had managed to reach up and close a hand around my neck. "Curse your speed," he spluttered back. So there we were, lying on the ground, waiting for the other to give in.

"I can't breathe," he wheezed. I nodded, unable to respond. "On the count of three, we let go." It was more of an order than a question. I agreed. We counted in our heads then released at the same time.

We dragged ourselves to opposite corners of the fallen tower, catching our breath.

"Call it... a draw?" he coughed. I turned to find him moving up behind me. "Sure," I croaked.

"You've gotten really quick. Muscle memory?" he guessed.

"Yeah," I finally let out. "I reckon you'll ace the combat exams."

Stevie grinned. He held out a hand and we shook.

Over the next two weeks, we eased up on our pranks and focused more on Stevie's upcoming examinations. This was serious stuff that would determine what he'd be doing for the rest of his life. For Stevie and only for Stevie, I attended school as normal and endured it so he could get some decent study done. At night, I didn't wander over to the shelters and wake him up. He told me he needed his sleep so he could stay awake even during the most tedious revision.

During his breaks, he still pleaded for me to help him revise. Despite it being against my best interests, I agreed. At least he didn't have me help him with the boring coursework. He had me help him with stuff like combat.

We'd had a few more little battles since the last to help him develop his skills. One day, I actually beat him. I stood proudly over him, my foot on the back of his head.

"Well, well, well, look who's triumphed this time!" I grinned. He turned his head so he could see me out of the corner of his eye.

"Alright, fine. You win. Now let me up."

I reached down and pulled him to his feet. He brushed the dust off his uniform as I waltzed around the canopy, my arms up in the air.

"Haha! Who says the little guy can't win?"

"I get it, Rose."

"I kicked your sorry little ass!"

"Okay, yes you did."

"Not even-"

"Rose!"

I stopped and looked over at him. He was rubbing the back of his head and gazing back looking slightly bothered. "You beat me, big deal, now will you shut up?"

I was taken aback. I folded my arms and glared at the ground. "Jeez, you don't have to be a sore loser," I muttered.

"Well you don't need to brag so much," he retorted.

We stood there, scowling at one another. After a while, I softened. "Sorry, I guess I got too cocky," I admitted.

Stevie had cooled off as well and now looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry I snapped."

I just shrugged. "I deserved it anyway."

He gave me his usual half-smile. "So tell me, how'd you do it?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Rose."

"Oh, right," I smiled head awkwardly. "Well, I noticed you always use your strength at the expense of accuracy. And yes, you're one of the bigger guys so most of the time you can pull it off but when your opponent is quick, accuracy is key. Your power is useless if you can't land anything on them. So what I did, since any heavy stuff I use against you would be like punching a brick wall, was aim for your vital points."