The first day of school. He had hoped that this day would never come.
Eiji didn't really look forward to going back to school. It wasn't school he didn't like, however, but the questions and the pitiful looks on the student's faces when they'd see him after a while.
He had been a successful pole-vaulter and had won some significant competitions for his school, so most students knew him. Or his face, at least since the school had used a photo of him and his teammates to promote its successful athletics team and had advertised their achievements to get students to enroll at this school.
Eiji had never liked the attention he had received. Before the matches had started, people had always been hyped, had always come to him, cheered him on, had put a hand on his shoulders to wish him good luck and had unintentionally put him under a lot of pressure by doing so.
He hadn't done pole vaulting for fame and glory but because it had been fun. The feeling when you lifted off the ground and flew weightlessly through the air for no more than two seconds before touching the ground again felt like pure freedom. He'd never forget this incredible, electrifying and addictive feeling when you soared into the sky for a moment. Fluttering in the air for a moment with invisible wings, he had felt invincible. Like all the weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he had escaped to a world that only he knew. It was over in a fraction of a second, but the sensation had always taken his breath away when he had landed again.
In the end, he had excelled at it to such an extent that he could have gotten a scholarship with it for college at a later point. He had hoped that he could get a scholarship because his dad had died a year ago, so money was tight, and college fees for him and his sister would put his family in financial trouble.
After his father had died, he had dropped out of school for a while to help his mom and sister out and had decided at a later point to repeat the year, so, much to Reki's delight, he and Reki were now in the same class. He was a year older than Reki but looked five years younger with his huge eyes and honest face. It was something that drove him mad if people only mentioned it because none of his new classmates had believed that he was a year older than them, pointing out that he looked like a grade-schooler.
The coach was thrilled, though, because, for him, it meant that Eiji, his pole vaulting star, stayed one year longer at this school and in his athletics team.
However, shortly before the last school year had ended, he had had a severe pole-vaulting accident. After his jump, he had landed on the mat with his foot at a wrong angle, so he had twisted his right foot in the end. He had shattered his ankle in the process and had learned that his professional pole-vaulting career was over. With this injury, he would never be able to compete on a professional level again. That reality had hurt much more than the tremendous amount of pain that had followed his shattered ankle.
It had felt that together with his ankle, his life had shattered, too, everything he had valued or enjoyed had been smashed to pieces, and he was standing in front of the ruins. It felt as if his life was over, or his world had ended.
Eiji didn't like to admit that, but he had suffered from severe depression after that. It had taken him some time to realize that and get some professional help.
After his accident, he had shut everyone out and had buried himself in his room. He had refused to talk to anyone and had just been drowning in self-pity. Eiji had just been overwhelmed by sadness and frustration, getting irritated and intolerant of other people's feelings who had just worried and wanted to help him. He had lost all hope for a future and felt powerless, often tearing up without reason.
Most people stayed away when they had seen that he didn't even take notice of them, was always in a bad mood, and often got angry for no reason. He felt like a robot or an empty shell, without a soul, feelings or a reason to live. He hadn't even cared that he had scared everyone away.
Except for Reki, his best friend since kindergarten. Reki had never given up and had just climbed into his open window or had forced it open when he had refused to see him.
He knew Reki wouldn't give up so easily. Eiji had ignored him, insulted him, shouted at him, pushed him away, but it hadn't worked. Eiji had been reminded that he wasn't the only one who could be stubborn as hell and had underestimated Reki's persistence. And the depth of their friendship as well.
Eiji had eventually given in and had reluctantly promised him to think about therapy and to come to school again. When his pole vaulting accident had happened, the school term had been nearly finished, and with a shattered ankle, he had stayed home until summer holidays had arrived.
So, Reki had used the summer holidays to convince him to return to school for the new term while he had used them to listen to Reki and had found a therapist. He still hated going there at times but had eventually noticed that he had started to improve. His therapist had taught him to focus on things and people still surrounding him instead of focusing on something he had lost and wouldn't get back. He was still recovering, he was aware of that, but he noticed how he gradually improved.
He and Reki were both pretty different but had been best friends for as long as he could remember. While Reki had an outgoing personality and loved being surrounded by people, and lived for his passion for skating, he was more withdrawn and quiet. He didn't like being the center of attention as a pole vaulting star but was always polite, honest and, like Reki, he had an open face that was easy to read.
He and Reki had been childhood friends since kindergarten. Eiji had always been the polite, quiet and reasonable one who had always stayed calm, while Reki had always been the impulsive one who had often lost his temper and had gotten into fights, getting hurt in the process. Eiji had often prevented him from falling for provocations, while he had often protected Eiji if he had gotten into arguments. He had always been too kind to defend himself, so Reki had looked out for him and had saved him if necessary.
Reki had always been there for him when he had felt down or had been frustrated. He hated to admit that even to himself, but Reki's feelings were always so energetic and cheerful that his presence always relaxed him and improved his mood. Usually, Reki was happy and upbeat. If his feelings turned negative, however, they were as extreme, and when that happened, he withdrew himself from him because he felt like a nuisance. Then, Eiji had always reached out to do the same for him. He was sensitive to other people's feelings, especially Reki's, and always saw at once if Reki acted weird or wasn't feeling well. Their friendship had always been really close, so they had always supported each other.
Reki had also been the one begging him to learn skateboarding together with him, so Eiji had agreed. It had been pretty fun learning it together and teaching each other new tricks if you ignored the constant cuts and bruises they had received while getting down the basics. Eiji had always known that Reki had been much more passionate about skating. For him, it was a way of life or his reason to live. For Eiji, it was fun, but he had seen it more as a hobby, a way to pass the time, and nothing more.
So, when he found his real passion, pole vaulting, he had needed weeks to work up the courage to tell his best friend the truth, mainly that he loved pole vaulting more than skating and wanted to pursue it seriously. He hadn't wanted to disappoint his best friend or, even worse, lose him as a friend. He shouldn't have worried, though. Reki had seen his smile and had asked him just one question:
"Do you enjoy pole-vaulting? Is it fun?"
Eiji had felt how all the tension fell off of him, and pure relief flooded through him before he had smiled at him.
"Yes, it is. It feels as if I can fly. As if anything is possible. Like pure freedom."
Reki had grinned back. "I feel the same while skating. So, I'll forgive you. Barely."
However, joining the athletics team had meant that skating at S or trying out dangerous stunts with Reki wouldn't be possible anymore. The risk of broken bones would be too great, and his pole-vaulting career would be over before it even started.
Eiji had noticed that Reki had been a bit disappointed. They had always skated together, after all. His face always revealed his emotions, so he had read him like an open book. So, in the end, he had promised him that they'd still skate to school and for fun but that he wouldn't take part in dangerous competitions such as "S".
Reki's beaming smile had been totally worth it.
So here he was getting ready for the new term and his first day of school after his pole vaulting accident. He was a bit nervous, and he didn't want to go, but he had promised Reki he would try and he wouldn't break his promise to him.
Besides, Reki was already standing in front of his house, early for the first time in his life probably, and waited for him, one foot on his skateboard while another board was tucked under his arm.
Eiji sighed, grabbed his bag, and headed outside.
Reki smiled at him and handed him the other board. "Here, I made you a new one. Look at the amazing design I did!" Reki grinned like a Cheshire Cat and watched expectantly for his reaction. Eiji turned the board around and looked at it. He had drawn a sky held in blue with golden, orange and pink highlights and a rising sun. In the middle, he had written:
A new dawn is breaking
This was the first time Eiji genuinely smiled. "Thank you. It's beautiful. Your designs have improved a lot."
"It suits you. You're still hurting, but you've improved. You'll find a new dawn and will get better, Eiji. Not at once but over time. I'm here for you. You're not alone."
"A tear slid down Eiji's face while he nodded. "Thanks." Reki shoved his board to the side and hugged him. Then, he looked at him with sparkling eyes, obviously enjoying himself immensely.
"So, can you still skate? We won't make it in time if we walk."
"Yes, sure. Let's go."
Even if Eiji realized that Reki skated a bit slower for him, he was grateful. He hadn't skated for more than half a year, and Reki noticed instantly that his technique and his stance were a bit rusty and hesitant. Reki always considered his feelings and put them first, especially now when he was still healing.
That was also why Reki had taken a slight detour, so they wouldn't pass the athletics campus while skating to school.
"I'm wondering what the two newbies are like.", Reki wondered, looking at Eiji while they continued skating to school.
"Huh?" Eiji had no clue what Reki was talking about. Reki looked at him incredulously.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten, Eiji. I told you we'd get two new students when school starts. One was from the US and one from Canada, I think. According to our teacher, they moved here with their parents."
"Oh, right. I've forgotten all about that.", Eiji admitted honestly.
"That's because you haven't even paid attention to me at all until I convinced you to get professional help." Reki was right, of course. At the beginning, he hadn't paid attention to anyone, drowning too much in his sadness and self-hate to notice. Still, when he looked at Reki, there was no accusation reflected in his eyes but pure honesty with a hint of worry.
"Sorry, I should have listened to you sooner. And I treated you so horribly. I'm the worst.", he replied seriously, feeling guilty that he had dealt with his best friend in such a selfish way. "Thanks, Reki. For not giving up on me." Reki smiled at him.
"It's fine. You're my best friend, and I missed your cheerful smile. I wanted you to get better and heal. You're still recovering; I can see that but coming back to school is a step in the right direction."
"My therapist told me the same. I hate therapy sometimes, but I noticed that it helps me focus on the things I still have instead of those I have lost.", Eiji explained quietly.
"That's a good way to see things. You will see; things will only get better from here on."
______________________________
When they arrived at school, Eiji was bombarded with questions. Reki noticed that he felt overwhelmed by them and desperately wanted to escape, so he quickly dragged him away, and they went to their classroom, where they took their usual seats, one seat behind the other in a row. Meanwhile, the rest of their classmates entered as well with long faces as always on the first day of school.
That's when they looked to the front where their teacher was already standing with two new students beside him.
They introduced themselves as Ash (he didn't even give his last name, much to the teacher's dismay) and Langa Hasegawa. The teacher wanted them to tell the class more, but all they said was where they came from.
Ash came from New York City and Langa from Canada. He never specified where precisely in Canada he came from.
The girls all whispered how cute they were and giggled at their short introduction and at the failed attempt of the teacher to encourage them to say more about themselves.
Especially Ash, who had golden blonde hair, stunningly green eyes, and a large, slim build, had drawn their attention. Yet, when Ash gave them a death glare, they stopped looking at him and focused their attention on Langa instead. He had the same build and height but had sky blue hair and ocean blue eyes. Reki rolled his eyes at the girls, then moved closer to Eiji, who sat directly behind him.
"Is that an American thing that people don't reveal any emotions on their faces? They look cool but so cold and... Eiji...? Eiji, are you listening to me?"
However, Eiji was focused on that blonde American. He couldn't stop staring at Ash and the intense look in his eyes. Ash looked stunningly handsome, like a supermodel, no doubt about it. Yet, that wasn't what fascinated Eiji.
It was his whole posture that screamed, Stay away from me. The look in his eyes was a burning gaze that could silence a room within seconds, dominating all with his dangerous aura. Eiji had always assumed that was how a leader would act. That was what Ash undeniably was. A leader. Someone giving orders, not receiving them. His posture emitted self-confidence, absolute power and danger. Eiji noticed it in the way the girls stopped giggling and avoided his gaze, suddenly going quiet. It wasn't just the girls. The whole class had backed away when Ash went through the room and sat down next to him.
Eiji watched him with sudden curiosity, awaking from his stupor. Ash had the most fascinating emerald green eyes when they were hit by the sunlight coming through the window just like now. Still, when Eiji looked more closely, he noticed the darkness in his eyes and the loneliness reflected in them. No one else had seen it.
"Hey, Ash. It's nice to meet you. Ash grumbled something that sounded like, Hey, but that was all. Eiji moved a bit closer to him, and Ash practically flinched and for a fraction of a second raw panic flashed through his eyes. He wondered if he had imagined that...
"Ash had to move here on very short notice, so he doesn't know much Japanese yet. Try to explain the most important things to him in English, ok?", the teacher Mr. Nakamura asked him. Eiji nodded and opened his book on the right page and shared it with him, stumbling over some English words while he tried explaining what topic they had and what they were supposed to do next and what the exercise was about. Ash didn't say anything but nodded and wrote some things down.
"Ash, can you move a bit closer? I can't share my book with you if you are so far away. Ash just blinked in confusion, so Eiji tried to translate it to English. Suddenly, understanding flashed in his eyes, and he moved his table a bit closer.
Even so, the way he was sitting there was weird. He had tensed up and nearly jumped out of his chair when their hands accidentally touched because he wanted to show him which exercise on the page was the current one. All color had drained from his face, but he had quickly regained composure, so most of his classmates hadn't noticed.
He held the pen like a weapon and not a writing tool as if he was expecting a threat or an attack or something similar. His intense eyes fixated him suspiciously, then tried to read the exercise. Eiji wondered if he tried to decipher Japanese or if he was far-sighted. Or maybe both?
Eiji watched him curiously and wondered what had happened to him before coming here. Ash was fascinating, and his profound loneliness and his cold and distant attitude made Eiji assume that there was more to Ash than was visible at first sight...
He didn't interact in any way and left as soon as the bell rang to signal the end of class.
When he looked back to Reki and the new guy named Langa, he saw that Reki watched Langa how he meticulously folded all of his books in a neat line sorted by size and color before putting them in his bag that was organized and orderly to the max while Reki's was a complete mess where probably an alternative universe existed.
When Langa was gone, he turned to Reki.
"Thank you for saving me before school started. All those questions made me wish I could escape back home.", he admitted honestly.
"I saw the panic in your eyes. Yet, you didn't escape. Why?"
"I promised you I would give school a try, so I did.", Eiji simply stated.
Reki smiled.
"So, what was the guy like? The guy named Langa."
Reki rolled his eyes at him. "That guy's just weird. Have you seen how he sorted all his books and folders by size and color? And he had a bag that was better organized than our library. His face is completely expressionless, and he doesn't talk at all. He looked so cold that I could see snowflakes falling around him. Why does our class always get the weirdos?", Reki complained. Eiji just shrugged.
"So, how was Ash? You were fascinated by him. You completely ignored me and woke up from your dazed state. Eiji felt slightly guilty about that.
"Sorry, Ash is distant and as quiet as Langa with the only difference being that he doesn't like closeness or touch and has the most intense look I've ever seen. I wonder what he's gone through? His whole body language says to stay away, but there's a loneliness in his eyes that asks for the opposite. He's interesting."
"So, how was your first class?", Reki asked carefully.
"Better than I expected, thanks to you. I think I'll be fine."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. This is a crossover written for Sk8 AU week on Tumblr that I have created on Tumblr.
The first chapter is a bit sad because it deals with Eiji's depression after his pole vaulting accident. But it also describes the deep friendship between Reki and Eiji who grew up together and are childhood friends.
This story will have several chapters, maybe 10.
Please leave a comment if you enjoyed reading it or leave a vote. Feedback always encourages me to write more.
The next chapter will probably be about Ash and Eiji's first "real" meeting.