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18:00
well.. here he is. kiwi texted lemon to get here a little later but he might as well arrive early if he has nothing else to do. he got to pick the venue (as usual) and this time he chose somewhere a bit special. a run down road with sand laying down on either side. well okay when described like that its boring, but its not really the road that matters to him. its the sky. it was all encompassing here. if the moon and the stars were out, you’d see all of it. if the warm blue sky and the hot sun were around, you’d feel it. inescapable, hell even a bit oppressive, its what he liked the most about nature
he leans on his bike and stares at it all. the road was really cracking up over there, rolls would be absolutely furious at it but kiwi kinda liked it this way. he’s not sure he could safely race on it though he didn’t mind, he always preferred the clouds the sand would make when his wicked baby would purr (translation: when his bike engine started). the sun was setting - he realised in the nick of time that it probably wasn’t the best idea to stare at it - and the sky had a hazy orange glow. it’d cast long and tall shadows below him and his bike, he must’ve looked cool like this. he chuckles to himself. he always looks cool
and there’s a.. silence. no cars coming down either side of the road, no music blaring from a stereo. only the quiet buzz of insects remained. this place was useless now with no one coming through it. he leaned on his bike slightly, in a time like this he couldn’t help but think about the old days
like this road, he was lonely. maybe its what he deserved back then, he pushed away any lingering friendship the moment he felt the cold comradery of his- no, the gang. back when he was dumb and reckless, two words people would still associate with him now, he wanted to be those rebels that’d be in movies or shows when people still gave a damn about tvs. he wanted to smoke and ride bikes around town and sleep with girls and drink and get into fights, a lot of fights. he didn’t wanna kill no one obviously but he wanted the thrill of survival and avenging the others. he wanted to be just like them, he knew he could handle it
and yeah, he could. he’s still standing right here ain’t he? but its not like he stayed with them forever either, at one point he had to go. he learnt a lot from them, how to fight, how to ride, how to get absolutely shitfaced drunk- but a street gang just wasn’t the best environment for a growing 16 year old, especially didn’t help for a kid who was slowly realising they liked guys too but.. he really doesn’t feel like going into all of that right now
so yeah eventually he did leave and yeah it was for the best, but when he got out all of his old flames were already out, the old gang either hated his ass or died anyway and his ma was worried sick. now that he thought about it she really didn’t know a thing did she? he was truly rotten back then, lying to her all while stealing from her bank account. he’d say he’s going to hang out with his friends in town when he was really going to drink with the gang in the middle of nowhere. he’d ask if she had any money so he could buy lunch, he’d use it on cigarettes and to pay off debts. he’d stay over in hotels when he said he was staying over at a friends house
just thinking about it made kiwi frown, how could he do that? she was working so tirelessly to support him, even during the most stressful times she never focused any frustration or stress onto him. yeah she’s always tried to gently tie him down, maybe thats partly why he’s so adventurous in the first place, but he knew damn well her situation. and was she really wrong for being so anxious about his safety? he clearly didn’t think about it back then
his hand gripped his phone as he opened up his contacts. he wasn’t really looking or thinking about it, didn’t need to when he’s texted her thousands of times. his fingers hit the keypads with ease- ‘love you’. he tries to say it to her as often as he can, he has to make up for all that lost time. he nearly hits send
18:10
he looked up at his screen for a moment and- hey this is lemons number.. he fumbles a bit. thank whatevers-up-there for his dark skin and the abandoned road, between those two things not a single person would notice his blush. he should be appearing any minute now though, he’d give about five minutes. lemons obviously a tortoise compared to kiwi’s girl over here, but he’s still pretty fast for a.. human? kiwi ain’t really sure what he is, doesn’t really care either
he remembers when they first met, not exactly the most romantic(?? the hells that phrasing) meeting. he was barely limping and he looked so.. mortified. it was a look kiwi knew a bit too well, the look of someone realising they’re gonna die. he wasn’t really thinking at the time, he offered lemon a ride and they were off like that. nowadays kiwi can’t imagine lemon would ever act that way, he’d either refuse out of pride or worriedness that he’d hurt him. kiwi’s been stabbed! shot at! and he thinks he’d go down to a jolt of energy?
..nah, he knows hes just looking out for him. its not like he doesn’t know the full extent of lemon’s powers either. he can’t help wonder about what lemon was doing there though, he’s never told him and kiwi’s certainly not gonna try and push it outta him. he does know that lemon’s a complete loner though, if his attitude from the first couple of weeks was enough of a showcase. but it seems like unlike kiwi it was mostly because he wanted to be
lemon prefers being alone, prefers not having to deal with others. during those first few weeks he couldn’t have stressed that out enough, anytime kiwi tried to have a conversation with him he either asked to be left alone or if kiwi had anything else better to do. yeah kiwi’s the one who left everyone, the guy who set out to carve his name into the earth, but.. if he had the option to bring friends along the ride then he would. dark nights drowned in alcohol and regrets were just part of the experience, a small burden you’d pay for utter freedom. they were the difference between alone and lonely. they’re identical roads, only difference being the cracks forming in one of them. kiwi has many pals across the globe but he’s never had friends friends, yknow? does it really work if you gotta explain it? eh whatever
18:20
he looks at the time and.. 10 minutes late!? lemons never been more than 3 minutes late tops! is he fucking with him? he looks at his phone again and notices he never really deleted that unsent text.. uhm. his thumb moves for the backspace button until he hears a loud “whoosh” pass him by
not a single cars passed since kiwi’s came here so it took him a bit by surprise, but then he feels it. the crackling energy and zesty scent of-
“oh, this is where you were.” kiwi turns off his phone and puts it in his pocket. lemon looks slightly different from those few years ago huh? his vibrant coloured eyes with a neutral expression and blonde hair slightly covering his eye were still the same, albeit his bangs being slightly longer now. but his style changed, he was rocking exclusively black this time around. where did he get all that from?
“what took your ass so long! i was thinkin’ bout going on a night drive at this point.” the suns still setting but y’know. he tries not to look like hes staring or anything, but lemon looked.. well. its a handsome set of- WAIT “ay, are you thieving my threads?? took so long tryna pick what fit to steal?”
“okay first of all its a little hard to find this place when its in the middle of nowhere.” lemon tilted his head forward ever so slightly and a small smirk lifted on his face “and second- i thought it’d be a good idea to beat you in your own clothes.”
to be fair it was just one of his leather jackets and shirts. kiwi feigned annoyance on his face but how could anyone be chill after that? it wasn’t fair how effortlessly breathtaking lemon was, despite being a shut in he knew damn well how to get ahead
“oh yeah? well imma bout to show you that it ain’t the clothes who make me the fastest, its the man! ..and my baby of course.” he makes kissy noises at his bike while walking with it, lemon audibly “eughs” in response
“you ready?” lemon moves to the other side of the road and nods at kiwi, them both walking in sand
“to win? always.” kiwi gets on his bike and smirks at the other
to be alone and to be lonely. lemon kicks at the sand before quickly finding his traction
two identical roads, ones just cracked. kiwi revs his engine and a sandy fog flares up from behind his tire
“GO!”
maybe.. they’re connected?