Speed of Light

[Kei Kanas-Arai]

There was so much that Kei Arai wanted to do today, but none of it included being around his family. Rei was normally sweet, but sometimes he wanted some time away. And it seemed that Rei had a little girlfriend or something. He did not know her name, but he was spending some time with her. Rei was always the more affectionate one while Kei wanted to think things through, and did not really have time to think about romance while he was trying to find a way out from the grasp of his deadly mother. With a white hoodie around him, a light blue tank top underneath and a pair of bright, sky blue jeans, Kei made his way through the neighborhood that he was supposed to meet with Archie Renner at. He slipped on his rollerblades and put his sneakers into a bag that strapped to his back. He started down the road, flying down the hill and loving the feel the of the wind pass through his blue hair, which was a little more blue than the last time he saw Archie. He put on some more due to ensure it would last for more than a month this time.

Kei could see that mess of blonde hair from a distance. It brought a gentle smile to his face to see his friend once more. It felt odd having a friend that was a male for a change. He was normally around Tamsin, and she was used to him skating everywhere. Now, he was going skating with Archie. Kei assumed that Archie was going to use his skateboard. Arriving to the male that he was going to hang out with, Kei greeted, "Hey, hope you are ready for the ride." Kei made sure that he was stopped so that they could ride together. He would never understand the skating part, but he would blade anywhere. He could be convinced to try out Archie's way, but Kei knew that he would fall off that within an instant. He really wanted to just blade by Archie's side.​

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie had begun to suffocate underneath the tension in the air and increasing snide comments between his parents so when the time came he was both thankful and glad to meet up with Kei and find an escape from the madness. He arrived to his neighborhood's playground early with the hood of his jacket pulled over his head and his skateboard under one arm as he sat down on the closest bench he could find. His restless feet kicked his skateboard back and forth in front of him as he waited for his friend in a desperate plight to keep his mind busier than usual because the situation at home had become all too much for him to handle. This morning in particular was especially difficult because today was the day of the weekly family breakfast and the comfort Archie usually felt around his sisters and their close friends had been wiped away and replaced with anxiety mixed in with a looming sense of dread when his dad stood from the table without warning and left the house in an awkward silence. He didn't want to remember the moment, how the food in his stomach threatened to rise and his heart sunk in his chest while his family shot glances between each other in mutual states of confusion, but the memory was fresh and stood vividly in the front of his mind. All he wanted to do was bury it. For Kei to arrive for their meeting now and for Orwell to stay over tonight and distract every aspect of his being so he did not have to think about it anymore.

He was lucky that Kei arrived perfectly on time so he could forget about the all encompassing memory of that morning and fill it with thoughts about the here and now and the plan he had formed for this meeting. "Kei!" Archie greeted his friend, standing up from the bench so he could pull Kei into a hug that lasted a few seconds longer than intended but he failed to realize that in his desperation to lose his thoughts of home entirely now that he was spending time with the cute blue haired boy. "You're the only one that needs to be ready for this ride." His tone was playful, eager. He wanted to teach Kei to skateboard and he refused to take no for an answer. "I'm teaching you to skate whether you like it or not!" He poked Kei in the stomach with his finger and turned back to the bench, nudging his skateboard close to Kei's feet to show he was serious. Archie had a rule that each of his friends needed to try and skateboard at least once their lives and Kei was not going to be an exception to this rule.​

 

[Kei Kanas-Arai]

As soon as Kei greeted Archie, he heard the greeting his friend had, and then, in turn, received a hug. Kei, by sheer obligation and want, hugged him back as well. However, even he noticed that it lasted a little longer than necessary. Kei did not mind. This was Archie. He was adorable. He was a friend. Kei didn't know if he could trust him or not, but he was going to try around him. Strangely enough, it made him comfortable even though he knew the boy was gay. It was rather obvious in every way. But, it made him feel really good inside. And it was different than hanging around Tamsin. He and Tamsin were really close, but she didn't make him feel as comfortable. Things were a little awkward no matter what. He really cared about her though. Kei felt the hug release, and he rested his hands behind him, while looking down momentarily. Eye contact was not Kei's strong suit at all. He wondered if Archie had issues with things like that. His blue hair fell in front of his face, blocking his view for a moment. 'I have a feeling that Archie is going to make me skateboard, oh god.'

That was right. Kei flinched a bit when he poked Kei in the stomach. Sighing, Kei flipped his hair out of his face, and got down on the ground to remove his blades. He replaced them with his sneakers, before standing back up. He looked down at the skateboard. "If I damage my hair, I'll dye yours pink," Kei warned as he stepped on the end of the skateboard, and it stood vertical. He caught it with his hand, and looked toward Archie. He was being serious. Kei muttered, "Okay, here goes nothing. I mean, I know how it works, just working it..." He was struggling to hide his nervousness. He dropped the board, and stepped on it. Balancing was no trouble, but once it started to move, it was a lot more different than the blades than he originally thought. As he rolled, which wasn't very far, a small hill caused him to tilt downward, and the speed increased. Kei bent at his knees a little bit, before the wheel happened to hit a pebble. It was enough to cause a wobble, and send Kei flying into a bush. It cushioned his landing, but he had no idea where the skateboard went. At least he went back first. He uttered in Japanese, "Cursed American inventions." He started to pick the leaves and twigs out of his hair.​

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie did not know if it was his constant curiosity, the bubble of attraction in his stomach or his desperation to find a distraction that caused him to stare when the other boy averted his eyes. But he did know that he had found Kei's demeanor fascinating since the very second they had met back in brightstone, and that he did not want to waste a second while getting to know more about him. It was one of the many reasons that Archie insisted that Kei attempted to skateboard and why he also insisted on teaching him. So he could learn the way the other boy's pretty little mind worked underneath the sea of striking blue hair that Archie always found his gaze averting to. He shook his head when he noticed Kei had picked up the skateboard, realizing had been staring a little longer than he probably should have. He chose to break the small silence that had fallen with words of encouragement, not wanting to make a habit out of losing himself in his thoughts which he had already happened twice since he greeted his new friend.

"You can do it Kei! I believe in you." Archie exclaimed with a small smile that turned into a toothy grin when Kei threatened to dye his hair pink. He giggled, actually considering dying his hair for a split second because he knew Orwell would help him make the change, and the change in his appearance itself would capture and keep his attention every time he looked into a mirror, hereby keeping his mind away from the memory of what happened at breakfast and the worry of what would happen when he returned home after today. Though he quickly dismissed Kei's words and chose to move the subject back to skateboarding, sensing the other boy's nerves and attempting to provide more words of encouragement. "I've never tried rollerblading before, but it can't be that different to skateboarding, right?" He asked rhetorically. "You'll get the hang of it. Promise!" Archie watched as Kei kicked off the ground, not surprised at the awkwardness of the blue haired boy's stance. He fought the urge to step in and help Kei skate along the concrete and immediately regretted that decision when the other boy hit a rock and plummeted back first into a bush. His features winced as he jogged to pick up his skateboard and later to the bush where he offered his hand to pull Kei out. The other boy's previously neat, bright blue hair was now a mess of twigs and leaves and it brought another smile to Archie's face because he thought it was completely adorable. "Everybody falls the first time. You just need to get up and try again." He said as he continued to hold his hand towards Kei.​

 

[Kei Kanas-Arai]

Picking some of the twigs out of his hair, Kei was not happy about what he had experienced. He wanted to stick to his blades. Perhaps he could talk Archie into letting him just not even bother with the board. It was obvious that he was not good for it. Though, Kei being athletic as he was and with excellent balance, he could master it with time. The fact that Archie believed in him just made it worse on him as well. He took Archie's hand and heaved himself out of the bush. He finally got the last leaf out of his hair, and he stared down at Archie. Did he have to? "But does anyone manage to land in a freaking bush on the first try?" Kei asked, as he brushed some of the debris off of his clothing. It was ridiculous, and it was worse because he was not even hurt. So, he could not use that as an excuse to just not try it anymore. He said that he needed to try again, and out of spite, Kei was wanting to actually. He glared at the board, before, he walked over and picked it up. It was several feet away, but maybe he needed to start out small. Maybe just going back and forth on the sidewalk.

Kei decided to summon his courage, and he stood on the skateboard once more. He gained his balance, and found where he needed to place his feet. Kei turned to look at Archie, before giving him a smile, and pushing off to ride around a little it. It was hard to turn, which he wanted to turn around before hitting a hill. He attempted to turn around, which he had no idea what to do, and he managed to lose his balance and fall once more. This time, he didn't have a soft landing in a bush. He landed on his back on the sidewalk with a loud thud. Kei groaned as he laid on his back. He uttered, "I can't do this right now, I'm too frustrated!" Kei hated this because he couldn't get it on the first try. He was a bit of a perfectionist, and he was emotionally unstable due to his unique situation at home. It wasn't every day when someone ran from home, always to come back kicking and fighting, but to run away again. It was fun, but it was just frustrating.​

 

[Archie Renner]

"You're lucky to have fallen into a bush." Archie stated matter of factly, remembering that the first time he had fallen off a skateboard was onto the concrete of his old orphanage's court yard. Five year old Archie would have loved to have had something like a bush to cushion his fall instead of the unyielding solidarity of the ground. He didn't see why Kei thought falling into a bush was a big deal in comparison but he chose not to press the subject further because talking about skateboarding or rather talking about falling off skateboards would only hinder his mission to teach Kei to skate. A mission he was not about to distract himself from or give up on after one simple fall because that would be all too easy and Archie refused to take the easy way out.

Archie watched Kei retake his stance on the skateboard, optimistically matching the smile the blue-haired boy sent his way. From his own experience, Archie knew that skateboarding got easier over time and balancing on the board grew to be more second nature than anything. All Kei needed to do was focus on maintaining his balance while keeping an awareness of his surroundings and it would be smooth sailing from there. Archie's smile widened when Kei kicked off the ground a second time though in a few seconds it was entirely wiped from his face as he watched Kei once again lose control of his balance and fall from the board. This time Kei landed on the concrete and Archie had to hold back wincing at the sight. He jogged to where Kei had fallen and let his smile return to his face so he could continue to encourage his friend. The other boy was obviously frustrated but Archie wanted to distract himself from the home he would soon go back to which meant he needed at least get a third attempt from Kei before they called it a day. He wasn't sure the best way to convince Kei to not give up so he went with the first idea that popped into his head and ignored how inappropriate the idea was as he held his hand out to Kei, taking control of the other boy's balance as he pulled him to his feet and using the momentum to press their lips together in a kiss when they both regained steady footing on the sidewalk. Archie pulled away first and continued giving Kei words of encouragement with a newly formed and arrogant smirk gracing his lips. "We'll try one more time, and that's it, okay Kei? Can you try for me one more time?" He stepped back, adding more space between their bodies so he could return to teaching Kei how to skateboard.

blah blah blah​

 

[Kei Kanas-Arai]

Kei could not believe his luck. He was frustrated because inwardly, he was a perfectionist and it frustrated him to no end when he could not get something easily. Kei sighed as he lay on his back, staring up at the sky through strands of blue hair. Kei sighed and briefly wondered if he was overreacting but he was not too sure. Oh Merlin, if he was, he would have been too embarrassed to ever face Archie ever again after this. Kei dismissed his shameful thoughts of himself, before he decided to get on his feet. The smile on Archie's face made him feel only a little better, but the perfectionist could only say one thing about his skateboarding, and that was that he sucked. Kei saw Archie's hand, and sighing, he reached out to grab it. He was hauled onto his feet, and eventually regained balance. Before he could dust himself off, he found his lips suddenly against someone else's. Archie's. Kei did not have any time to react, but his shocked expression said enough for him. Kei never really thought about kissing other boys, but that one with Archie felt really nice. But what about his thing with Tamsin? He was not too sure because he liked her, but he didn't think he liked her like that.

Then Archie's words fell on his ears, but some words got left behind so what Kei heard was, "Can you try me one more time?" Kei brushed his hair over his ear before he chuckled nervously, "Well, I guess I had a few firsts today. But I don't know if I can try you again. I... I don't know if I swing that way or not." Kei had not had a lot of time to think on it, but then it suddenly dawned on him. Maybe it was custom in this country. He looked at Archie before smiling, "Is it customary to kiss friends here? I could get used to it." The whole skateboarding thing went out the window of Kei's mind. He completely forgot about it. It was easy to forget about something like that when someone has kissed the other. It was just easy for Kei to forget. Then again, he didn't want to remember his failures.​