Flower Amongst Thorns [Boy x Boy]

Chapter 10

"Perfect!" Ivy exclaimed before narrowing his eyes into a sly smirk, "I challenge you to a race."

"Incase you didn't hear me the thousand times befor-"

"If you win, I'll keep quiet for the whole trip. I won't make a peep until I find the Luna." The younger explained, making Artios stop in his tracks, eyes widening in shock.

This deal seemed really good.

Too good to be true.

Something was fishy...

"And if you win?" The swordsman raised his brow in suspicion.

"You have to give me a hug." Ivy answered with an evil grin, "Thirty seconds, full contact. A proper hug."

A hug.

What was up with this guy's unending need for physical contact?! It was kind of weird.

Artios took a moment of consideration to weigh out the pros and cons of his options.

He looked Ivy up and down, observing his build.

The teen was skinny and didn't look like he exercised much. He was also significantly shorter than the older, meaning he would have smaller strides.

Plus, from the little bit of information known about him, it seemed like he didn't go out of the house much either. 

Artios on the other hand was an experienced thief of twelve years, and his entire career was based around running for his life.

There was a very low chance that Ivy could actually win this.

He wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either so it was highly unlikely that he had any ulterior motives or hidden loop holes.

It was a pretty sweet deal.

"I'm in." The swordsman declared.

"Yay! Okay." The smaller beamed with excitement. "Okay, we'll go at the count of three?"

"Yup." Art agreed as he positioned himself properly.

"Ok, three, two, one... Go!" Ivy counted down. He sped ahead  without even glancing towards the thief.

"Haha loser I'm way ahead of you. I didn't think it would be this easy to win!" The eighteen-year-old stuck his tongue out at the other, after realizing that the man was still running much farther behind him.

"That's cause you ran before finishing the countdown!" The thief argued back.

"Oh please, one second doesn't do anything. Just admit it, I'm way faster than you!" Ivy giggled before speeding ahead even faster.

Artios had to admit that he had underestimated Ivy, as the younger was much quicker than he had initially anticipated.

The teen had kept the lead until much farther than predicted.

However that being said, as expected, almost half-way through the run, the swordsman had taken the lead while Ivy had began to slow down because he had exerted all his energy in the beginning instead of saving it for the whole way.