CRUEL

CRUEL|FOURTY-TWO

CHAPTER FOURTY-TWO

CRUEL

[SEASON THREE]

"June! Don't you think this uphill is too long?!" Dom screamed towards the boy in front of him. "It's the can-do spirit that keeps me going right now!" June screamed back. "I just have the 'I want chicken' spirit, damn it!" Tea screamed annoyed. But before anyone could reply, Vinny passed them and June, taking the lead.

"He has improved..." Tea whispered. Arezou nodded in agreement, blowing a strand of her hair from her face. "After he changed his handle to a drop bar, his speed went up," she explained. Tea smiled cheekily, picking up his own speed. "As if I would let him win!" he shouted, challenging and passing June too. Arezou sighed as she watched them go.

As the team reached the park, Arezou jumped off her bike and took off the helmet. Panting hard, she tried to catch her breath and wiped the sweat away. "This feels good...I haven't cycled this hard in a long time," her brother said happily. "Fuck, that uphill killed me..." she whined, freeing her hair from the bun. "Hey, Vins, are your new shoes good? The starting gets better?" she asked the boy, passing a panting Shelly a bottle of water.

But Vinny wasn't listening, throwing the helmet on the floor in annoyance and looking at Jay. "Hi, is this a joke for you? Everyone's practicing with full gear like it's a real match, so what the hell do you think you're doing?" he growled.

Dom quickly tried to stop the boy from stomping on Jay, while Arezou slowly walked in front of Jay, and Tea put a calming hand on Vinny's shoulder. "For fuck's sake, how are you supposed to practice seriously on that garbage bike? Are you here on a picnic?!" Dom, as always, tried to calm the tension: "Hey, hey, why are you on edge again?"

"I am taking it seriously," Jay said with a stern tone. "What?!" Vinny growled. Arezou quickly held a hand up, stopping the boy from screaming more. "Chill, we got your point. Let's just let Jay explain why he is riding this lousy bike," she said, calming the situation. June nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you know Jay is not the type to act without reasons. I'm sure he's trying to train his muscles or something by riding a heavier bike."

Arezou looked behind her at a zipping sound, perplexed as Jay opened his jacket and pulled it over his shoulder, revealing a vest with weights on. Arezou snorted as she watched how he proudly displayed the vest. "This idiot is taking this seriously. How heavy is that vest?"

"Fuck, buddy... That's even too much for you... Did Zou give you this thing?"

Arezou hummed curiously, grabbed the vest, and lifted it to test its weight. She whistled, impressed as she felt the heft. "That is really heavy... How much can you lift?" she asked, curious. "No idea..." he said nervously, as she patted his arm, mumbling about that there is much more than she had expected.

"Mis-"

Arezou looked confused, searching for the familiar girl she just heard. "What's wrong?" Shelly asked, watching how Arezou rubbed her head. "I thought I heard someone..."

A few meters behind them was indeed someone calling after her beloved Mistress, almost blowing up their hidden place. Owen sighed in relief with the peach-haired girl, glad that she didn't find them. "You idiot! You almost blew up her hidden place!" he hissed. Vero bit him on the hand, stopping him from screaming after her Mistress. "You ugly Bitch. The only person that is allowed to touch me is my miss! Get your dirty hands off!" she hissed. She ignored Owen's growl and turned to the small girl next to them. "So, you are the girl Owen told me about..." she mused, scaring Aria, who didn't understand a word she was saying.