High [Boy X Boy]

3 - Rookie On The Practice Line

(Song Recommendation: Selena Gomez - Fetish [Lyrics] ft. Gucci Mane.)

Run.

It's all he could do and all he wanted to do.

Sweat.

It poured down his face like water from a bottle. It was warm. Too warm.

Death.

A sweet taste of the excitement that hit his tongue when he realised he was finally on the verge of it.

With a satchel over his shoulder and his items on the verge of falling out, Link sprinted out of the base with screaming and shouting and gunshots behind him. He had already taken a wound to his broken wrist where a bullet had grazed the skin, leaving a bloody red remark which was sure to sting for the next few days. 

He wasn't counting the clock hands movements and he knew that watch could explode any minute now. It was the reason tears were running down his cheeks. He had betrayed his "family" and "friends." He had left newborn children and innocent people to die in a tragic explosion. It's the last thing he wanted but in a city like this, it was how the world rolled around.

As he jumped from the dark alleyway and began running through the empty streets, Link noticed a figure in the distance. A tall figure sat on a large motorcycle holding a paper bag imprinted with the Starbucks logo in one hand and a black metallic helmet in the other.

"'Ay, Rookie! Catch-!" The stranger yelled, tossing the dark helmet as far as he possibly could (which was pretty fucking far considering it almost flew straight past Link.) Link caught the helmet with shaky hands as he accidentally dodged yet another bullet in the process.

The stranger revved the motorcycle engine, preparing to drive away if the boy running towards him didn't hurry up.

Knowing that it was either death from behind or drugs from ahead, Link's mind was made up like a game of Kerplunk. The last stick he removed was his last decision.

And fuck, did he want to be a crackhead.

A strong feeling, unlike anything he had ever felt before, woke up in his tiny weak legs and his body began to move quicker. The strides he took increased in length, his feet barely touched the ground with each leap and finally, he was sitting on the back of that damned motorcycle with his arms wrapped around the chest of a stranger. Within seconds, they were zooming off to the other side of the city where the colours increased and the lights were brighter.

The streets were busier, the shops were open and people seemed happy.

It was a change considering Link felt like New York was a city of misery at times.

The motorcycle soon came to a slow halt and Link was still checking behind him to see if there were bullets on his tail. He couldn't imagine what that watch had done by now. The helmets of both personnel on the motorcycle were brought off and Link frowned. "... I had a feeling it was you." Link sighed. "You have a tight grip, honey." The vulture smirked, crossing his arms.

"I-I was just scared... A-Are all the people in that place dead now...?"

The vulture shook his head with a chuckle. "Oh love, I'm much crueller than that... If I wanted them dead then I would have gone in there myself and dismembered 'em all..." Link shivered at the thought of the graphic scenes. "... W-What did the watch do then?" "Nothing. I just gave you an apple watch required to answer all calls sent. That's why you heard me speaking... Now." The vulture hopped off the motorcycle and locked it onto the curb. "Do not make eye contact with anyone, do not speak to anyone, do not touch anyone, just stay with me. If you wander off then I'll have your throat slit..." His face moved dangerously close to Link's. His warm breath brushed over the lips of the rookie and he smirked. Link backed away anxiously and proceeded to fall off the motorcycle after catching his foot on the pedal. He gained a few looks from people passing by and his cheeks flushed bright red with anxiety.