Grey Walls (Discontinued)

Chapter One

The Day Before the Swipe

Ethan opened his eyes to the sound of Beyonce. It was a familiar routine with his roommate he had yet to adjust to yet. Steve set his alarm to 5:30 every morning, insisting that he needed to shower before his run. Ethan usually joined him on his runs before returning to their room to shower and change. Then he would join the rest of his team at the breakfast bar, eating oatmeal and cranberry juice as the rest of them gorged themselves on cardboard waffles and the occasional doughnut.

Before he could look forward to eating breakfast he had to deal with Steve. He ripped himself out of the sheets and reached for a pillow. Eyes still closed, he chucked the pillow at Steve's bed, satisfaction coming from a sound of pain coming from the other bed.

"You son of a bitch," Steve said, chucking his own pillow at Ethan just as Ethan's hand found his glasses.

"Go shower, you ass," Ethan put his glasses on and glared at Steve across the room. "Don't think about setting your alarm tomorrow or I will reveal my true strength."

Steve rolled his eyes and puled his shirt over his head. "Your true strength is the amount of curse words you say in a day."

"True enough," replied Ethan, shrugging and running his hand through his hair that he had dyed before leaving for the competition. He waited for Steve to start the shower before getting dressed, putting in his contacts in the small mirror over the microwave.

He left the room and went down to the lobby, opting out of the run for that day. A small figure tossed itself at her, whipping her red hair into his face as it scampered up to his shoulders.

"No run today?" a feminine voice said from his shoulders.

"No," Ethan replied. "I woke up to Beyonce this morning and that means Steve is going the long way."

He felt small hands play with his hair as he grabbed a glass of cranberry juice and an apple. He joined a three other teens in a booth by the window, bending over to allow Maddy to dismount off his shoulders and sit by a plate of discarded whip cream with a side of waffle.

The remaining people at the table sat in silence as they sipped caffeinated beverages in the hotel air. Ethan had always hated hotels, in this life and his past one. The air was always fake and the people there were always casting cold glances his way. He chugged his glass of juice and leaned back against the booth. He pointed a finger at Maddy, a petite girl with red hair and a face full freckles.

"You might want to eat healthier," Ethan said as whipped cream dribbled down her pale skin.

"I need boobs," Maddy said, patting her flat chest.

"No, you don't." Amanda was quick to shake her head, her hair, died a shade of purple, coming out of her loose bun. "Too much of a hassle."

"You look fine just the way you are," Martin said, gesturing at his own chest and smiling. "I have no boobs and I manage to get all my men just fine. It's what's down here that counts." He moved his other hands below the table, presumably to grab his groin.

"Things would be simpler with a dick," Mary sighed into her fork as she chewed on the plastic end.

"If you land on the bar, though," Ethan interjected, both Martin and he shuddering.

"True that," Marin said, wrinkling his chocolate coloured nose.

"Not as bad as a uterus," Amanda said, cockily leaning back.

"I cannot argue with that."

The banter continued throughout breakfast as they waited for Steve to return. He eventually returned, his pale skin red and black hair dripping with sweat.

"Are we ready?" Ethan stepped out of the booth, reaching both arms towards the sky.

The others nodded, Amanda twirling her car keys. They filed out of their hotel just as a group of tourist came down the stairs wearing matching shirts.

The weather here was cooler than it was in California and he felt Maddy pull herself closer to him, dressed only in a t-shirt and leggings. Maddy reminded him of Mark, no concept of personal space. It happened especially with him, curling herself on his lap in the car or waiting for him patiently outside of the changing room only to cling onto him as he left.

Amanda climbed into the drivers seat of the rental car, the only one old enough to drive. Ethan sat beside her in the passenger's seat, turning up the heat inside the car. He was glad for his thin jacket even then.

"How were you able to run in this?" Maddy asked Steve, incredulous.

"It was colder in Russia and I had hand warmers," he replied.

"You jerk! Let me have one," Maddy exclaimed, punching Steve's arm.

He reached into hos pocket and tossed her one of the small packets.

"None for me?" Martin asked, pouting in a mocking way.

"You are too ugly," Steve replied after eyeing Martin up and down.

Martin gasped and punched Steve's other arm.

"They are idiots," Amanda complained loudly to Ethan. The backseat fell quiet.

"Their our idiots," Ethan said with a small smirk.

"Damn right," yelled Martin from behind them.

Amanda offered a kind smile to Ethan as they stopped at a red light. They were not dating. Ethan had to express that many times to reporters interviewing his team as Amanda stood off to the side, a blushing mess. Ethan didn't care too much about the misconceptions having dealt with it in a past life. His head filled with pictures of smutty art and yaoi. He struggled to control a blush in the stuffy air of the car.

The car pulled into the parking lot of the gym. Maddy jumped out of the car and sprinted over the ice covered asphalt, catching herself on a nearby car as she almost slipped. The rest of the team followed at a slower pace.

"They should host this shit in the summer," Martin muttered bitterly as he pushed open the glass door.

Ethan was immediately hit with a blast of stuffy air and the stench of sweat. He wrinkled his nose as he lead the way past the deserted front counter. The gym was officially closed, rented out by Rich to train the week prior to the competition.

The main room of the gym was covered in blue foam from top to bottom, only a rock wall and a door on the far side standing out in the bright room. The training equipment was pushed off to the side, and as Ethan pulled his sweatshirt over his head, Amanda and Steve began to pushed over the bar and a mini trampoline.

They stretched, the room silent except for the sound of a weather report echoing out from a small TV in the corner of the room near a set of bleachers. This is how they got when they worked. It was starkly different from Teamiplier. In that office, you could often here Kat humming a theme song or Mark's deep laugh. Amy would often insist on playing holiday themed music whenever possible as Tyler tried to wrestle the speaker out of her hands. Now, there was a comfortable silence that hung in the air, covering them like a old and friendly blanket.

Then the lights turned off. The room hung in darkness as the silence continued. The only light came from the TV in the corner. Even there, the studio was shrouded in a layer of darkness. Then there was flicker on the screen and a brightly lit room appeared. In the image displayed a severed head lay toppled on its side on a table with piles of discarded paper work. Blood spread across the brown table as red began creeping up the papers.

"What a shame," came an emotionless voice off camera. "I had really wanted to preserve those papers." A man in a pressed suit walked on a camera. He had bovine features and red hair that sprung up in small curls around the top of his head. He picked up the head in one hand and straightened it so the dead eyes stared into the camera. One green and one blue with black hair that was constantly blowing into them. It was the president. "I have plenty more of these backstage, I just thought this would produce a more desirable reaction." The man on screen cracked a smile, grayish lips peeling back to reveal yellow teeth in crooked rows. "If my intent was not clear already, I have taken over. I now have the entire army under my finger tips along with millions of private records."

"I suggest you sit still and listen. I have something I need you all to do."