Chapter 89

There were total of eight competitors from my calculations. Austin had walked me over to Miles and Will because he knew how I felt about being surrounded by people I didn't know. And I had probably told him to be careful ten times before he left, not to mention the fact that I had held onto his hand even after the other racers had lined up because I was busy scolding him about the safety equipment once more. I still thought it was more sensible if he wore them, despite how skilled he was. Accidents were unexpected so there was no way for him to be certain nothing bad would happen out there. 

" And is your hand even healed enough for you to be doing this?" 

" My hand's fine, see?"

It was still wrapped up, but less than before. I had seen his bruises earlier on and even though they looked fairly better than before, I still got the impression that they hurt. 

" Quit worrying too much, " he hastily said, glancing back at the starting line before he looked at me again. The race hadn't officially began but it was a few minutes away from doing so. he was in a hurry to get there, but he was also reluctant to leave me like that. 

" Where's Austin at? I bet on him!" I heard a female voice loudly ask, but Austin didn't seem fazed by it. 

" He'll be fine Kyle, this is pretty much his talent, " Miles said tapping my back before he looked away and took out a cigarette to smoke. There was a street light only a few feet away, but it was rather dull. Most of the light actually came from the headlights of a parked vehicle from whose trunk someone was selling beer. Will had offered me one but I had kindly refused. And I had also shot Austin a warning look when it was offered to him as well.

 " Come here, " he pulled me into a hug, kissing my neck as he did so. 

" Can I stay over at your place after this?" He randomly asked. 

" What?"

" We don't have school tomorrow, and you'll be free. I wanna stay over. "

" What does that have to do with-"

" I love you. "

Cradling my face in his hands, he kissed me. Then he leaned back just enough to look at me. I had gotten so much more confident about public displays of affection whenever I was with him. It was mostly due to the fact that he was the uncaring type and he always used his eyes and expressions to assure me everything was okay. 

" I'm holding everyone up, so just say you love me too and relax a bit. "

People had already spotted where he was and we were seconds away from becoming the main point of focus. I also realized that if I kept on holding onto him he might end up getting distracted later on, so I told him I loved him too and wished him luck, then I let him go. He walked away, I saw the smiles on both Will and Miles' faces when I turned to them. 

I didn't know whether anyone could understand what I meant whenever I said I loved Austin. Minutes without him had me feeling incomplete. It was so overwhelming I knew for certain that it wasn't healthy. I obsessed over him, I wanted him entirely to myself. I felt everything a lot more when I was around him just the concept of it was insane. The best feeling for me was when I was close to him, touching him. Not one of the best, but THE best. He was a basic element in my life, I didn't care for science because according to me, I needed that guy to survive. He got on his bike and put on his helmet. Some people cheered. I spotted Trick as well as Dave. June turned out to be the host or whatever. She stood in front of the lineup, quoted some rules, wished them the best, then she told them to get ready before she stepped away, and I watched as she was handed this medium sized red flag that she raised up, and the second she brought it down the bikes set off. My eyes never left Austin, even after he disappeared from view I was left looking at the last space he had been in. People cheered. And I guessed that there were even more spectators scattered along the path because almost everyone, including Miles, were on their phones watching something. 

" Jay's currently leading..." Will said in a low voice and Miles' response was, " Fucking Jay! Wasn't he supposed to move to France or something?!"

Will only laughed, then he winced and narrowed his gaze at the screen for a second before he smiled. 

" Now that's more like it! " he happily declared. I was curious as to the progress of the race, but I shook my head when he offered to watch it with me. I was nervous enough as it was. If I watched him I was going to go crazy. All I wanted was for the race to be over and for him to come back to me in one piece. But then someone tapped my back, and I turned to find Chelsea standing there with a bright smile on her face. 

" I could have sworn I was seeing things!" She commented. I said hi and forced a smile, and when she hugged me I hugged her back. 

" Goddammit!" Will cursed but Miles urged him to relax, his tone oddly calm.

" Here, you must wanna see how he's doing, " she then said before holding out her tablet for us to view. I liked that she hadn't bothered to start up any sort of small talk. I wondered how they got the footage but I didn't bother asking. I instantly recognized Austin, he was currently among the three who were leading. The other two being Dave and this guy I had seen with Chelsea and him. And I automatically took him to be Jay. He seemed to have a reputation around there, but so did Austin. Which made me wonder for how long he had been doing that sort of thing. I would have guessed a couple of months, but the more I watched him the more I realized that level of skill took way more than a few months to attain. He was fast, but it wasn't even about the speed. His concentration was unintentionally attractive, the way he would swiftly take a turn as if it was the easiest thing in the world when it clearly took a lot of precision. There were instances when they leaned their bike so close to the road I feared for them, but everyone else was taking it normally so I had no choice but to do the same thing. 

There was never anyone in the lead constantly. One second it was Austin, the other it was Dave...then somehow Trick was ahead of everyone and Rachel, his girlfriend, shouted so loud while cheering him on that someone had to ask her to tone it down. She did, only a few minutes later when Jay overtook him. Then I watched as Austin took the lead and I held my breath. 

" Come on, that's it.." Will murmured to himself but we heard him. There was something uniquely different about him, and I wasn't being prejudiced when I said that. He was just different. They were all good, but he was better. Perhaps I actually was a little prejudiced, but it was the truth. Even when racing, that cocky confidence and pride managed to shine through. Like he knew he was good and there wasn't anything anyone could say to make him doubt himself. He didn't glance either back or beside him the entire time. 

Jay was no joke either. And he pulled off a few stunts that had me suspecting he was a trained professional. 

" Come on sweetie!" Chelsea said, crossing her fingers as she stared keenly at the screen. But then the footage came to an end and she sighed and switched off the tablet. Everyone else seemed to do the same, then they started  looking over at the direction where the racers had gone with expectant eyes. 

" They're almost here, " she explained on seeing the confusion on my face. So I followed her eyes and waited as well. I personally wouldn't care much if Austin wasn't in first place, I mean, I knew how much it meant to him but at the moment, all I wanted was him. Safe and sound. People became hyped, there were a lot of murmurs and shouts, some were cheering while others just poured out their entire concentration on the street. Not long after, I heard the sound of bike engines. The noise slowly quieted down, Chelsea unconsciously grabbed my arm and held on tight, her eyes focused straight ahead. 

And I believe I had never understood what actual pride was until Austin appeared first...I took back everything I had said, turns out I did care a little about whether he came first or not. And the fact that he did made experience new levels of joy. I didn't even know who was second or third because my eyes were exclusively on him. Miles and Will were all over the place. 

He came to a stop, then he took off his helmet and turned to where I was standing. 

The very first thing he did. And I could tell he had been about to come to me, but I went over to him first. In my mind I had intended to simply hug him,but when I got to him I realized that it just wasn't gonna be enough. Nowhere near!

I kissed him like both my life and wellbeing depended on it. Like my blood would freeze and my reasoning would run off unless I did.