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Description
Previous: Opportunities Lost | SMS Freejumping Entry

--Story--
  Needless to say, I felt bad – horrible even – for having missed Neo's freejumping class, and although I was able to brush everyone's questions off with an easy lie that I'd dozed off in the car, overslept, and once again been unable to get to them because of the crowds that had gathered to watch the final class in the 3-day competition, the guilt I was dragging along behind me piled up as the day and night passed by. The four of us were heading back up to Sterlingwood as soon as possible which meant we'd leave the following morning, and as much as I was looking forward to getting back to the barn, the house, and the horses, I knew I would miss being here in Italy. Mostly because the weather was so much nicer compared to dreary, rainy old Naunton. I guess I'd have to try my hand at getting Rush to relocate to Italy, although I already knew I didn't stand a chance at convincing him to do something so ridiculous.
  As soon as I had crawled into the warm safety of my bed that night and settled down comfortably, however, I could feel energy start to coarse through my body as though a dam had just broken, letting the tension rush through my veins and bleed out until it covered every inch of me and made my muscles ache. I tried to fall asleep but ended up tossing and turning in discomfort, eventually sitting up to try and relieve the cramps starting to sneak up into my calves while listening the silence hanging in the air all around me. Although I thankfully managed to drift off some time after that, I woke up as soon as the first rays of sun peeked through the window into my room and jumped out of bed, heart pounding in my chest. I knew I had to run this off. I didn't care that I didn't know my way around the stable grounds very well yet, nor that it was a public place at the moment and people would be able to see me – I just had to run. I tugged on some of the clothes that I'd brought along that somewhat resembled sports attire, pulled my tanlged hair back into a sloppy bun, then burst out the door and ran a little ways, breathing in the fresh, crisp morning air. It was like cold water stinging on my skin, soothing yet chilly, and I could feel relief start to seep into my body slowly. Somewhere along the way I stopped to stretch, although not for long since the nasty black, gooey energy stuck in my muscles forced me to continue going, sprinting along the fences, stables, arenas, and paths until my lungs and heart felt as though they would burst, my breath dragging through my throat like a piece of sandpaper. My entire torso burned and my legs were numb, as though they could snap in two at any moment when just enough weight was put onto them. Finally, finally, I stopped and was able to rest, my legs trembling beneath me so uncontrollably I had to grab the stone pillar close by in case my knees buckled and sent me sprawling onto the ground. Or in case I fainted, since a vague black feeling of light-headedness was starting to sneak up on me.

  “I didn't take you to be someone who runs until they drop,” a voice suddenly said and I looked up, becoming aware of how burning hot my skin was and how much sweat was dripping from my chin. Rush was standing a little ways away, leaning against the wall, and I curiously wondered how I hadn't noticed him before. I'd probably been too caught up in my own little world.

  “Not usually,” I panted, hardly able to get the words out properly, and I doubled over to lean my hands on my knees, spitting some thick saliva that had gathered in my mouth and throat off to the side into a bush.

  “What made the difference this morning?”

I said nothing for a few moments, then finally straightened out again as my breathing started to regulate itself and swept the stray strands of sweaty hair that had sprung free during my run away from my clammy forehead.

  “The doctors told me it was ADHD,” I responded with a wheezing chuckle, setting my hands on my hips, “I still have my doubts though. It comes in bursts, I'm usually pretty good and it's not like my daily life suffers from it.” Rush merely nodded in response and raised the cigarette that was resting between his left index and thumb to his mouth, scrunching his face a little as he took a drag from it. We were alone here and I'd blabbed all my secrets out to him the day before, rendering it useless to pretend I didn't have a terrible crush on him, so I watched him in silence without bothering to look away. He didn't seem to mind.

  “Explains your impulsive behaviour,” he noted, somewhat cheekily, and he looked at me through his dark lashes with a small, crooked smile. If I hadn't known any better I'd have almost said he was attempting to seduce me, but that thought was quickly overtaken by the fact that he was smiling. I had made him smile. I merely responded with a 'pfff' as if to dismiss the idea and the topic completely, however.

  “Want one?” he asked with an easy shrug, offering a cigarette out to me, and against all my better judgements I stepped over with a nod, taking it and resting it between my lips while leaning closer to him so he could light it for me. He did so, his pale eyes not meeting mine, and my heart started to race all over again as our foreheads nearly touched, his body so close to mine that he could probably feel the heat radiating off me.

  “Thanks,” I puffed when he moved away again and I straightened out, taking a slow, tentatitive drag of smoke. I hated the taste, hated the smell, hated the feeling, hated everything about smoking, so I blew it out as soon as I could, but I hadn't been able to refuse the golden opportunity to be so intimate, to get close to him...

  “How come you weren't there yesterday?” he asked, watching me as I leaned against the cool stone wall beside him.

  “I was there.”

  I didn't meet his eyes, instead turning my head to look at the view of the stretched-out Italian landscape all the way up to the distant blue mountains that had also been visible from the Grand Prix arena while lifting the cigarette to my lips again.

  “Liar.”

  For a few moments I didn't move, then I finally returned my gaze to him.

  “The fact that you noticed my being absent from a large crowd of people means you were looking for me,” I chuckled smartly, raising my eyebrow slightly as I watched his expression as keenly as a hawk.

  “Mmm, might be.”

  “What did Joachim say to you yesterday after I left?” I puffed when I didn't catch a change in his usual stoic, masked expression that was clearly hiding all the thoughts going around in his head. I had wondered the entire day before about what their conversation had been, nearly hoping to myself that Joachim had lost his temper and lashed out at Rush, making them doubt their relationship... But the good part of me hoped that nothing like that had happened since they were so close and so in love.

  “I asked you a question first,” Rush grumbled in response, looking at me, and I let out a heavy sigh while slumping against the wall a bit more.

  “I wasn't feeling well so I slept in the car. Just didn't wake up in time, yeah?”

  “If you lie to me I'm going to lie to you about what Joachim said, you know,” Rush sighed. I looked at him, flustered, then muttered to myself and looked at me feet while scuffing the stone ground with my shoe.

  “I didn't want to be around Joachim. I know he doesn't particularly like me cause of... the whole uh, situation-.”

  “The fact that you're in love with me. I'm 27, don't treat me like a little child.”

  “... Yeah. That. I didn't want to cause any more trouble.”

  “Well you're probably right about that. He went off on a limb ranting in German so I couldn't understand him, but I have almost no doubts it was about you.”

  I huffed, shaking my head, but said nothing about it since I didn't want to insult Joachim in front of his own boyfriend.

  “Now I've answered your question, what did he say about my yesterday?” I asked impatiently after it was silent for a few moments, glancing down at the half-smoked cigarette resting between my fingers before smothering it on the wall and flicking it away.

  “Mostly stuff about how I have to stay true to him even while he's away, that you're a nuissance, that kind of thing. As if you're a devil in disguise put down in front of my nose by God in order to test how strong and true I really am,” Rush chuckled, shaking his head, and from his tone of voice I could clearly hear just how Atheist he really was.

  “You wouldn't cheat on him though,” I scoffed. For a few moments he was silent.

  “No, I wouldn't,” he responded softly, shaking his head while looking down at his feet, and he smothered his cigarette as well.

  “Shall we head back? You need to take a shower before we leave, I'm definitely not letting you sit with us in the car if you're this smelly,” he suggested, starting to walk away from the pleasant view through the rose arches while glancing at me over his shoulder briefly.

  “Yep,” I agreed merrily, sticking my hands in my pockets, and we walked back together while chatting about how the freejumping had gone, training schedules for the Sterlingwood horses when we came back, and future shows to attend.

Word count: 1,707

Artist's note: IT'S DONE I'M DONE can you believe it I was just unable to get this done yesterday because I had a very busy day but SlightlyMadStables was sweet enough to have given me today to finish up as well I'll miss drawing all the nice Slightly Mad landscapes and buildings though, they were lots of fun

Other extra images
The Announcement - Extra Image
Fear of Flying - Extra Image

Show entries
Leap of Faith | SMS Showjumping Entry
Opportunities Lost | SMS Freejumping Entry

Tools used: Intuos pen and touch and Medibang
Time: Idk, 3 hours?
References
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/0…
oilpaintingdiscount.com/images…
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/5…

Description
Previous: Opportunities Lost | SMS Freejumping Entry

--Story--
  Needless to say, I felt bad – horrible even – for having missed Neo's freejumping class, and although I was able to brush everyone's questions off with an easy lie that I'd dozed off in the car, overslept, and once again been unable to get to them because of the crowds that had gathered to watch the final class in the 3-day competition, the guilt I was dragging along behind me piled up as the day and night passed by. The four of us were heading back up to Sterlingwood as soon as possible which meant we'd leave the following morning, and as much as I was looking forward to getting back to the barn, the house, and the horses, I knew I would miss being here in Italy. Mostly because the weather was so much nicer compared to dreary, rainy old Naunton. I guess I'd have to try my hand at getting Rush to relocate to Italy, although I already knew I didn't stand a chance at convincing him to do something so ridiculous.
  As soon as I had crawled into the warm safety of my bed that night and settled down comfortably, however, I could feel energy start to coarse through my body as though a dam had just broken, letting the tension rush through my veins and bleed out until it covered every inch of me and made my muscles ache. I tried to fall asleep but ended up tossing and turning in discomfort, eventually sitting up to try and relieve the cramps starting to sneak up into my calves while listening the silence hanging in the air all around me. Although I thankfully managed to drift off some time after that, I woke up as soon as the first rays of sun peeked through the window into my room and jumped out of bed, heart pounding in my chest. I knew I had to run this off. I didn't care that I didn't know my way around the stable grounds very well yet, nor that it was a public place at the moment and people would be able to see me – I just had to run. I tugged on some of the clothes that I'd brought along that somewhat resembled sports attire, pulled my tanlged hair back into a sloppy bun, then burst out the door and ran a little ways, breathing in the fresh, crisp morning air. It was like cold water stinging on my skin, soothing yet chilly, and I could feel relief start to seep into my body slowly. Somewhere along the way I stopped to stretch, although not for long since the nasty black, gooey energy stuck in my muscles forced me to continue going, sprinting along the fences, stables, arenas, and paths until my lungs and heart felt as though they would burst, my breath dragging through my throat like a piece of sandpaper. My entire torso burned and my legs were numb, as though they could snap in two at any moment when just enough weight was put onto them. Finally, finally, I stopped and was able to rest, my legs trembling beneath me so uncontrollably I had to grab the stone pillar close by in case my knees buckled and sent me sprawling onto the ground. Or in case I fainted, since a vague black feeling of light-headedness was starting to sneak up on me.

  “I didn't take you to be someone who runs until they drop,” a voice suddenly said and I looked up, becoming aware of how burning hot my skin was and how much sweat was dripping from my chin. Rush was standing a little ways away, leaning against the wall, and I curiously wondered how I hadn't noticed him before. I'd probably been too caught up in my own little world.

  “Not usually,” I panted, hardly able to get the words out properly, and I doubled over to lean my hands on my knees, spitting some thick saliva that had gathered in my mouth and throat off to the side into a bush.

  “What made the difference this morning?”

I said nothing for a few moments, then finally straightened out again as my breathing started to regulate itself and swept the stray strands of sweaty hair that had sprung free during my run away from my clammy forehead.

  “The doctors told me it was ADHD,” I responded with a wheezing chuckle, setting my hands on my hips, “I still have my doubts though. It comes in bursts, I'm usually pretty good and it's not like my daily life suffers from it.” Rush merely nodded in response and raised the cigarette that was resting between his left index and thumb to his mouth, scrunching his face a little as he took a drag from it. We were alone here and I'd blabbed all my secrets out to him the day before, rendering it useless to pretend I didn't have a terrible crush on him, so I watched him in silence without bothering to look away. He didn't seem to mind.

  “Explains your impulsive behaviour,” he noted, somewhat cheekily, and he looked at me through his dark lashes with a small, crooked smile. If I hadn't known any better I'd have almost said he was attempting to seduce me, but that thought was quickly overtaken by the fact that he was smiling. I had made him smile. I merely responded with a 'pfff' as if to dismiss the idea and the topic completely, however.

  “Want one?” he asked with an easy shrug, offering a cigarette out to me, and against all my better judgements I stepped over with a nod, taking it and resting it between my lips while leaning closer to him so he could light it for me. He did so, his pale eyes not meeting mine, and my heart started to race all over again as our foreheads nearly touched, his body so close to mine that he could probably feel the heat radiating off me.

  “Thanks,” I puffed when he moved away again and I straightened out, taking a slow, tentatitive drag of smoke. I hated the taste, hated the smell, hated the feeling, hated everything about smoking, so I blew it out as soon as I could, but I hadn't been able to refuse the golden opportunity to be so intimate, to get close to him...

  “How come you weren't there yesterday?” he asked, watching me as I leaned against the cool stone wall beside him.

  “I was there.”

  I didn't meet his eyes, instead turning my head to look at the view of the stretched-out Italian landscape all the way up to the distant blue mountains that had also been visible from the Grand Prix arena while lifting the cigarette to my lips again.

  “Liar.”

  For a few moments I didn't move, then I finally returned my gaze to him.

  “The fact that you noticed my being absent from a large crowd of people means you were looking for me,” I chuckled smartly, raising my eyebrow slightly as I watched his expression as keenly as a hawk.

  “Mmm, might be.”

  “What did Joachim say to you yesterday after I left?” I puffed when I didn't catch a change in his usual stoic, masked expression that was clearly hiding all the thoughts going around in his head. I had wondered the entire day before about what their conversation had been, nearly hoping to myself that Joachim had lost his temper and lashed out at Rush, making them doubt their relationship... But the good part of me hoped that nothing like that had happened since they were so close and so in love.

  “I asked you a question first,” Rush grumbled in response, looking at me, and I let out a heavy sigh while slumping against the wall a bit more.

  “I wasn't feeling well so I slept in the car. Just didn't wake up in time, yeah?”

  “If you lie to me I'm going to lie to you about what Joachim said, you know,” Rush sighed. I looked at him, flustered, then muttered to myself and looked at me feet while scuffing the stone ground with my shoe.

  “I didn't want to be around Joachim. I know he doesn't particularly like me cause of... the whole uh, situation-.”

  “The fact that you're in love with me. I'm 27, don't treat me like a little child.”

  “... Yeah. That. I didn't want to cause any more trouble.”

  “Well you're probably right about that. He went off on a limb ranting in German so I couldn't understand him, but I have almost no doubts it was about you.”

  I huffed, shaking my head, but said nothing about it since I didn't want to insult Joachim in front of his own boyfriend.

  “Now I've answered your question, what did he say about my yesterday?” I asked impatiently after it was silent for a few moments, glancing down at the half-smoked cigarette resting between my fingers before smothering it on the wall and flicking it away.

  “Mostly stuff about how I have to stay true to him even while he's away, that you're a nuissance, that kind of thing. As if you're a devil in disguise put down in front of my nose by God in order to test how strong and true I really am,” Rush chuckled, shaking his head, and from his tone of voice I could clearly hear just how Atheist he really was.

  “You wouldn't cheat on him though,” I scoffed. For a few moments he was silent.

  “No, I wouldn't,” he responded softly, shaking his head while looking down at his feet, and he smothered his cigarette as well.

  “Shall we head back? You need to take a shower before we leave, I'm definitely not letting you sit with us in the car if you're this smelly,” he suggested, starting to walk away from the pleasant view through the rose arches while glancing at me over his shoulder briefly.

  “Yep,” I agreed merrily, sticking my hands in my pockets, and we walked back together while chatting about how the freejumping had gone, training schedules for the Sterlingwood horses when we came back, and future shows to attend.

Word count: 1,707

Artist's note: IT'S DONE I'M DONE can you believe it I was just unable to get this done yesterday because I had a very busy day but SlightlyMadStables was sweet enough to have given me today to finish up as well I'll miss drawing all the nice Slightly Mad landscapes and buildings though, they were lots of fun

Other extra images
The Announcement - Extra Image
Fear of Flying - Extra Image

Show entries
Leap of Faith | SMS Showjumping Entry
Opportunities Lost | SMS Freejumping Entry

Tools used: Intuos pen and touch and Medibang
Time: Idk, 3 hours?
References
i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/0…
oilpaintingdiscount.com/images…
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/5…