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Rick loved skateboarding, loved feeling the wind whip through his hair and flow around him. Loved feeling the adrenaline as he raced down the streets and around his college campus.
Only, he wasn't very good.
He'd only just learnt and he was still finding it hard to keep his balance and had fallen off the board many times.
Of course, this was one of those times.
He was skating through his college campus, having just left his morning class when he started to feel his legs shake and his control on the board waver. He tried to correct himself and ended up making it worse, the board slipped out from under his feet and he went tumbling towards the ground. He caught himself just in time before his face collided with the harsh concrete, but he'd still grazed his elbows and forearms. He heard the skateboard carry on rolling across the courtyard.
He touched his head gently on the ground and huffed out a breath.
Ouch.
He could feel his arms slowly starting to come back to life, the shock of hitting the ground wearing off. He could feel the blood starting to trickle from his wounds and down his arms.
A few feet away, Rick heard the scuffling of feet and a low laugh. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the noise.
His breath caught in his throat.
The main reason was at simply how beautiful the man before him was, and the other reason was that he'd been caught. He looked around, the courtyard appeared to be empty apart from the man. No one else must have seen him. The man held his board and was looking at Rick, his shoulders shaking.
The man was tall and had broad shoulders and a slim waist. He looked older than most students here, he had bright blue eyes and shoulder length dark hair. His muscles prominent in the tight fitting t-shirt he was wearing.
Coming to his senses, Rick decided it was best to get up from the ground, belatedly realising he had been laying there, staring at the other man.
Once on his feet, Rick walked over to the other man, and let out a nervous laugh.
"Um. Hi" Rick said, being the first one to speak between them.
"Hi" The other guy said, scrunching up his face like he was trying to hold in a laugh. Rick could feel the heat crawl up the back of his neck, the embarrassment creep across his features as he looked down, anywhere but the other man's bright eyes.
The other man cleared his throat.
"You, uh, okay?" he asked, his mouth twisting into a small grin, his eyes lighting up as he continued to look at Rick.
Rick nodded slightly and finally looked up, the other man's concern fading away some of the embarrassment.
"Yeah, just scraped myself. Part of skateboarding I guess?" Rick replied. The other man nodded. "Uh, what part of that did you see?"
"Which part, the one where your legs wobbled and you looked momentarily terrified or the part where you face planted the ground?" the guy asked.
A beat passed as Rick thought of what to say next, but before he could answer the guy laughed. It burst out his mouth like he couldn't hold it any longer, he looked surprised to see it pass his lips. It was loud and full. Rick couldn't do anything but watch the other man. A few moments later the laughter died down and the man wiped a tear from his eye.
"Sorry" the man started "It was just funny to see, sorry I'm laughing at your expense"
Rick couldn't bring himself to be angry. All he wanted was to see the man laugh again. See his eyes fill with life again, see his bright smile that reached his eyes spread across his face, see his shoulders relax and shake.
Rick extended his arm, ignoring the scrapes and blood. The other man seemed to not mind either as he grabbed Rick's hand.
"Rick"
"Daryl"
Daryl held out the board to Rick.
"Here, I best be going. Sorry for laughing. You sure you're okay?" Daryl asked, grabbing Rick's elbow with his spare hand as Rick still hadn't taken the board from him.
"Yeah, just stings. I'll get over it. Thanks for checking" Rick took the board from Daryl and held it by his side. He sighed almost silently at the cool breeze hitting his elbow as Daryl broke the contact to pull out his phone.
Daryl must have heard him because he smirked as he looked back up.
"Guess I'll see you around Rick?" Daryl asked, already backing away, dialling a number on his phone.
Rick nodded.
"Yeah definitely, see you" Rick replied. Daryl turned away and began walking out of the courtyard.
Rick stared at Daryl's retreating back. He sighed again, he sure hoped he would see the other man soon.