Max walked down the street at night. The wind was not as cold as when it was in early April, a sign that Summer would arrive soon. He wore a white shirt and long cargo pants, with his usual black mask covering his lower face.
A bag filled with his streaming equipment slung over his shoulder and nested on his chest.
Why was he out when it was already night? Not to mention, he also brought his new action camera and wireless microphone.
There was no need to explain it. It was clear from what he brought and the fact he walked toward the park near his apartment.
After so much happened in the last few days, he wanted to cool off his head. And the most efficient way to do that was to move his body, doing parkour. He didn't plan to stream anything but wanted to record what he did.
This footage could also help BloodSucker learn parkour editing. It might as well be a tutorial for his viewers, something he promised to make in the past.
Arriving at the park, Max looked around. The wall he used to try IRL wall-run and the uneven pillars were in front of him. The area around was lit bright enough. There was no need to set additional lighting to get good footage.
And more importantly...
'There is almost no one here.'
One or two people could be seen running around the park, and there was a couple sitting on a bench a bit away from where he stood.
'No one will bother me nor report me to the police. Even if there is someone getting close, I can explain to them what I did by showing off my video.'
A privilege, or so he called it. For some reason, people became softer when they knew that the other person doing a dangerous stunt was a professional or at least knew what he did. The chance of getting reported to authority would be lowered exponentially.
Still, it didn't completely erase the chance. Max planned to stay for less than an hour before changing or, at least, trying to find another good location for parkour.
Preparation was needed. He set his camera to be at his eye level and clipped the microphone on his collar to catch his breathing and the wind sound.
"Ah, it would be fun doing this on the roof of my apartment." He muttered as he started warming up.
'I never thought they wouldn't give me the key just because it's night. I understand their concern for my safety, but it still sucks.' He thought, stretching his legs to avoid any unwanted injuries.
After he felt that his warming up was enough, he set an alarm with his smartwatch, exactly an hour from now. Once he concentrated, his awareness of his surroundings and time would be blurred. His sight would only be focused on the parkour path and what he did.
'Let's do this.'
Walking toward the lowest out of 20 pillars that made a spiral, Max decided to try it first by walking. The pillar got higher and higher with each step he took. Each had a 50cm difference from the previous one, with the highest pillars reaching around 10 meters high.
He wanted to get a feeling before going on a full sprint. After reaching the top, he looked around and spread his arms. The wind felt nice. A soft breeze brushed against his exposed skin.
"That was amazing." She said, her smiling face illuminated by the park's light. "I didn't know you could do that. Backflipping into a handstand and then jumping around. Can you teach me how to do it?"
Smiling back at her, he answered, "It's a little bit too dangerous for an amateur, so I won't be able to teach you in real life. But if you don't mind VR teaching, then gladly."
Max hugged the pillar and slid down. He stopped the recording and walked toward her, who kept her gaze at him. Somehow, he felt more at ease.
"I don't mind." She said, nodding slightly. "I just want you to teach me."
"If that's what you want." Max chuckled lowly. "I will make time to teach you."
"Un." She nodded, smiling brightly. "Thanks. Also... have you finished yet? I want to watch more."
"Sure. I also plan to continue for 30 minutes more before taking a break." He said.
Being with Lily made him at ease. The time felt slightly faster than before. He made some moves, climbing up and down the pillars with agility.
Seemingly interested, Lily also tried to climb the pillars, ignoring Max's warning. He desperately tried to stop her, knowing how much danger was actually looming over this activity.
However, much to his surprise and relief, she only tried the first two pillars. Even if she fell, the damage wouldn't be that much. At most, she probably would only twist her legs. But that still didn't sit well with Max, so he spotted her from below in case she did slip and fell.
Naturally, that was only a baseless worry. Lily was athletic enough to coordinate her body easily. She also wore track pants and an exercise tank top, allowing her to move freely.
With a mischievous grin, she pretended to fall and backflipped, landing on the ground safely. Max felt like his heart was about to burst out of worry. But the girl only said she was sorry. She suddenly wanted to do that.
Time passed without them noticing.
And as they sat on the bench, drinking water to rehydrate themselves, Lily suddenly dropped a bomb.
"Hey, Max." She called out to him, her face was getting closer to his ear. Then, she whispered, "Thank you. I will cheer on you in the competition."
A shy smile formed on her blushed face as she backed away. Max could feel the heat rushing into his head. He bet that his face was also as red as hers.
'She's too dangerous.' He thought. 'And she actively teases me. What's wrong with her now? Did Ferin say something she shouldn't have again?'
Both of them were in their last teenage years. Max never experienced being 20 yet, he never had a chance to before. And both of them had only experienced their first love.
That was why they enjoyed even a moment like this, even if they weren't official yet. Only time could tell when it would happen.
Nevertheless, they knew it wouldn't be long until that time arrived.