Defender // Rim of the World Gabriel

Los Angeles

I had found an old t-shirt of my fathers and paired it up with a pair of jean shorts. I had tied my hair up and found my glasses. Lord knows if I would need them, but at least if I died my mom would be able to tell it was me a lot easier.

We were making our way down the road. I left Armstrong without a leash, trusting he would stay by my side. Alex was in between Dariush and ZhenZhen. He kept shooting my nervous glances.

"Alright, you get on one side of Alex and you get on the other. We'll get him up to speed. Alright?" Gabriel instructed.

My heart melted. What a fucking sweetheart.

"Gotcha." Dariush nodded.

We pulled on our helmets and Dariush mumbled some complaint under his breath. I beckoned Alex over and made sure the strap under his chin was tight enough. I fixed mine before turning to Gabriel, who had found a motorcycle helmet. He looked good.

"Alright, get on. We'll hold you steady." ZhenZhen guided Alex, a hand on his shoulder.

We rode slow, at least until Alex could find his balance. Dariush and ZhenZhen kept him stable, with Dariush occasionally telling him to put his feet back on the pedals.

"Alex, it's easier once you get moving." I called over to him.

"The faster you go, the easier it is to stay balanced!" Gabriel tipped.

"A-are you sure about this?" Alex stuttered.

Gabriel looked at me and raised an eyebrow with a shrug. I turned back to Alex.

"No." I shook my head.

"Of course!" Gabriel nodded at the same time as me.

"Alright, good! You're good! Just keep doing that!" Dariush encouraged Alex as he began to pedal, trying to keep his balance.

ZhenZhen shot me a look over her shoulder and I nodded. She let him go, and Dariush did too. They kept their hands close just in case.

"I don't ... I don't know if I can do this!" Alex stuttered.

I grinned as ZhenZhen told him that he was already doing it. Armstrong barked happily, running by Alex's side. We erupted into cheers and screams of joy, and I watched Alex break into a smile. I pulled a hand away long enough to snap a picture of him on his bike, gripping the polaroid between my lips before shoving it in my pocket. He rode ahead of us, and ZhenZhen pulled up next to me. Dariush wove to Gabriel's other side. She looked at me with a huge smile and I laughed. Gabriel whooped from next to me, sticking his legs up.

Why is he so fucking cute?

I looked back to ZhenZhen, who was smirking at me with an eyebrow arched. I rolled my eyes at her, ignoring the heat at the tip of my ears. Dariush pushed himself up as we rounded a corner, letting out a Tarzan style scream. We laughed, and I heard Alex shout something about fun before a grunt. I looked forward to see his bike hit a median, and he flipped over to the other side of the hill. Armstrong barked and bounded over with a whimper.

"Alex!" I shouted, squeezing the brakes on my bike and jumping off, running the rest of the way to the edge of the hill.

"Oh!" Dariush winced.

"Alex?" I heard ZhenZhen close behind me.

"Yo, is he dead?" Dariush asked.

"Hey." I jumped over the bushes and bent down next to him.

I felt a hand on my back and looked to see Gabriel next to me, helping Alex pull his helmet off. He groaned, pained. I brushed his hair back.

"You okay?"