Mark Accidentally Forces Ethan Into A Breakdown On A Military Obstacle Course

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Blood was rushing through Ethan's ears, an odd echoey sound almost as it gushed like a river from the previous adrenaline rush he had as he practically crushed the obstacle course beforehand. They had him going up against Matt, one of the demonstrators for the course, seeing as Ethan clearly had a bit more experience and skill against Mark and James. It only seemed fair to put him up against the guy who also knew how to do the course really well.

Ethan was tired and fucking anxious though. An entire camera crew (granted he knew them, but it was still quite a bit of people, and he hadn't done stuff like this in front of a live crowd since his gymnast days, except for his famous backflip stunt obviously) and two people he was close to, as well as military guys? All watching him and judging him? He could already feel the tears wanting to creep up underneath his eyeballs and peak out in his lower lid.

"So Matt and Ethan are gonna race," Alex announced to the cameras, the two racers on their respective sides in a ready position. "This is all out, hardcore, no mercy on either of you. I want you to just tackle the obstacle course, and may the best man win." Ethan was trying desperately to grasp the present moment, not wanting his anxiety to get the best of him so quickly. The race hadn't even started for fuck's sake. Alex finished explaining and Ethan nodded like he was somewhat okay in any sense of the word.

And then came the god forsaken countdown.

"Three,"

Ethan dug the ball of his foot into the grass.

"Two,"

He tried not to focus on Matt as he leaned forward a bit, preparing his takeoff.

"One, go!"

And they were off. Ethan broke into a full on sprint, trying not to let his spirits get down when his eyes betrayed him and glanced over to Matt, who was already beginning to get ahead. Ethan threw his hands out and let them hit the log, propelling himself over it swiftly and easily. He kept storming on, already swinging his arms back by the time his feet were back on the ground in order to swing them forward and grab the metal bar. Jumping wasn't difficult as he felt the smooth metal of the pole meet his palms, wiggling in the slightest as he heaved himself up and swung over, finishing it off with a swing forward with—as Alex had put it earlier—pizazz on it.

Ethan couldn't help but notice that by the time he was reaching out to jump over the next bunny hop, Matt was already over it and preparing to jump on the next logs. The brunette shook his head defiantly, he was going to push through this course and his mind. They could get this over with and he could go home and let the rest pan out.

"That spin!" Mark exclaimed somewhere in the background, Ethan caught a glimpse, the man's eyes were glued onto Matt, and just the tiniest pang of disappointment struck Ethan in his chest. "Crazy!" The raven-haired man finished just to twist that screw on Ethan's skin more, or so it seemed to Ethan anyway.

The dirt flew out from underneath Ethan's feet as he thundered on, thanking the universe when he managed to not slip on the metal poles that sloped down. He plopped the bend of his knees on the poles either side of him and began furiously scooting down, the slight residue of rainwater oddly comforting to him.