A young boy sees two men in armor in the distance and runs towards them. Wielding swords at least five feet in length, they tap their swords at the tip to begin the fight. One rushes in toward the other, bringing his sword down with as much force as he could muster. The man on defense deflects his blow to the side, and counters with a swipe to the head.

The swords clash against their armor, which rings out into the boy’s ears. The men brutally exchange blows back and forth, until finally, one falls to the ground. The winner extends his hand to help up the loser.

“So cool!” the boy whispers excitedly to himself.

His father, bending low to his young son’s level, smiles at him. “Do you want to do that too, Clyde?”

Clyde beams ear-to-ear. “Yeah!”

6 Years Later

Clyde wakes up in a haze to the music blaring out from his alarm.

“Nooo… Not yet... I’m so tired” He whines as he rolls over and swipes at his phone, thinking he snoozes the alarm for 10 minutes.

A short while later, a car pulls outside his window. The driver lays on the horn repeatedly, as if annoyed.

HONK. HONK. HOOOOOONK.

Clyde jolts up. “Oh, crap! I overslept!”

He throws his window open and holds his hands up in apology. “I know, I know! I’m coming!”

He scurries around his room to find a clean shirt and yanks it on. After stomping into his shoes, he forces his jeans on over them, buttoning them haphazardly as he grabs his keys and locks the door on his rush out.

After hopping into the car, he turns to the driver with his head hung low. “I’m sorry, Will.”

“Damn, dude. You really overslept. I’m glad I came to pick you up a little bit early, or you would have made both of us late.”

Clyde pulls the mirror down to straighten up his hair with a bit of finger-combing. “My bad. I went a little too long on my drills last night.”

Will shakes his head and huffs out a chuckle. “Practicing for the Armored League? Aren’t you 7-0 this season? Take a break and enjoy life!”

“But that’s more reason not to.” Clyde rummages around the center console for gum. “If I win the next 3 and get 10 straight wins, then I’ll be going overseas- paid for by my sponsor!”

Will hands Clyde a piece of gum from his door panel pocket. “When is your next tournament?”

Clyde chews for a moment before answering. “Sunday, why?”

“Come and try the LARP I made. Since you're free, you should really let loose. Plus, there are some really cute girls that role play as elves.”

“Nooo, I’m good, man. I like combat, not that flurby stuff. I’m certainly not going only because of cute girls either… I already have a girl I like.”

Will stops hard at a red light and turns to face Clyde. “You sure? The girls there would really fall for a guy that knows how to fight.” He nudges Clyde on the shoulder with his fist. “You could be their knight in shining armor!”

Clyde rolls his eyes and looks out the window. “I told you, I already have someone I like.”

“Do you?” Will sits back and continues driving. “Okay, let me guess. Is it… Tiffany from 2nd period?”

“Nope, not even close. She is cute though. I would absolutely say yes if she asked me out.”

Will chortles with raised eyebrows. “Dang, you player! Give me a hint. Does she even go to our school?”

Clyde, through pursed lips “...Technically speaking, she does.”

The two pull into the school parking lot and Will slows the car to a crawl. He turns to Clyde with a toothy grin growing on his face. “Wait a second… It’s Ms. Smithy, isn’t it? The art teacher? It’s totally her!!”

Clyde’s face turns bright red. “I’m not having this conversation anymore.” He opens the passenger door and slips out the vehicle while it’s still moving as the door slams behind him.

Will stops the car, yelling, “Smooth! You’re easier to read than a book! See you after school!”

Clyde waves off Will. “Later”

School flies by for Clyde, with the tournament (and Ms. Smithy) on his mind. After the dismissal bell, Clyde and Will meet back up in the parking lot.

Will smirks at Clyde as he unlocks the car. “I saw you, Romeo- staring at Ms. Smithy today in the hallway after lunch. You simpin’ HARD, man!”

Clyde deflects. “Do you still have the armor in the trunk?”

“Yeah I do. Do you want to head over to the normal spot and spar?”

“Yep, I need whatever practice I can get. Let's get our gear on.”

The two walk to the trunk and pull everything out. While Will helps Clyde put on his split plate armor, he smiles to himself. “Let's make this interesting: If I win, you come and LARP with me tomorrow.”

Clyde smirks while tightening his chest piece. “Okay, big shot. But if I win, you have to confess to the girl you like in front of me!”

Will laughs, "Trying to force my hand? It's a deal, then!"

“This will be easier than taking candy from a baby.”

“Baha! I’m not so defenseless. Side note, it’s your turn to be to my squire”

Clyde bows sarcastically, “Why, yes. Of course, my grand knight.”

Clyde helps Will put on his gothic armor. “So, what is this LARP about? All I know is that it has cute elf-girls.”

Adjusting his gauntlet, Will nods, “Yeah, it has elves. And dwarves, giants- even cat-girls. It’s honestly the best thing ever.”

“Seems kind of… nerdy to be honest.”

Will hits Clyde on his back as hard as he can, hitting the armor. “I don’t want to hear that coming from you!”

The two start walking a short distance over to the open field near the side of the school.

Will walks backward to face Clyde. “But seriously, the role play is so fun. You can shape your character to be whoever you want to be. But, what’s even better is the combat system. It has three styles for classes; melee, range, and magic. It’s basically a game of rock, paper, scissors. But, when you add a person’s skill level to the mix, it gets interesting- especially with different builds. I think you really should give it a try. For your first time, you can play a stick jock class and really destroy the people on the field by your pure combat prowess alone.”

“Eh… Sounds neat, but I think I’ll pass.”

Will, looking slyly determined, “I’m going to get you to come with me tomorrow, no matter what.”

“Nah, the only thing that’s gonna happen is you receiving a big ol’ can of whoop-ass!”

At their sparring spot, the teens drop their other things by the huge pecan tree and take their foam boffers with them to the middle of the field. They tap swords and yell, "Fight!”

Will takes a few steps back. “You don’t understand, I am a spidey-hero and I have laid my webs for you. You are trapped, you just don’t know it yet.”

Clyde puts his sword in a high ready position while holding his stance steadfast. “Last week, we had 20 bouts, and I won 16 of them. I think my chances are pretty solid.”

Will looks at Clyde’s stance and says “You don’t have any openings in your stance. Truly a master swordsman!” He drops his sword to a low position and plans his move. I’ll do a feint downward draw cut, and then bait him with my left arm. If he takes the bait, I’ll parry and counter to the head.

He acts on his plan.

Clyde under his breath, “Too easy.”

He uses his physical prowess to put all of his speed and accuracy behind a single blow that instantly lands on Will’s helmet before he could react. The hit rings out.

Will shrugs with a smile. “You win. Remember those cute elf girls I was talking about?”

“Yeah, what about them?”

“I’ve fallen hard for one. At the LARP tomorrow, I'll keep my promise and confess to her. Right in front of you.”

Clyde throws his hands in the air. “What the hell! That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“But you said you wanted to watch!” Will winks at him.

Clyde rests his hands at his sides. “I’m going to beat your ass.”

Will cries out in a suggestive voice. “Please be gentle. It’s my first time!”