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"... I don't know why I let you talk me into this." He muttered as he approached the course alongside his friend. The advertisements had popped up around town; flyers posted around the campus gym, ad spots on peak radio times, digital ads placed on key websites. It was the sort of thing he would have expected his brother to make an appearance at-- the sort of thing he generally avoided himself, with good reason.

It wasn't that he wasn't capable. It certainly wasn't that he didn't have the physique or the drive, it was just that he'd never felt compelled to prove himself in such a way. It wasn't him...

Or it hadn't been, at least.

He'd filled out the sign-up forms and picked up his competition number, waiting until he was called while making faces at Courtland McQueen the entire time. Some nonsense had been spouted and he'd pondered various outs with none in sight. "... It's entirely your fault if I break something doing this, just so you know."

"Showing off hasn't ever gotten me anything beyond a headache." He snorted, casting one last glance towards the other man before stepping up towards the 'start'. The course seemed standard enough. There were a few things he wasn't entirely sure of, but the first bit? The first bit should be relatively easy, given the bit of extracurricular exercise he'd been getting up to-- would have been easier yet if he could tap into a bit of that strength and agility as part of his civilian life, but...

Can't have everything.

Taking a deep breath, Halston O'hea found his center and took a running dash towards the first leap. He landed on the platform securely, finding his footing and testing the angle before leaping to the next. From there it was just a matter of locking in a rhythm, hopping from one to the next alternating back and forth as the springs shifted beneath each footfall on the platform.

Coming off of the last platform he took a breath before reaching up to grab hold of the bar to start his swing along the-- whatever the hell they were calling it, it seemed like an awful idea. He held on tight, shifting his grip just a bit harder as he tried to keep from falling only to miss something critical. Somehow he missed the fact that he was supposed to be launching himself off of the damned bar and grabbing onto a foam pipe.

He made a proper a** of himself as he scrambled through the air, just barely able to keep his grip well enough to pull himself up. It wasn't until his legs were wrapped around it as well that he began to shimmy up the pipe. ********. Every. Single. Part. Of. This.

The next leg of the course was something he was obviously a bit more comfortable with. While he might not have been the most agile of creatures, Halston O'Hea had strength on his side. He caught himself after leaping to the pipe swing, holding his weight as he swung from one to the next. He made that part look easy, even though he was far from light enough to fly with ease.

It set him up perfectly for a landing, giving him a second to catch his breath before he continued on to the alphabet blocks. Sans letters, spinning on a central pipe, they seemed like a nightmare or a twisted ankle just waiting to happen. Arms went out on either side of him for balance, trying to remain steady enough to complete the course.

His legs felt wobbly and he was ready to be done with the entire thing, but there were two parts left to the course. His confidence was up and he figured that's what mattered in the long run. He put that second of thought into shaking everything off, casting away the last of the uncertainty before leaping up to grab at the 'Spin Cycle' baskets.

His hand grabbed on to the first and he used the momentum to rock himself until he could release and fly to the next. He could feel the burn in his arms but he made it look so easy that he almost didn't notice it until he'd made it to the last one. Out of breath from the effort, muscles aching, he put one last swing into the dismount before dropping to the ground to pause and eye up the wall.

"Christ..."

Halston O'hea didn't give up. He wasn't one to throw in the towel or decide that something was just too difficult, more one to view things as a personal challenge to overcome. It meant that this course was a positive thing for him. It gave him a goal and he could see the end. It was right there and all he had to do was take off after it.

Halston drew in a deep breath, shifting on his feet before taking off towards the wall. He could see in his mind's eye just how high he'd have to make it before he could grab on to pull himself up. He knew he could make it that far and since he knew that for certain he also knew he'd be able to make it up over the ledge.

What he hadn't accounted for was seeing a familiar shade of pink and purple atop the head of a young woman carrying around a clip-board like she was important or something. It was just enough of a glimpse to make him question everything and he lost whatever train of thought he had the moment he thought he saw her grin. He tripped over his foot, losing his balance not even mid-way up the ramp before hitting it hard as he slid back down. "********- Son of a...." He groaned, lying on the ground for a moment before pushing himself up. Other contestants had given it another go, no doubt. He could, but no...

"I quit."

He headed off the course, making his way over to grab a bottle of water while letting various infuriating thoughts roll through his head. If this was a thing shouldn't they have been notified? Maybe he would have been if he hadn't signed up last minute... Maybe he was losing what bit of his mind was left.

Halston twisted the cap off of the bottle, enjoying the satisfying crack of the plastic as it came free. He drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly to re-ground himself and restructure his thoughts once more as he pulled the bottle of water up to his lips.

For a moment, somehow, he'd forgotten that Courtland had been watching. His lips pressed together in a firm line of irritation as he lowered the bottle, watching the other man's approach. He didn't entirely know how to answer, looking around for a moment to see if he could figure out who was in or who was out.

Instead he made another face, muttering, "I don't want to talk about it." He brought the bottle up to his lips again, taking another long draw before dropping it back down again. "Not here at least. Probably not a good idea." Doing anything that would rouse suspicion probably wasn't a good idea.