Emerson Scott
Most people didn't like Mondays. That's a whole fact. It signified another monotonous beginning to a week of school. And the end of a weekend being free from the confines of the prison-like school. Maybe I'm being over dramatic. But, am I wrong? Even the teachers seemed like caffeine addicted zombies. People went home and took naps. Like Robyn. (If he didn't have basketball practice, that is).
I, for one, spent my Mondays after school in the library. It was a nice escape. Quiet, nice atmosphere, and I didn't need to bother with any drama. Nobody was there except for the two librarians at the front desk. Usually.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Scott," the old librarian greeted. Mrs. Woodsworth didn't even have to take her eyes off her computer monitor to know it was me. Next to her, was the younger librarian, Mrs. Nickelson. She waved at me.
"You finished those two books in a week? I'm impressed." Mrs. Nickelson happily took the books from my hands. "So, how were they?" She asked giddily.
"You never disappoint me. That second book really had me on edge. I think I would've had to fight the author if he sank my ship."
Mrs. Nickelson giggled in agreement. "Oh, I definitely understand how you feel. Well, feel free to look around since we got a handful of newcomers. The books just keep on getting better and better. I recommend the Lost Series, however. Lost and Found is an interesting one."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Do you need any help? I can organize those new books you mentioned."
"Oh, you don't have to," Mrs. Nickelson said as she batted her hand.
Mrs. Woodsworth cleared her throat. "Actually, one of the book shelves fell because of a certain somebody," she eyed the woman to her left, causing Mrs, Nickelson to blush in embarrassment. "If you could fix that, that would be great. There is also a stack of books that were supposed to be on it next to it. If you don't mind, can you also rearrange the books into their proper place?"
"Sure I could do that." I shrugged. I didn't really have anything else better to do anyways.
"Thank you, Mr. Scott. Hope it won't cause you too much trouble. I think the bolts were loose. All you need to do is tighten them after putting the shelf back up."
"No problem."
I walked over a few feet to the aisle. By no means was our school's library large or extensive. Since it was a small town, it was an overall small highschool with only around a thousand students. Besides, most of us got our information off the internet anyways. I lowered myself onto my knees next to broken shelf and got to work, putting in earbuds.
When I was putting the books into place, I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I removed my earbuds and looked up to see a familiar face. It was that girl from the party. The one who looked like a freshman. Her hair was in a low ponytail, two curled tendrils of hair framing her face. She wore a white blouse underneath her dusty rose pink shift dress and had on small, shiny black shoes over her lacy socks. She smelled like mangoes and flowers.
"Uh, hey." her voice was timid.
"Hi."
"Do you, uh, remember me?" She was playing with her fingers, obviously nervous.
I gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course."
That gave her a little more courage as she raised her chin up higher. Her voice remained soft. "That's, uh, cool. My name is Alice Hargreaves, by the way. Sorry I haven't texted. It was weird of me to ask for your number and then not ever text you." She shifted her weight from one foot to another.
"It's fine. You don't need to be pressured or anything. Frankly, I usually don't give out my phone number. Most people usually don't ask for it. You're bold."
Her cheeks tinged slightly, flushing her freckles. "Thank you. Do you, uh, think we can hang out sometime?"
"Sure, text me anytime." What am I doing?
"Thanks!" She ducked her head and briskly walked away.
That was a new experience. I think that was the most words I've spoken to someone besides Robyn and my family. It was a miracle that I didn't have a full-on meltdown right then and there. She seemed nice. And maybe out of my league. Being friends would be nice.
Unknown
Hi! :) This is Alice Hargreaves
Thanks for giving me a chance
Me
It's no problem :)
I'm here if you ever need any help
Alice Hargreaves
If you took a shot every time I said thanks, you'd die of alcohol poisoning
But, thanks :D
~~~
When I came home, my mom was sitting at the kitchen table, typing away as she sipped on some coffee and dipped in a few crackers. I set my bag on one of the chairs that my mom had propped her feet on.
"Hey, sweetie. How was school?" She continued to stare intently at her laptop in concentration.
"Same old, same old. Apparently I made a friend other than Robyn and our neighbors."
That got her to look up. "Apparently?" She asked skeptically.
"More like acquainted with somebody, I guess."
"What's his name?"
"Her name is Alice Hargreaves. I met her at Nathan's party."
My mom's face went through several emotions. The ones I detected were confusion then, oddly enough, disappointment. "Is that so?"
"Yeahh," I said cautiously. "We met again today at the library."
My mom took a slow sip from her coffee. "Huh. Be careful of girls. They're witches."
"But, Mom-"
"Trust me, I'd know."
"Eh, she seemed nice."
My mom narrowed her eyes, and I dare say, her sipping became more intense. "I stand by what I said. She's a snake."
"Mom-"
She silenced me with an index finger to her lips. "Shh, Nope. No more. Not one more word. I'm glad that you're reaching out to people and actually socializing, but I am warning you that not all people are what they appear to be. Humans are slimy, evil creatures."
"Dang, Mom, who hurt you?"
Gently placing down her mug, she chuckled softly. "I'm joking, but I'm not. I'll allow you to see her, but if she even tries anything to hurt you, I may or may not be snapping someone's neck." This was a scary side of Mom that I rarely saw. Her overprotective Mom-bear mode was activated.
"Is Robyn home?"
She immediately reverted back to her normal state, smiling. "I don't think so. Either he's back at his own home or he's at basketball practice."
"Basketball is more likely," I laughed remembering Robyn complain. "They lost their game yesterday, so as punishment, they're having extra long practices until the next game."
"They lost, huh. Doesn't happen too often, eh?"
"Yeah, but they didn't have Nathan, and Robyn said something was off with Oliver. A few other teammates got injured too, though. At least they didn't lose by a huge margin"
"I see... Do you want anything to eat? I made some grilled cheese sandwiches with ham. Maybe you can bring some to Robyn. Get his morale up after that loss."
"Yeah, that seems like the best thing to do. Thanks, mom."
I put a couple of sandwiches and put them into a Ziploc and threw them into my satchel along with a few Gatorades. I also put a book in, of course.
"See you later, Mom."
"Bye, sweetie."
~~~
When I got to practice, a bunch of guys' shirts were completely soaked in sweat, some had their shirts off. Everybody was breathing heavily and I could hear the sound of their shoes squeaking and skidding across the newly waxed floors. It was also brighter as the coach had turned on more lights. Can't say my eyes appreciated it. I sat on the bleachers, scanning the room for Robyn.
It didn't take too long for my eye to catch him as I saw him dunking dramatically. When he landed, he pumped his fist in the air as a form of celebration, giving a smug look to one of his teammates. Oh, I really hope that idiot didn't make a bet with someone. Again. He used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off, readjusting his headband so his long hair would be out of his face. Usually, he'd use his shirt to wipe his sweat off, but he wasn't wearing a shirt. It was discarded off to the side.
Mr. Mendoza blew his whistle and started to yell at Julius. No surprise. "Julius Thomas! What the hell do you think you're doing? Put the ball down and go to the bench. I won't stand clowns on my team."
"Kinda hard not be a clown in a circus," I heard someone say. I snickered when the coach glowered at him.
I studied Coach Mendoza's face, and judging by his expression, it was going to be a while until he gave them a break. Laughing quietly to myself, I took out my book and earbuds to play some piano music instead of hearing the cacophony of angry yelling and Mendoza's whistling.
After almost half an hour of an intense scrimmage, Robyn collapsed next to me on the bleachers with a cold towel over his face. Under the rag I could hear his muffled voice say, "This is not enough. I need an ice bath."
"Robyn it's literally freezing outside. Here." I threw him another towel. "I have some sandwiches my mom made."
"You're a whole ass saint." He gratefully took the towel and straight up wringed it over his face so that the cold water cooled him down. "I would go to the bathroom to splash my face with some water, but I think my legs don't work anymore."
Taking a bite of my sandwich, I gave him a look of doubt. "Sure." I karate chopped his knee hard so that his reflexes kicked his leg out abruptly.
"Ow! You didn't have to hit that hard, shit."
"See? Perfectly fine." He gave me a pained look which I returned with an innocent one.
"Dang, this sandwich tastes really good. As expected from your mom. Tell her I said thanks." He wolfed it down in a few bites. I only took two bites, nowhere near finished. Then he chugged the Gatorade. "Ahh, nice."
"You can tell her thanks yourself." I looked at him with mild disgust. "You and your awful eating habits, goodness gracious. You're going to throw up when you get back to practice."
"Honestly, I think that would be better than going through Mendoza's rigorous training routines. Those would make me throw up five times over." He laughed roughly, his voice raspy after screaming stuff to his team.
"Well, if y'all didn't suck so much at the game yesterday, maybe you guys wouldn't even be having a practice at all today, Captain."
He put his hands up defensively. "We lost because we weren't at our full man power. Plus, I hate to admit it, but Mayfield has a really good team. Half of them are taller than us."
"Excuses." I finally finished my sandwich and drink after making fun of Robyn's sad play. No, it was actually good. But there was something seriously off with the team's mood. Especially Oliver. I wondered if it had something to do with the fight I witnessed in the arcade. Maybe. Most definitely. "I'll throw away your things."
"Like I said, a saint."
"Keep the change," I said as I rolled my eyes. I gathered the trash in my arms and sighed when I dropped a bottle. When I straightened up, I felt a chill down my spine. Resisting the urge to look behind my shoulder, I continued to the trash can.
Robyn had a sour expression on his face when I came to sit next to him. His brows were furrowed and he had an almost angry expression. He was glaring at something in front of him. Or someone, heck if I know.
"Hey, fatass," he addressed me.
"Excuse me?" I asked offended, baffled at the sudden aggression.
"Aren't those pants uncomfortable?"
"Excuse me?" Was all I could say again. I didn't like where this conversation was headed.
"Aren't they tight?"
"We're not going to have a huge debate on if sweatpants or jeans are better."
He glared at whatever harder. "No. Your jeans are too skinny."
I gave him an unimpressed look. "Are you my mom?"
"You don't get it?" Robyn frowned at me, breaking his glare off or whatever to flick my forehead. "You can be denser than your mom's spaghetti sometimes."
"I bring you food and this is the thanks I get? Saint my ass." I crossed my arms.
He inhaled sharply before exhaling in frustration. "Those guys were totally checking out your ass!" He pointed to two of his teammates who I couldn't exactly place their names. It just occurred to me that I didn't realize these two twins existed, or more like I never cared enough to learn their names. That goes without saying for most of the team, though. He popped his knuckles before pointing at them. "Those two, Andrew and Aiden."
I snorted in incredulity. "What ass is there even to stare at?"
He stopped glaring and now it was his turn to look incredulous. "Okay, time-out here. Don't even start with that self-deprecating crap, Em. Take it from a gay person, you have a nice ass. Hell, even a straight guy would say-"
"Okay, stop, I get it." I laughed awkwardly, not used to compliments. "I'm flattered, but I'll have to disagree." This conversation made me rethink my life choices and re-evaluate myself. I never noticed. And here I was thinking I was getting fatter since my clothes became a little tighter than usual.
"They shouldn't be staring so obviously like that, as if they're wolves ready to gobble your meat."
I gulped and reluctantly made eye contact with the twins. I couldn't tell them apart so I'll call them Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Tweedledee on the left licked his lips. I cringed. Tweedledum on the right wriggled his eyebrows and wolf-whistled. I not only cringed, but felt sick as my stomach dropped to my feet. There was no reason to look at someone like that. It made me feel gross, repulsed.
Apparently Robyn must have noticed the way I blanched because he really looked like he was an inch away from throwing some hands. He slowly rose up and stalked towards the twins, intent on confronting them. I prayed to everything above that Robyn wasn't about to do something stupid. Alas, it was Robyn we were talking about, so when he got up into their faces and provoked them, I sighed in mild disappointment when he got clocked on the jaw.
Then I gasped when the impact sent him flying to the ground. I ran to his side. "Robyn! Are you okay?"
He held his lip, starting to bleed. "Deja Vu?"
"Shut up, Robbie. This isn't funny, you're bleeding. And get a shirt on for goodness sakes."
Mr. Mendoza strode towards the scene, frowning immensely. "The hell happened here?"
"Please excuse Robyn. He's a little bit, uh, high-tension. Besides, those twins threw the first punch."
The coach massaged his temples. "I don't get paid enough for babysitting y'all. Hook, get yourself patched up. I'm not going to kick anyone of the team, we can't handle any more people leaving, especially the good ones. So I'd appreciate if you get off your ass and got a shirt on."
"Yessir," Robyn mumbled. I helped him up and we walked towards where we initially sat so I could retrieve my first aid kit. He rubbed at the area where he got punched on his jaw. "That hurt."
"It's not worth even bothering the school nurse. She doesn't need this. You didn't have to fight, idiot." I unzipped my first aid kit and took out some hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball.
"What's that?" He cringed away from it.
"Unless you want it to sting really badly, I suggest you sit still. In my opinion, this stings slightly less than rubbing alcohol." I held his shoulders and dabbed the cotton ball onto his lip, putting pressure on it while I looked for some salve.
He hissed in pain. "I don't know, that still hurts pretty bad," he said with a lisp and slurred speech.
"Shh, stop talking." I removed the soiled cotton ball and set it aside and took some salve and applied it to the wound like putting on extra thick lip gloss. "Are you sure you're okay? You're getting a little pink."
He slowly nodded, hesitant to open his mouth. "Yeah, I think it's just a little fatigue from practice. That's all."
I put away my supplies back into my bag. "We should go home now."
"But practice," he said.
"I think you and your team needs to eat a Snickers bar. I'll talk to Mr. Mendoza." His eyes widened a considerable amount.
"I commend your service soldier." He gave me a mock salute.
I rolled my eyes. "It's just Mr. Mendoza." I got up and Robyn just shook his head solemnly as I proceeded to tread towards the coach.
Coach Mendoza didn't notice me until I cleared my throat. "May I help you, Mr. Scott?"
"I think Robyn needs to come home and calm down. I think there's something that's going on in the team that no one has really addressed and I fear the game you guys lost yesterday was the final breaking point. All the bottled up tensions and pressures just exploded between the twins and Robyn. So I'm asking you to give them a break. They've been going at it for hours."
He just crossed his arms and stared at me. Unrelenting, I stared back. This was a hard thing to do considering he's like a full foot taller than me. He sighed and looked at his fitness watch. "Sure." Really? I was not expecting him to agree. "Since you've asked so nicely. I need the rest too." He pinched the bridge of his nose and blew his whistle. "Okay! Practice is over. I'm tired of seeing you guys repeatedly coming short of my expectations. I don't know what has happened to this team, but I'm cancelling practice tomorrow so y'all can get proper rest. I swear if I don't catch y'all relaxing, you gon' get it." The more tired Mendoza was with his team, the more obvious his western roots were as his accent reverted back into yeehaw language. He was very much done and tired with them. "Make sure to clean up and thank Mr. Scott here for this." He put a hand on my shoulder. "Have a nice day, Mr. Scott. And keep an eye on that Hook."
"Yes, sir." When I walked past the team they gave me silent stares, dumbfounded gazes. I stared at the ground, at my feet, anything to distract me from the attention. I reached Robyn and helped him pick his jaw off the floor. "Let's go," I said as I slung my satchel over my shoulder.
"How?"
"You're welcome."
"Saint, and angel, a godsent." He hugged me tightly, squeezing my organs. I patted him back. He was still shirtless. And sticky. Ugh.
"You need a rest. Let's go home, you stinky and sweaty oaf."
~~~
Like ritual, Robyn and I did our homework in my room. It was quiet with the exception of the heater humming as white noise. I flinched when my phone's ringer cut through the serenity with a message from Alice. I heard the sound of Robyn's pen dropping on the ground. My phone pinged again and I lowered the volume of my phone.
"You ruined the vibe, man. Aww, would you look at that. Now I'm not in the mood to do my homework." He shut his workbook and leaned back into the chair.
"Uh, sorry." My phone vibrated and I sighed. I wasn't used to this. My contact list was very limited, consisting of twenty people at most. The majority of which were relatives.
"There's someone actually texting you besides me? Did I miss something?"
"It's just a friend."
"You have a friend besides me?!" He jabbed at me. Spinning around in my chair, he threw a piece of graphite at me. "Who is it?" He wriggled his eyebrows.
"Ugh, don't give me that look. I met her at Nathan's party. Her name is Alice."
"Alice? Alice who?
I rolled my eyes. "Alice in Wonderland."
He snorted. "Of course, she's fictional. I knew I was your only friend," he said as he winked at me.
"Alice Hargreaves. She asked for my number."
Robyn raised his eyebrows in dubiety. "And the Emerson Scott willingly gave his phone number to a stranger?" He seemed impressed. "What happened to Em and where is the real one?"
I threw my eraser at him. "You literally are my mom." I looked down at my phone.
Alice Hargreaves
Hey! :)
Hope I'm not bothering you (ï¼'âï½)
I was wondering if you wanted to go rollerskating with me
My friend and I were supposed to go, so I already made a reservation for a dinner table
But now I don't wanna cancel or they'll charge me extra haha
You can bring friends if you want.
Me
Sure, why not :D
Alice Hargreaves
Ok, cool!
Srry for the last minute invite btw
It's @8 at the Cosmic Skate Arena
See you there! (o^-')b
Me
It's no worries, srsly
See ya
"Do you wanna come with me and roller skate with Alice? We can relax and have fun."
"Yeah, because falling on your ass is relaxing." I gave him a look and he shrugged. "Are you sure? I mean I don't want to be a third-wheel."
"Fine, then I'll invite someone else."
"And who would that be?"
"Andrej."
He sighed and put his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay fine, if you insist. We can all go."
I smiled. "This will be fun." I typed out an invitation and hoped Andrej would come.
~~~
About an hour before we left, I was reading a book before Robyn burst into the room with a bowl of popcorn. I bookmarked it set it in my lap. "I told you we'd be eating dinner at the skating place. Leave room in your stomach."
"Nah, it's fine. I have a huge stomach. This is merely a snack. You know, me and food are like this," he said making a gesture by crossing two fingers.
"Yeah, a huge stomach to match your huge mouth."
He had a devious look on his face and cackled. "And a huge di-"
"Shut up! Emily can hear you!" I threw a pillow at him and he shook with laughter. That was a close one.
"Soo, the Cosmic Skate Arena, huh?" Robyn looked it up on his phone. "Looks like a rave club."
"The skates glow in the dark and so does the floor. There's black light so your clothes can glow depending on what you wear. The roof has stars all over it. It's pretty cool. We should wear some glow in the dark clothing."
"I don't have any remotely bright clothing."
"Borrow some of mine, duh. I have an oversized neon long-sleeved shirt you can wear. It has some cool graphics and logos on it. And a pair of reflective sweatpants that should fit you."
"Okayy, then what are you wearing?" Robyn asked, already looking through my clothes.
"Hmm. I was thinking I could find my galaxy shirt because the stars glow. I also have a reflective bomber jacket that matches your sweatpants."
"Okay."
"Be right back, I'll just tell my mom we're leaving soon. You should start changing now, it's a longer ride," I advised him.
"Anywhere remotely fun is a far ride from this small town. We live in the middle of nowhere."
I walked down the corridor towards my mother's master bedroom and knocked on the door. "It's me, Mom. Can I come in?"
"I don't know, can you?"
I sighed and just walked in. For once, she wasn't on her computer, but reading a book. "Can I help you, honey?"
"I don't know, can you?"
She laughed. "Touche."
"I don't need anything. I just wanted to tell you Robyn and I are going out with friends to roller skate. It's a little bit aways, so we may or may not come home a little late."
"That's fine as long as you come home before midnight. You have school tomorrow."
"Yes, Mom."
"Have fun, Sweetie."
~~~
I had to drive a little over half an hour to the closest city to get to the roller skating place. We lived in one of those small towns in the midwest. We were located in a place where the fields of corn were as far as the eye could see, as extensive as the skies. I took a quick glance to Robyn who was napping in his reclined seat. Smiling at him, I felt content knowing that he was getting some sleep despite his insomnia. Even if it was just a short nap. Baby steps.
By the time I pulled into the parking spot, the sun was long gone and the clear night skies filled with vast and infinite stars, matching the theme tonight. I shook Robyn awake and he groaned. The few times where he did sleep, it was the biggest struggle to wake him.
"I understand, but we need to go. We're here now."
He stretched and popped his back, neck and knuckles. Anyone else would've cringed at the excruciatingly loud sounds. I've gotten used to use his wake-up routine over the years.
"I really hope I don't fall on my butt. I've been hurt way too many times lately." Something about the ambiguous way he said it gave me a feeling he meant it in more than one way.
"Stop being an idiot then," I said while flicking him back on his forehead in retribution. We smiled at each other and I softened. "It's okay, I'll be there when you fall."
We walked through the doors, feeling the blast of the air conditioner, and I was thankful that I wore my thick bomber jacket. Besides the galaxy-themed places the arcade attaches to the skating rink was retro with carpet that looked like it came right out of the seventies. There were multiple miniature disco balls spinning at various heights. Much like the rink, everything was under black light. Usually places like this were crowded and smelled like pizza and sweaty kids. But since it was a Monday, there was virtually not a single soul save for the staff and a few couples here and there.
Robyn, being drowsy, was naturally slow. I had to tug him towards the front desk, nostalgia hitting me as it reminded me of Chuck E Cheese's. The college student smiled at us. "Do you have a reserved table?"
"Yes, under the name of Alice Hargreaves. We're her company."
She looked at something on her tablet and nodded, handing us tickets and wristbands. "Wear the wristbands for bonus points when you play in the arcade. The tickets are to give in exchange for skates. Hargreaves is at table twenty-eight. Have a nice night, boys."
"Thank you, Miss."
I tugged Robyn and walked around the perimeter of the rink to reach the table. I spotted Alice right away. She waved happily at us, standing up to greet us as she pulled out the chairs. Instead of smelling like mangoes, this time she smelled like peaches. Her hair was half up in a high ponytail with a neon scrunchie. Under her glow in the dark neon floral dress, she had a white turtleneck. Even her nails were luminescent.
"Hello, Emerson!"
"Hey, Alice. I haven't introduced you to Robyn, yet. Alice Hargreaves, this is Robyn Hook, my best friend. Robyn, say hi to Alice you sleep-deprived single, barely functioning, brain cell."
He lamely waved at her. "Hey." I sighed in exasperation.
"Hi, Robyn." Alice remained smiling in the face of Robyn's strange demeanor. She was way too nice for her own good.
"Oh, Alice, by the way, have you seen Andrej? I texted you about him earlier."
She shook her head. "No, but it's fine, no pressure. We have all the time in the world. It's not even eight yet." It was getting close though.
Thankfully, he arrived only a few minutes after eight, and in style. When is he not dressed to the nines? He had a blue velvet paisley-patterned to black blazer that glowed under the light along with his thick white turtleneck. It was tucked into skinny jeans with reflective trimming on the side. His shoes were so reflective that they were almost mirrors, imitating silver.
Immediately, he was apologizing as soon as he approached us. "I apologize for being tardy. I did not expect the baby to throw up on me." He used his palm to flatten the front of his outfit.
"Oh, dear," Alice said sympathetically. "Well, it's fine. It wasn't your fault. Nice to meet you, I'm Alice Hargreaves." She held out her hand expectantly.
"Andrej Sutherland," he greeted with his two-handed handshake. "Likewise." He also shook Robyn and I's hands. He smelled like a very expensive cologne. It was a mix of spicy cinnamon and pine.
Robyn coughed next to me and I side-eyed him. "Need some water?"
"We should skate now."
Alice happily clapped her hands together."Yeah, let's go!" She led the group to the skate-ticket exchange counter. "Can I have quad skates in size six and a half?" The person set the skates on the counter, removing the dryer sheets from the inside and taking Alice's ticket and shoes. "Thank you!"
We all exchanged and received our skates, going to a nearby bench to try them on. Like they've done this many times, Andrej and Alice seemed like naturals at rollerskating. For Andrej, even more so, using his skates as if they were attached to his body. However, I couldn't say the same for Robyn and I. As soon as Robyn attempted to stand up, his legs went out from under him and he fell cartoonishly onto the ground. The only thing that was missing was a Looney Tunes sound effect.
Alice gasped. "Robyn, are you hurt?"
I held out a hand for him to grab. "My pride is a little bit bruised," he said. Promptly after he said that, he took my helping hand took me down with him. Now we were both on the ground. Robyn had the short straw as I was sitting on top of him. "Get off of me, fatass."
"Just our luck," I sighed. Andrej helped me up with ease and I was surprised at the strength his simple grip held. "Thanks, Andrej." I patted myself off as Alice snickered behind her hand.
"Forgive me, I shouldn't be laughing, but that was comical. We should've recorded that."
Robyn had his arms out defensively on the side for balance. When he finally managed to just stand still, he leaned on my shoulder. "I told you falling onto your ass isn't relaxing."
I slowly removed myself from him to prevent another accident happening. "It's kinda funny, though."
Andrej silently skated away. He was the only one wearing in-line skates, and he was killing it. With his suit, he looked like a legitimate ice skater, minus the ice. He skated backwards, passing up a couple and avoiding a loud child.
Alice followed my gaze and smiled. (Not that she stopped smiling.) "He's really good. I wonder if this is his first time."
"If that's his first time, I'm gonna be mad."
Robyn sighed. "Me too," he said shakily as he struggled to stay upright. His feet kept on shifting under him and he appeared to have zero control. "Em, I can't do this."
I slowly shuffled my skates and hooked my arm with Robyn's. "It's okay. I'll be right here."
He looked down at me. "Thanks, Em."
I tapped his elbow. "Just try not to fall."
"It's hard enough to just stand."
We almost fell just simply getting into the rink where there a bump at the entrance. My heart leaped out of my chest for half a second. Alice had already been long gone, creating idle chatter with Andrej as they skated at a moderately fast speed. It made feel slightly better that Robyn was even worse than me.
"How about standing up straight? That's a good start," I suggested.
He exhaled. "Straight? Me? Kinda hard when you're gay."
I snorted in laughter. I should have seen that coming. "That caught me off guard. Don't make me laugh too hard or else we're both gonna fall."
Robyn attempted to straighten his posture. I led him farther from the wall and he panicked. "Em, what're you doing?"
"You'll never improve if you never try. Take risk. You're not going to die. What happened to your 'bad boy' look."
"Flew out the window when I made that gay joke."
"Screw this." I whistled. "I'm tired."
"Hi tired, I'm gay."
"I'll never get used to this."
Robyn held onto me tighter. "Let's have more fun. We've only scooted like five feet from the entrance. We seem pretty miserable."
I smirked. "Game on."
I got the hang of it before he did, so I taught him how to skate by pushing off from each alternate skate at an angle. I had never felt more proud when he finally, finally, learnt how to skate. I unhooked my arm from his so we could skate more freely. Though, I still held his hand just in case. Once we got used to a certain tempo, we relaxed and strolled, listening to the overhead music playing songs from the nineties and 2000's projected onto one of the walls. Occasionally there would be older or newer songs. I may have fanboyed when Bohemian Rhapsody started playing. We exchanged looks and started belting along to it.
When we caught up with Andrej and Alice, I Will Always Love You started playing overhead. Instead of struggling to hear ourselves over the speakers that had their volumes turned up, we obnoxiously started singing along. Save for Andrej. That boy is multi talented. What's he doing living in the middle of nowhere when he could be in California with that voice? Be on the X Factor, something.
At the end of the song Alice clapped her hands politely. I screamed 'wooh!' "Andrej, that sounded amazing!" Alice exclaimed with stars in her eyes.
"Thank you," he bowed his head slightly in gratitude.
At some point, Alice and Andrej skated off together on their own, leaving Robyn and I in a comfortable silence. We just skated, listening to the most iconic songs in history like Can't Help Falling in Love, Put Your Head on My Shoulder, and Killing Me Softly to name a few. I was smiling nostalgically to myself the whole time. Softly gasping, I almost fell flat on my butt after getting excited as soon as I heard the instrumentals to Fly Me to the Moon. No matter how many times these songs played over the decades, they would never get old. They are gold and timeless. They would also be the perfect songs in a playlist a woman in the fifties would play after she murdered her rich husband as she smokes a cigarette and drinks wine while she wears a silk robe and red lipstick. As Frank Sinatra's warm, deep voice echoed in the rink, time slowed down.
Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a-Jupiter and Mars
I looked up at Robyn and his freckles that dotted his face like the stars in a clear night sky. I would spend my whole lifetime counting them. They were sprinkled across his nose bridge, cheeks, forehead, neck, collarbones, hands, legs. Seemingly as infinite as the stars themselves.
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
I started swinging our arms in between us, smiling down at our skates.
In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
Staring into his eyes, they held the whole cosmos, twinkling like diamonds, holding a galaxy. Holding my world. When he turned to me I stared into his eyes and saw my reflection, and in that moment, I felt closer to him than I've ever felt before as he leaned closer to me. And we just stared at each other, hearing nothing but the song. And my heartbeat.
In other words, please be true~
In other words
In other words, I love~
You.
"Watch out!" I heard a panicked Alice yell. Before either of us could do anything more than pull away, the loud child I mentioned from earlier collided with us. Scratch that, his stupid little skating aid PVC device collided into us. The kid himself wasn't in the actual incident, he was off to the side hopefully eating the floor. Was this sabotage? Maybe. Did I realize what was about to happen? Not at all.
The skating aid knocked us roller skating neophytes off our already cumbersome balance. I tried very hard to keep myself from hitting the floor. After struggling with my perpetually slippery feet, I stood still. I was miraculously okay and all in one piece, no broken, bruised, or sprained body parts. That is, until Robyn grabbed onto my shoulders. Big mistake. Like earlier, he didn't fail to take me down with him.
"Shit!" Robyn cursed as we tumbled.
Robyn's face smashed in with mine. As much as certain people would like to say we kissed, it was more like my lips got busted by his teeth crashing into them.
"Ah," I held my hand under my bleeding lip. "Friendship bracelets? I only know matching busted lips," I slurred.
Alice quickly skated to us. She made a distressed sound when she saw how much blood was emitted from my bottom lip. "Oh, dear! I'll get some ice. You guys need to get back to the tables." As fast as she skated towards us, she skated away to get some help.
Robyn helped me. Hopefully for the last time that night. "I'm sorry, Em."
"Accidents happen, Robbie. Don't feel that it's your fault. It was that dumb skating contraption."
Once we were safely sat, Alice gave me ice cubes wrapped in paper towels to hold over my wound. Of course, the one time I don't bring my satchel. In this whole complex of a building, they didn't have even a simple first aid kit. I'm pretty sure that breaches some sort of safety standard or health code. I had to wait until I got home to properly disinfect and treat the wound. For now, all I could do was decrease the amount of inflammation and redness.
Alice, the ever optimistic one pointed out, "Well, at least you two are truly matching besties."
"I got a first aid kit," Andrej said, seemingly materializing out of nowhere. I didn't even realize he was here. He was silent, stealthier than I could ever be. He held said object up in the air.
"Where did you get that?"
"I always keep one in my car," he said indifferently. He handed it to Alice to which she shoved it away into Robyn's hands.
"Oh, please don't give me any jobs that have to do with delicacy. I'm very clumsy and know close to nothing about patching up wounds. Usually, I'd rinse it out with soap and water and let it be. I'm assuming you'd know better than I," Alice said to Robyn.
"I guess-" Robyn started to say.
I cut him off. "It's fine, I'm the one who always has to babysit him and nurse his wounds. I can handle it myself. I appreciate the concern, Alice. And I'll be taking that," I said as I took the first aid kit from Robyn's hands.
Robyn crossed his arms. "So you can fix me up, but I can't. I see how it is."
I raised my eyebrows. "Why does that matter?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, seems unfair."
I turned to Alice and Andrej to see if they were hearing this bologna. Andrej was already off somewhere and Alice was on her phone at the table. "Hey, Alice, where's Andrej?"
She looked up, smiling. "Oh, he's getting some food. I think it's pizza, nacho cheese, and soda."
Robyn piped up from behind me. "What kind of pizza?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe pepperoni. Didn't say."
Robyn sighed through his nose and abruptly pulled me down to sit right next to him. "What are you-" I began to say, but Robyn held his index finger in front of my mouth to quiet me.
"Shut up, for once." He stared at me with a firm, stone gaze. I scoffed, but said nothing. That was my line.
Just like what I had done for him, he patched up my lip. Not as gracefully or pain-free as I had hoped, unfortunately. Andrej's kit was very basic, so it didn't have any hydrogen peroxide, just an alcohol pad. Before dabbing at my bloody cut, he gave me a look. As gentle as his clumsy hands could, he wiped away and disinfected my injury. It did sting, but I still refrained but speaking. He put pressure on it and it really did hurt. That dang kid. He took some aloe vera gel and applied it generously.
"Done, I guess." He slowly leaned back to look over his handiwork.
"Thanks, Robyn." It was weird talking with a thick substance on my lips.
Soon after, Andrej came back with the food. Alice made a noise of approval once the aroma wafted through the air. "Thank you so much, Andrej," she said. "Oohh, Hawaiian pizza. Yum!"
Pineapple on pizza? Uh oh.
"Are you freaking kidding me?! Pineapple pizza?" Robyn got triggered immediately, getting heated over a simple type of pizza. We've had this debated for many years now, and not once did his opinion of pineapple pizza waver. He was pretty set and stone about it.
"Robyn, not now." I facepalmed over the scene where he was creating.
Alice was confounded at this burning hatred towards a pizza. "I'd understand if you almost died from eating pineapple pizza, but I'm assuming that's not the case."
Robyn glared at the pizza like a cat hissing in hostility. "Pineapples on pizza should be illegal."
I sighed. "Ignore him, he's always like this around pineapple pizza."
Robyn crossed his arms. "I can't even." He made a fake gagging sound.
Rolling my eyes, I smacked his arms with the back of my hand. "Please just shut up it's literally a pizza. This reaction would be understandable if it was like, I don't know, broccoli pizza. Real first world problems here."
He huffed, but at least he didn't say anything else, saltily munching on the nacho cheese.
Unlike Robyn, Alice was enjoying her steaming, fresh slice of Hawaiian pizza. "Is there any particular reason he hates pineapple on pizza?"
"You tell me. I have long given up on knowing the reason."
He scoffed. "There doesn't even need to be a reason. Even the Gordon Ramsey hates pineapple on pizza."
Alice shrugged. "Well, more for us then."
Andrej was silently observing, wearing a mask of indifference, making it seem that he was slightly frowning. He sipped on his soda for a while as Robyn crunched loudly next to me. He cleared his throat after a while. "I apologize for this inconvenience, Robyn. It was uncivil of me to not ask what you prefer. It's just that I've never had the chance to try this pizza before. The concept of pineapple on pizza is a foreign one."
Robyn stared blankly. "Uhm."
I interjected before he could say anything regrettable or stupid. "You don't need to apologize! It's fine. Robyn needs to fix his attitude and be more open-minded. Don't be sorry for wanting to try new things." I smacked Robyn on the arm as he narrowed his eyes.
Andrej smiled slightly and went back to drinking soda.
When a blanket of silence came upon us, Alice decided to pull her phone out. "I have videos and photos of you two. I'll text it to you guys if you want."
I gave Robyn a sideways glance and figured he calmed down considerably. "Why?"
She shrugged. "I figured this was our first night out together and I could make a collage. I forgot to bring my Polaroid." She whined sadly. "This would've been a great place to take Polaroids of."
"Sure. Why not?"
"Great! We can make a group chat and go out together like this again. It was fun. We should take a group photo! Everybody huddle up." Alice frowned when she struggled to fit everybody in frame. "Ugh curse my short arms. Here," she said, handing her phone to Robyn, "use those long arms of yours and take a good selfie."
He held it up and adjusted it. I was on my tippy toes, leaning against Robyn. Alice was in front, naturally. Behind her Andrej stood photogenic and looking like someone straight from the Kingsman. He wore a lopsided grin while Alice threw up a peace sign last second. "Three, two, one, say cheese!"
After a few snaps, Alice reached for the phone, which was a struggle. She beamed widely when she swiped through the photos. "Ah! They're so cute!"
Robyn was using me as an armrest and leaned down. "They are."
Andrej nodded in agreement. "This was a very entertaining experience. Perhaps we shall meet up again in the near future?"
"Definitely!" Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands that her bangles clinked together.
"Are you sure that this is on the house?" I asked. I felt bad that she had to cover the expenses for all of us.
Alice laughed. "Why would you? You all drove a long way and I invited y'all last second."
"Ah, that reminds me," Andrej began as he began to reach inside his blazer. "Here you go," he said, directing a wad of cash at Alice.
Her eyes widened and she immediately pushed his hand back. "Hold on there, I didn't even spend that much on all of us combined. I already said it's okay. That's final."
Andrej put on a dashing smile. "Oh, I insist for all the trouble I caused."
Alice still didn't take it though. "I appreciate it, but you're company was enough. It was really fun to talk to you so you don't have to feel like you have to compensate for anything." He reluctantly retracted his hand. She patted him on the shoulder then looked at Robyn and I. "Same thing with you two. You all make me feel so much better about myself. I have always been so shy so I didn't have many friends. So thank you."
Robyn shrugged. "No problem. Text us anytime."
I looked at my phone and tugged Robyn's hand. "Come on. We should get going now or my mom is gonna flip. Have a good night, guys!"
Alice and Andrej waved us goodbye, Andrej taking the extra step to shake our hands. I've gotten used to it by now.
When we went to my car, I turned on the ignition. "See, I told you it'd be fun. It's was fun, wasn't it? Don't lie."
Robyn made a noise of indifference. "Maybe." I gave him a side eye. He held his hands up in mock-surrender. "Okay, yeah, it was pretty fun. But I think I'm gonna have a few bruises for a while."
"Okay drama queen. Want me to nurse it better for you?"
He declined his seat backwards, closing his eyes. "Wouldn't that be nice?"
~~~
I swear these chapters are getting longer and longer ;-; we might hit 10k words per chapter soon wOw
Anyways the beautiful picture at the top is my boi Hobi to match with the disco mood towards the end
Thanks for reading, vote and comment if you enjoyed :)
(and follow me @ idrawsarts on insta)