Darcy Styles

04

     "Well c'mon, let's not just stand here!"Bear urges me towards the gazebo. I have a huge love for gazebos, dad thinks it's weird but there's just a beauty about them that speaks to me. I think I love them so much because so many people don't like them, and I find things that are peculiar to be amazing. The structure, the size, the endless options of decorations that you could put on them, it's truly amazing. It's like a canvas. You can go to the art supply store and buy an ugly, blank, white canvas for $5 and take it home, put your touch of art on it, and it can be worth millions. That's how I like to look at things. Not what they are, but what they have the potential to be.
      While I stand there gazing at the lights, Bear puts on a record, and it's an old slow dance song. He knows that I love nothing more than when dad asks me to dance with him when he's feeling very energetic. Dad loved to dance with mum, and I think that's why he dances with me. Bear takes me by my hand, twirling me and then catching me with his other arm. He holds my waist tight, nervously forgetting the steps. I laugh as he trips over his own feet, only able to catch himself on the railing before he smacks the ground on his bum. I cant help but laugh, and he struggles to get up. "Would you like some help kind sir?" I ask, and he holds his hand up, waiting for me to grab it and hoist him up. I try and try to pull him up, but he's just so big that I can't. "Here, try again, and this time I'll push myself up." He grabs my hand again, and when I got to pull, he pulls me straight down on top of him! He begins to giggle, and once I get my hair out of my face he starts full out laughing. Laughing so hard that he can't catch his breath. The laugh is so contagious that I begin to laugh as well. We just lay there in laughs and giggles, until the record stops playing.
     "Hold on, let me get another record and put on. Then we can finish that dance." He pushes himself off the ground and walks over to select a new record. I pull myself off the ground and walk over to him. He's getting a bit cold, so I stand close to his side. He lays the record on the turntable, and gently lays the needle down to where the music softly starts to play. "May I have this dance, madam?" he ask in a very proper tone, holding out his hand and bowing. I smile at him and take his hand. "I guess so," I draw out dramatically, and put my hands around the back of his neck. He leans down a bit as I struggle to reach his neck because he's so tall. I smile at him, because he usually makes fun of me for being so short, or so much shorter than him. We dance in silence for a minute, and then he pipes up a conversation. "What if our parents weren't famous? Think about how much different our lives would be. We could go places without being chased, we could go to a regular school with regular people. we could-" I cut him off. "Free. We could be free, Bear. No rules, no publicity, no interviews, no news articles, no pictures, nothing. It would be very free. But, that means that there would be no Freddie, or Gianna, or Connor, or-" He cuts me off this time. "Us, no us." 

     "Yeah, but what do you mean by us? Do you mean like our friends 'us', or like 'us' us?" We stop dancing, and he looks down at me with a longing look in his eyes. "Yeah, 'us' us. I like us." He gives me a sideways grin, one that he only uses when he says or hears something that he really likes. I lay my head on his chest, and he wraps his arms around my back, and we start swaying to the music again. A million thoughts run through my head. What do I feel? Does he have the same question? Man, I really need dad right now! He would know what to do. Has Bear really had a thing for me this whole time and I was just too blind to see it? Was everyone right? 

      My heart starts beating fast while I am thinking these thoughts. I can tell that he can feel it, and right then he starts to rub my back. "Hey, whatever is getting you worked up, it's okay. If you need to tell me something, or want me to do something, please tell me." I nod, with my head still up against his chest. I feel so free standing here, but yet, I still feel pressure. What if I say something that makes him think something that I don't want him to think? All I can do is question myself right now, but then I get a whiff of his cologne, and for some reason, that tells me everything will be okay. 

     "You want to go check out the skating rink? I brought you some ICEEEE SKATEEEEEES!" I laugh at his childish tone. He can be so goofy at times. We walk down to the rink, and he holds up the skates to me like dad does in the Night Changes music video. I take the skates from his hand, and sit on the bench to put them on. He goes into the building beside the rink that is where the concession stand and bathrooms are. He comes out with two large coats. "Here, I left these here the other night when I was decorating. I figured we would need them." He hands me a large, thick coat that is very warm. I snuggle into it and stand up, and start gliding over the ice. Dad taught me how to ice skate when I was 6 in Canada when we visited his friend from the record label. I see Bear stand up and wobble, and he immediately slips and falls to the ground. I skate over and help him up, and he grabs onto my arms to pull himself up. "Would you like some lessons from a pro?" He shakes his head and laughs. "I guess I need them, so teach away." He tries to let go of me, but immediately grabs my arms again. "Woah easy, easy there buddy, no need to get in a hurry!" I take his hands in mine, and I begin to glide across the slippery ice. We get going at a good slow speed, so I let him go to coast by himself. I stay near him in case he slips, but he does really good. "Okay, now since you have the hang of it, try a turn. Just twist your body and angle your feet. Go on, try it." He looks at me with a confident look. "Alrighty, here we go!" He spins in a very slow motion, and when he completes the turn, he looks at me with so much pride. "Look! I did it! Did you see that?" It's like a little kid scoring their first goal in football. "You did amazing, love. Now since you are stopped, try to push off and coast at a steady speed by yourself." I give him a reassuring nod so that he gets a little bit of a confidence boost. "Okay, but stay right there in case I fall, because I'm going to need some help getting up." I giggle as he attempts to push off, but he falls, grabbing me and dragging me down with him. 

     I'm laying on top of him on the cold ice, hair in my face once again. He looks at me and does that goofy side grin again, and this time I can't help it. I have to do it. I've fought the urge for a long time, and I've been handed the perfect scenario on a silver platter. We sit up, still sitting on the ice. I rolled myself off of him, and I'm sitting beside him, thinking that this is a bad idea but I can't help it. "Bear, I just have to-" and he cuts me off in the best way possible. He grabs the side of my face, and presses his warm lips to mine. I swear, 10,000 fireworks went off in that moment. I've never felt more alive. We break it off, and I press my forehead to his, trying to catch my breath. "I'm sorry, I just had to do it." I can tell he was questioning everything. Before he can say anything else, I kiss him again, and this time, it was even better.