Henry has been told that he was timid. Hyperfixaited on every little thing that could go wrong. It was sewn into his skin since the day Matthew left him on the street corner of his apartment.
It wasn't like he would never trust anyone anymore. Matthew wasn't even his first love, but it he was his the longest. That's what scared him. Five years melted in a drain. That was a year ago now. People would think he would be over it. Like a widow in the 1600s, slowly taking off the layers. He still hasn't let go of that last layer, fearing the worse would happen if he did. He just didn't know what.
When William came into the picture, he was the oasis in the dry desert, Henry tended to walk nowadays. He was weird, though, unconvincingly weird that at times, Henry felt he was being stalked.
On the ice, he felt the familiar feeling climbing on the hairs of his neck. At the corner of his eye, he saw no other than William watching him like an owl. Henry wondered if he ever had friends who would tell him that.
"Hey, smooth skating!" William yells, his stupid little grin had Henry falling forward. In his 10 years of ice hockey, Henry never fell forward unless in a tackle, but this was no hockey match. It was as if an imaginary thread tripped him at the base of his feet .
He wanted William to do that again. Badly.
"Oh, my God, you alright?" William yells again.
"Did I do that? I'm so sorry. " William stonely marched up the ice toward a sore Henry scraping the shaven ice off his shins.
"No, it's alright. I tripped over my own feet. The cost of being clumsy." Henry laughs.
"Oh, don't mind it. The ice is slippery, after all."
Henry slowly crouched on one knee, saying,
"How did you get in? I thought I locked the doors."
"Your friend, let me in . I was passing by, and I wanted to say hello. Now that I think of it. It is creepy. Watching you." William stumps, helping Henry stand. Once out the ring, the two walk to the lockers.
"I just didn't want to interfere. You looked so peaceful on the ice. I didn't want to break that 'hockey-dude-in -the- zone' vibe. I'm rambling, aren't I. I'm so sorry." William looked down, bashful.
"You say sorry a lot."
"I feel better when I do."
"Any weight lifted?"
"You could say that." William said, leaning his head on the doorframe while Henry undid the last buckle of his skates.
William was thicker than a walnut. There is so much of what he wasn't saying that Henry needed to know. Was William alright for starters? Henry couldn't quite place his foot on that one.
"The real reason why I came by is: would you like to tag along to my nieces' birthday party?"
William was so sincere when he said that.
Henry agreed, and off they went. In a little blue beetle. On the way William mentioned, the whole family would be there. His brother found the best opportunity to do a little family gathering while celebrating his twin daughters' 9th birthday.
"You close with your brother?" Henry asked once the beetle made it up the driveway.
William pulled the handbreak and got out. He didn't want to answer or hadn't heard what Henry said. Henry thought the latter.
"Will! You came!"
A taller gentleman barged through the front door of the house. Immediately, William was submerged into a tight embrace. Speak about resemblance. They were identical, minor the height differences. Henry stood awkwardly behind the car door as the two brothers hugged it out.
"Mind introducing Springsteen over there." Says the taller gentleman.
"Henry, this is my brother Joel. Joel, this is my soon to be roommate, Henry." William pats stiffly on Joel's back.
