"I'm making this weird, aren't I?" (remake)

Skate!

"Why did you tell Nikki we were skating like 30 minutes ago?" His eyes peered down at Max as he tied the laces of his skates. Neil his friend's sneakers to set inside the mini locker they had bought to share.

"To get her to stop texting, duh. She's at that party or is supposed to be. Man, who parties on a fuckin' Thursday?" He looked at Neil. His eyes flickered towards the sneakers the brunette still had on.

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Honest with me? That'd be nice." Max scoffed.

"...What."

Max shook his head a little. Stuttering a little. "Noth... Nothing. What do you have to tell me?"

The both of them shifted in the silence they created. Mostly Neil, as he hesitated. His head trying to decipher what a response like that meant. The nerdy one rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um... Er, I. Can't. Skate."
"I know that. Have you seriously never skated before?"

"Oh, and you have? I've skated before I kind of forget every time I go again."

"Obviously." He lifted Neil's skates to hand over to him. He sat down beside Max and took off his sneakers. "I've been forced to skate as a hobby. The first time I went for just fun was with David. I realize something better than skating. Watching other people fall. Now obviously I didn't bring you here just to watch you fall." Max explained.

"Why'd you pick skating though?" Neil squeezed his foot into the skates. "Cause' it was on our list of hang out. We got that sleepover tomorrow so I figured being stuck at your house wouldn't be ideal, you know?" Max answered.

"Yeah." Neil tied the laces. "Hey, you were quiet on the bus ride here. Something up? I thought we were beyond the awkward silence, Max."

Max opened his mouth as though had something to say, yet nothing came out. Just slightly parted lips and more... silence. "Nothing. Get up."

"What?"

Max stood up. His hand rested on the wall as extra support. He knelt to reach for Neil's shoes and put them in the locker for him. "Here's the best part. Get up," he repeated.

Neil utilized the wall and bench to pull himself up. His legs wobbled around like cooked noodles. With the wall's help, he managed to stand on his quivering legs. Max raised a brow. Watching Neil balance himself for a few seconds before he turns to roll towards the rink.

Neil's leg lifted and landed on the ground, actively taking a step. Max could hear the skating clanking on the ground but he ignored it. He kept on skating until he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders that dragged him down. His arms wailed around in an attempt to catch his balance. He gasped a feeling of relief when his legs stopped kicking around just to keep himself up. His eyes lowered to a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. It was Neil hunched over with his eyes squeezed shut and his arms holding onto Max for support.

"God Damn Neil? How did you fall already?!"

"I didn't fall." Which was true. He used Max to keep himself up. From an outside perspective, it probably would've been better if he had just fallen.

Gently Max removed his friend's arms from his waist, opting to hold onto Neil's wrists until he was certain he had full balance. The brunette's cheeks were bright red. He could see despite him so obviously avoiding landing eye contact.

"Knock me down and I will murder you, Neil." Neil could only stutter an apology as a response.

He let go of one of Neil's wrists but still held one. Max cringed at the obnoxious noises of the skates. It was relieving to his ears when they stopped. Finally, they rolled onto the rink. His hands were tightly wrapped around the brunette's hand. The comfort it gave the brunette displayed in a small smile. Not even fearful of the risk of falling on his in the middle of everyone.

"I'm not going to let you embarrass yourself. You'll only do that if you freak out and fall. Okay, Neil?"

-

"They're totally dating. They're totally dating, right?"Nerris pointed towards Ered and the pink-haired girl. They remained in the kitchen holding a conversation between one another. Their eyes watched each other as if it were each others favorite show.

"Nah. Ered's like that with everyone. They're friends." Harrison disagreed.
"You're just disagreeing with me just so you can disagree with me!"
"What?? No, I'm not. They're just not."
"They are." "Not-!" "Are!" This continued for a good couple of seconds. Leaving mostly A.J. to stare at the two of them during their bickering. Nikki stood on her tippy toes to see over the counter. To watch the conversation she wished to could be there to hear.

"A.J. you'd say they're dating, right?" Nerris raised a brow.

"Uh..."

"He obviously doesn't know!" Harrison crossed his arms. "Why don't ask Nikki." His head nodded towards the green-haired girl.

"Because we know Nikki will just say they're not saying no matter what!"

"Because they're not dati.."

"They're leaving!" Nikki interrupted. "They're friends. I'll prove it." All three of them attempted to stop her from following behind the two girls just to come to fail. Nikki inhaled sharply. She pushed past the bodies that blocked the hallway. A few people audibly complained about her intrusion. A room door had been left cracked open. Inside voices giggled at one another. She pushed it open to reveal Ered and the girl.

Two eyes stared at her. The pink-haired girl's smeared lipstick stood out next to Ered's chin where lipstick had been smeared across it. Their arms wrapped around each other in an embrace. Nikki's heart tumbled into her stomach.

Oh...

The tears. The tears fought to drop, and the back of her throat burned. "Whaaat! This isn't the bathroom! Haha.." She slowly closed the door and backed away. Nikki swallowed hard to maybe ease that burning sensation and rapidly blinked to not even give the tears a chance. Whatever conversation the group had, ended as soon as their sight landed on Nikki.

"Maybe Thursday parties aren't that good. Who parties on a fuckin' Thursday?" She scoffed. "I'm sorry I forced you guys to come to this. Let's go?"