One of the Boys.

I was shaking as I approached the skate park. I was hoping it was through nerves, and not because of my lack of body fat, as it wasn’t all that cold. I know I needed to gain weight, but if I was shivering this violently then I needed to gain a lot more than first intended.
My trusty skate-board was tucked under one arm. The rough, almost sand-paper surface scratched against the fabric of my shirt. I’d ran home straight after school, changed from the flimsy dress into a tight shirt, shorts and black leggings with some converse. It was a compromise – there was no skirt, dress of ballet pumps in sight but it could still be classified as reasonable. All I knew was that nothing would be revealed or ripped if I did anything more than your standard skating.
As the wire meshing came into view, I smiled a little as I saw some of the familiar faces. Sam was there with a few of his college mates, and if I’m not mistaken, he had a new tattoo on his wrist. I couldn’t tell what it was until I got closer to him.
I walked through the hole in the mesh and towards the largest half pipe there. A few unfamiliar faces, which is never a good thing, hollered at me and did cat calls, shouting something about ‘how the mall was on the other side of town.’
Yeah, I know perfectly well where the mall is, douche bags. I’m here to skate, not have a fucking manicure. Just because I look like a girl doesn’t mean I am one. If we’re being technical, yes, I am a girl, but let’s not get into specifics.

I dropped the board to the floor, resting my left foot on the tip, tracing lines with my foot, then climbing to the top of the half pipe. The guys who didn’t know me, which was everyone there except Sam, scoffed between themselves, waiting for me to crash and burn. I wasn’t going to crash and fucking burn, I was going to succeed and no one was going to get in the way of that. Even if I fell, it would only be a failure if I didn’t get back up and continue.
I placed my feet firmly on the board, taking in one deep breath, holding it, then pushing off. I liked to see how much I could do whilst still holding my breath, because it more of a competition if I was still by myself, and I had a really competitive streak. It’d just disappeared for a while.
I smiled to myself as the pressure on my lungs got worse, but the pressure on my shoulders from everyone else alleviated. I didn’t need to care what people thought because I had what I needed. Have good friends, get good grades and work hard. That’s all I can ever do, and that’s precisely what I am to achieve.

And happiness, of course.

I reached the top of the half pipe again and stopped as I felt I would pass out if I kept it in any longer, exhaling with my eyes closed, smiling as I regained breath.
When I re-opened my eyes, a few of the un-knowns had formed a small crowd around me, and anyone else who was previously on the half-pipe had scarpered.
“What?” I asked, smiling.
“Are you real?” one of them asked, and I laughed. I simply continued smiling and shrugged, then pushed off again and felt the confidence wash over me as I became more natural to it – I was pretty out of practice, but the more complex moves came back to me. I let my feet do the work, keeping my balance, and wanting to laugh through every push, flip and glide.
I fell, and it hurt like a mother fucker. The crowd silenced, expecting me to cry. I half expected it too, but dusted myself up and limped back up to the top, swinging my legs down, smiling and taking a little rest.
Now I was down, temporarily, the boys started skating on the half pipe again. trying to do the best tricks they knew, which I can only assume was to impress me.
A brown haired boy in a black hoodie, on his BMX, skidded into the park, making a screeching noise as the brakes were forcing the almighty bike to stop.
“HEY!” I shouted to him, and his eyes widened.
“Em? Damn girl, where the hell have you been?” laughed Spencer, riding up to the top and resting his bike against the back railings, sitting next to me.
“I’m not all that sure, Spence.” I smiled. “But I’m back now.”
“That’s good, that’s good. We were missing a little testosterone around here.”
“Hey.” I smirked, punching his arm. “I’m not that manly.”
“Whatever you say, dude. But you look great, Em. It’s nice to see you around here again.”
“You too.” I smiled and he pushed off, talking to a few of the guys as rode his BMX along the half pipe and down to the ground. I noticed he’d lost a little weight since last time, and his teeth were whiter. Maybe he was just smiling more, so I noticed his teeth, I don’t know. But everywhere I looked, people were smiling, they looked so stupid with big, fat grins on their faces, but did it really matter? They were having fun with the people they loved, the people who didn’t judge them for how much their shoes were worth, or in this case skateboard. They judged them purely upon their attitude to life.
And mine had changed. But with a little determination, I’m sure I can get back to normal in no time.

I was suddenly forced out of my dream like state because I was pushed down the half pipe, sliding down it, friction burns appearing on my arms.
“Morning.” his goofy face smiled at me, face hovering over mine as we lay in a tangled mess at the bottom of the ramp.
“Ahh, we meet again. It’s been a while hasn’t it?”
He laughed and pulled up my shirt, blowing raspberries onto my stomach. I couldn’t contain my laughter and kicked my legs, trying to get him off of me.
Eventually he gave up and pulled my shirt back down to cover my torso.
“Get out of the way, fuckers!” muttered some angry new-comer, annoyed that we were in the middle of the half pipe, preventing him from skating. I’d probably be angry too, but now it was a different matter. I stuck my tongue out at him and laughed with Brendon.

It’s a shame this brat had no sense of humor, and continued to skate, slamming into my nose. I swore loudly and gripped at my bleeding nose, standing up so not to bleed all over Brendon. I got to the top of the half pipe and sat down, resting my head in between my knees, trying to stop the flow. I grabbed a tissue from the box underneath my board and held it to my nose, slowly sitting up.

“Dude, what the actual fuck?” shouted one of the guys. I don’t think I know him, but he seems nice enough.
“What?” retaliated the jerk.
“You just slammed into her face! Decent man, decent.”
“She was in my way.” he growled.
“She was having a good time, stop being so tight, jerk off.”
“Yeah, loosen up man.” piped a few others.
“Dude, your ass is so tight that if we shoved up coal, out would come a diamond.”

The guys laughed heartily whilst Brendon just stood there, smiling to himself. He knew that I wouldn’t be all that bothered because pain wasn’t much of an issue to me. He could also tell, as could I, that these guys were only doing this because they wanted to impress me.

Sorry dudes, I’m taken.

“You know what, fuck you.” the jerk spat and tried to push through the mass of pissed off guys, resulting in a swipe being taken to his jaw.
“Hey!” I shouted. “Give him a hard time, sure, but don’t punch the dude.”
“He practically punched you!” replied the guy in the middle, who I assumed was the ‘leader’ of the pack.
“Yeah, but, y’know. I’m not an ass so I wouldn’t punch him back.”
“Fair enough.” he nodded and the jerk scarpered sharply.

I slid down the half pipe on my butt, no doubt dirtying up my shorts, and threw the tissue in the near by trash can. My nose felt a little swollen but it’ll be fine in the morning.

I hooked my arm around Brendon’s waist and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too. And welcome back, hoe.”