Rooftop to the Street

"Kellin is that you?" My dad shouted from the living room as I walked through the door.

"Yeah it's me, dad" I called back, hanging my jacket on the coat rack and walking into the living room. I was suddenly met with a body colliding with mine.

"Jesus Kellin you're two hours late, you left your phone in your room. I was so worried!" Dad said frantically, pulling away. He coughed awkwardly and then sat down. He tries to act all hard and manly, but we both know he's got a more 'over-protective motherly vibe' to him.

"Sorry dad, I was with Tony at the skate park" I explained, sitting down and then taking off my shoes.

"I didn't know you could skate, and take your shoes out to the hall, please"

I stood up, sighing and took my shoes out. "I can't skate, I was there for artistic reasons. Reasons you will not understand, father." I called out from the hallway.

"You mean you were taking pictures of a bunch of stoners riding around on pieces of wood?" Dad said as I made my way back into the room.

"Yes, exactly that."

X x X

"So what do you wanna do first?" Vic asked. The skate park was dead. Just us two stood in the middle of the park, looking a tad bit lost.

It was midday on a Wednesday. I didn't have college today and I'm also assuming Vic didn't either. Most of the kids here were either of high school age, in college or had jobs, so in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, everyone besides us seemed to be busy. What a coincidence.

"Well we could start on flat ground first?" I suggested, walking over to a patch that seemed large enough for him to execute some sort of trick.

Vic popped his board on the floor and skated over to me. "So I'll do a few things here, and then we can hit the bar?" He asked, looking around.

"Oh no, I don't drink" I said lamely. Vic frowned, looking confused.

"Kellin I meant the bar, like the bar I grind my board on, it's like, directly in front of you" Vic said in a flat, almost monotone voice. My face went hot, I always had to make a complete cock of myself, didn't I?

The corners of Vic's mouth started to twitch, then his chin started to tremble. Oh no.

"Don't laugh at me!" I whined, putting my hands over my face and pouting a little, even if he couldn't see me. My actions seemed to break Vic, I could hear hysterical laughter coming from him. He even snorted at one point. For fucks sake.

"Oh no, love. Don't sulk" Vic said between giggles once he had got control of his manic laughter. I heard him walk towards me and then felt him take my hands away from my face.

"Don't worry, Kells. Not everyone knows everything about skating. See, look over there at that wobbly thing, I have no idea what that does" Vic pointed at some sort of pole thing that was in a wobbly shape. I gave it an odd look, then directed my focus back on Vic.

"I just feel a little stupid, that's all." I grumbled, crossing my arms under my camera that was perched on a strap that hung around my neck.

"Well at least I know you don't drink, that's a start, I guess?" Vic teased. I rolled my eyes and poked his arm.

"Right then, Kelly-Bear, let's see if you can capture these moves!" Vic said excitedly, I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous pet name as he walked back over to his board and hopping on it. I immediately grabbed my camera, switching it on.

"Are you ready?" Vic called out from one side of the park. I gave him a thumbs up sign and he jumped into action, speeding towards me and looking focused. Bloody hell he was hot.

I started to take pictures right from the beginning. Capturing the way the wind flowed smoothly through his curly brown hair. The way his navy blue snapback contrasted with the bright blue color of the sky. Or how even though he was small, he could skate faster than I'd ever seen Tony skate, and Tony was pretty quick.

I watched as Vic shuffled his right foot towards his left, then using his left foot to pop the board downwards, then sliding his right foot back up again, making him jump through the air. He landed perfectly without even wobbling. It looked as if he could do it in his sleep.

"You look impressed" Vic remarked, smiling and skating back towards me. "Simple trick, an ollie. But it's always a crowd-pleaser." Vic said, then skated back to where he was stood before.

"Ready?" He called out again.

"Yep!"

X x X

Vic and I stayed at the park for about an hour, just taking pictures and messing about. Right now we were sat on a little grass bank, like some sort of steep but tiny hill thing that lead up to the skate park.

"So when did you start skating?" I asked, looking straight ahead.

"I think I was about eleven years old when I started. Why?"

"I dunno. Just wanted to understand why you chose to glide around on some wood"

"Well it's kinda complicated. I skate because it's something else to focus on. Instead of thinking about that stupid thing I said two weeks ago then I can focus my mind onto something more productive, like landing a bloody 1440 Flip or some shit. Plus it's fun and it's where all my friends are." Vic explained. I turned to face him even though he was still looking forward.

"Is there anything else you use as a distraction?" I asked. I don't know why but there was something about Vic that drew me in. I wanted to know every one of his little quirks, little things that give me indications on what he's thinking and feeling. I find him... I don’t know, intriguing I guess.

"There are a few. I use anything really. I don't mean to be totally generic here but sometimes I play guitar, well, most of the time. I get into trouble, I do stupid shit that gets me chased by cops. Anything that isn't sitting down and doing nothing and being miserable. I hate not doing anything unless I'm like, I don't know, ready for bedtime" Vic looked incredibly thoughtful, he turned his face to look at me this time.

"Oh my god, you still say bedtime" I teased, giggling like a little child.

"Yeah, and what are you going to do about it, darling?" he teased back, grinning.

"Nothing, nothing. Don't panic." I said. Our laughter died out a little as soft smiles rested on our lips and a silence crept in, blanketing itself around us and holding us in a comfortable quiet.

A few minutes had passed, and so I decided to break this silence. A bold move for a shy guy like me.

"What do you... What do you try to distract yourself from?" I asked slowly, afraid of his reaction or if I was overstepping a boundary.
Vic smiled softly and put his hands on his thighs. "That, my dear friend that I've known all but 24 hours, is a conversation for another day." Vic slowly stood up, then held out his hand for me to grab. I took his hand and he pulled me upwards and I let out this weird giggle. God, could I get any more annoying?

"Anyways, I think it's about time I taught you how to skate" Vic said, picking up his board and walking to the far left of the park, near the swimming-pool thingy.

"I don't think that's a fantastic idea. I'm an accident prone, I'll break something!" I panicked, walking slowly towards him.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, looking me dead in the eyes.

Did I trust him? Like he had said, I've known him just over a day. How could I possibly trust him?

"Not in the slightest" I smirked.

"Perfect, then let's begin!" Vic spoke excitedly, leading me towards his board.

"Right, step on it."

I just looked at him with a blank expression.

"Just put your dominant foot on the top part of the board. Come on, I've got you, sweetie" Vic reassured me. I don't know whether he was using these pet names to mock the fact that I'm a little feminine or if he was trying to tease-flirt with me. I don't know which one I preferred.

'No, not that far up. Like, put your foot down so your toes are covering the first set of screws holding the trucks in place, then put it on a bit of an angle." Vic explained.

I did exactly what he said and he looked pleased. Vic then held my hands and steadied himself.

"Right, this is gonna be the harder part. Put your left foot on the back of the board" My eyes widened, I was gonna go flying.

I slowly raised my foot and placed it on the back of the board. Vic smiled triumphantly and slowly let go of my hands. I won't lie, I did miss the warmth quite a bit.

"Right, now you're stood on the board, try and use your left foot to push yourself away from me." My head snapped up to look at him, causing me to wobble and fall. The board went god knows where but I knew for sure that I was heading for the ground, fast.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me, saving me from falling to the hard floor. Vic had caught me just in time. He kept me there though, just holding me as if I was frozen in mid-fall.

"Hey, look at me... I did a trick" I spoke quietly, afraid that I'd ruin the moment.

Vic smiled and shook his head, lifting me back up onto my feet.

"Yeah, you're a natural."