Good Luck Charm (Completed)

Finals and Fancies

     Vincent had crammed for weeks for his class finals. The first day of exams had gone well, but Vincent was still nervous to do it all over again. Testing always made him nervous, and it didn't help that Lucas didn't seem particularly concerned at all. 

     "I don't understand why you're not nervous." Vincent whisper yelled as Lucas entered the bedroom. As far as Ms. Marshall knew, Vincent was back at the dorms prepping for finals, so both boys had to be quiet while hiding Vincent.

      "Because I've got this." Lucas shrugged. "And I know you do too."

     "Good God I hope so." Vincent was tearing his hair at, pouring over his notes. "There's just so much to cover. I have no idea what they're going to use."

     "You said it was fine yesterday. Look, I'm sure they'll cover stuff you know, because you know everything." Lucas teased. "Besides, we've got our first exam together today, so I'll be there, mentally cheering you on as you go." 

     "You've got to worry about your own test." Vincent shook his head. "Science is just a core class for me. For you, it's a major retirement."

     "Come on." Lucas pulled the notes away from Vincent. "We've got to go soon."

     "What about your mom?" Vincent asked. 

     "She's still pissed. She's been moping in her room for days, we won't see her." Lucas assured. 

     "Let's go." Vincent said, standing up.  

     "You're going to do great!" Lucas cheered. 

     Upon entering the classroom, Vincent was greeted with his test which he took to his seat. Lucas offered one last reassuring look before taking his own paper and sitting down. They were near each other, but still felt a million miles apart. Vincent looked at his paper and immediately all the information spilled from his head. He could not longer remember any of the numbers or figures he'd made it a point to memorize, and all the words swirled around the paper like a whirlpool of failure. Failure... Failure... Failure... Vincent's mind repeated over and over again like the ticking of the clock. 

     Vincent looked over at Lucas, cool as a cucumber and calm as ever, then back. If Lucas could do it, then so could he. Vincent inhaled deeply, calmed himself, said a little prayer, and got to work. As he moved on, he realized a lot of the information he did know, and what he didn't he could figure out from context clues. In fact, the test really wasn't so bad at all. There wasn't really anything he didn't know at all. 

      Vincent finished before Lucas and decided to wait for the boy on a bench not far from the class. Lucas came out of the room with a proud smile on his face and pulled Vincent into a tight hug. 

      "See! That wasn't so bad." Lucas teased. 

     "No." Vincent agreed. "It wasn't bad at all... but I'm still sure glad to have it over with." 

     "Me too." Lucas smiled, arm laying lazily over Vincent as they walked. "Onto the next one?" He asked, and Vincent chuckled. 

     "I think I've got an hour still. Are you going right there?" Vincent asked and Lucas answered with a nod. "Good luck."

     "Thank you." Lucas smiled. Vincent offered his hand a small squeeze before he disappeared around the corner. Vincent on the other hand made his way to the library. It wasn't that long of a time, but he wanted to give himself one final refresh before going and taking the test. He hoped he could remember everything, but reminded himself not to get too caught up in the nerves.

      At the next class Vincent finished the exam in nearly half the time offered, which allowed him to go back through and check all of his answers. Grades would be released by the college during the break, so he had quite a bit of time before he would see the fruits of his labors. 

     After his final exam he went back to the library to sit. Finally with exams out of the way he could begin to look forward to the holidays. Vincent had always loved Christmas and the idea of spending it with Lucas made it all the better. He couldn't wait to go home.. the college offered them nearly a month off, and Vincent was teaming with excitement to do all the holiday traditions he'd missed. Having someone, two people to spend the time with made everything seem all the more exciting. 

      "How was it?" Vincent asked once Lucas arrived. 

     "Great." Lucas grinned. "Want to go do something?"

     "Like what?"

     "I don't know." Lucas shrugged. "I want to celebrate."

     "We've got the whole afternoon and evening." Vincent shrugged. "oh, want to go ice skating?"

     "I don't have skates." Lucas frowned.

     "Me neither. We can rent them." Vincent suggested, and Lucas smiled in agreement. The piled into the car and checked to see that the local rink did in fact have an open skate, so Lucas drove them to go. At the door they both grabbed their skates and tied them on. 

      "Alright!" Vincent cheered as he glided onto the ice.

      "Small problem." Lucas' eyes widened as he stared at the ice. "I never learned how to ice skate."

     "You didn't?" 

     "Nah.. my family wasn't big into.. family activities." Lucas smiled sheepishly. 

     "That's okay." Vincent glided back to the boy. "I'll help you. Do you trust me?" 

     "Implicitly," Lucas joked, grabbing Vincent's outstretched hands. Using the boy as support, Lucas was able to step over the gap and make his way onto the ice. "Wow... it feels weird." Lucas mused. 

    "Just glide." Vincent stated, using his strokes to propel them both forward. Vincent had both Lucas' hands in his own, and was himself skating backwards, occasionally looking behind him. "And keep your leg an equal width apart."

     "Easier said than done." Lucas grunted, legs slipping slightly.

     Vincent chuckled and pulled Lucas a little faster so it'd be easier to stay in a straight line. They swerved in and out of couples hand in hand. Somehow it no longer seemed to matter to them that they were two boys together. They didn't really care what other people thought of them.

     "Alright, want to try and start taking steps?" Vincent asked, and Lucas nodded slowly. "Okay, left then right, and let your feet glide... good... okay... like that..." Vincent corrected as Lucas began to skate, their steps and speed quickening as the two of them moved in sync. "Do you want to try on your own."

    "No." Lucas pulled Vincent into him, nearly losing balance in the process. "I'd rather stay with you."

     "Me too." Vincent agreed, reaching up to steal a kiss, despite the public nature of the place.