Second Chances [BxB]

twenty four

Declan lost his balance, his skateboard flying out from under him as he toppled to the ground. He landed on the hard concrete, groaning in pain as his board rolled away.

"You okay?" Evan asked, his eyes blown wide, concern hiding in his sweet voice.

"Fine." Declan hissed, cradling his knee, which was currently throbbing uncomfortably.

Evan pushed himself up from the bench, crossing the skatepark to reach Declan's side. He held out his arm, letting Declan latch onto his hand, and pull himself up to his feet. "You hurt?" Evan frowned.

Declan shook his head, reaching down to grab his board, "No." He lied, pushing past the pain as he limped towards the bench Evan had abandoned, throwing himself onto it with a grunt, "I don't know what's wrong with me." He complained, running his fingers through his curls.

Evan sat down beside him, staring down at the skateboard Declan had left neglected at his feet. The skatepark that sprawled out in front of them was quiet; host to only two other skaters, and one rollerblader.

"My board was my first love." Declan sighed, "And now, I can't even... I just keep fucking up."

"You're stressed." Evan noted, "You're distracted; that's why you're making mistakes. It has nothing to do with how good of a skater you are."

Declan shook his head defiantly, "You should've seen me a year ago. I was so good, Evan. I didn't made mistakes." He sighed miserably, "I was never distracted while skating, no matter how many shitty things were happening in my life - skating was my distraction." He said, "It was the one thing that was easy, that made sense. And now it's...now it's hard."

Evan watched him sadly, "It happens." He murmured, "Things we love just... Well, sometimes, we stop loving them, and it feels like losing an old friend."

"What did you lose?" Declan asked, nudging his elbow lightly.

"I used to knit." Evan smiled softly.

"You used to knit?" Declan echoed incredulously, a fond smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Evan nodded, "I was good, too. One Christmas, I knitted scarves for all my friends. The next year, I made them all hats."

"Why did you stop?"

Evan looked down at his lap, his eyes clouding over in a way they only did when he talked about his ex, "We got into a fight once." He said, "He burnt all my yarn, and the mittens I'd made for him."

Declan's jaw clenched, and a flare of anger flickered in his chest, "Fucking cunt." He muttered under his breath, "I'm sorry." His eyes softened when he looked across at Evan, "That's so-"

"It's not the worst thing he's done." Evan shrugged, "Not even close, but... Well, I never knitted again after that."

Declan sighed, "There's still time." He said encouragingly, "There's always time to fall back in love with something."

"Maybe one day."

Declan glanced down at his board. He had been falling off a lot recently. He had been gathering injuries faster than he ever had before. It was terrifying, slowly losing a talent he thought would live within him til the day he died.

He watched the skaters in the park slide down the slopes, their board twisting beneath them as they performed tricks Declan had first mastered years ago. One of them fell off, and the other one laughed at him. They reminded him of a younger version of himself and Mickey, and with that thought, he turned away, and faced Evan instead.

"You still haven't told me about your date." He said.

Evan grinned, "It was good." He replied, "We went for sushi, then got really drunk at a bar afterwards." His cheeks glowed pink with the memory, "He walked me home, and we kissed, and he told me he wanted to see me again."