What is Normal? (Falsettos High School AU)

Ice Rink

- "Do I love him?"

Marvin knew he needed space. He knew that it was easy to let him take some time to think things through. But he'd be lying if he said there was ever a moment where he wasn't thinking about him. A couple of weeks had passed since the ordeal with Cameron, and each day it became harder and harder for him to be patient.
     One chilled December morning, Marvin awoke to Whizzer shaking his shoulder.
     "Geez, what time is it?" he grunted.
     "7:30, so c'mon. We're going skating." He grinned. "The rink's a couple hours away, so we gotta get going."
     "Sounds fun." Marvin replied groggily. He was actually quite excited. Skating was probably the only thing he liked about winter. After a few minutes, the four left hopped into the car. Whizzer's dad played Christmas music during the entire ride, which was Marvin found strange. "I thought you were Jewish." he whispered to him.
     "Half Jewish. My dad's Christian, and a big fan of the holiday season." After a few hours, they reached the ice rink. Marvin attempted to pay for his skates, but Whizzer stopped him. "I've got it. You paid for the first date. I'll pay for this." His heart fluttered.
     "Is this a date?" Marvin asked hopefully.
     He opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. Paying for the skates quickly, he looked back at him and sighed. "I don't really know."
     "Your right. It's a bit of a strange date with your dad and sister here."
     "Funny. But really, Marv'. I don't know. I know I said I'd only need a bit of time, but it's taking longer for me to adjust than I'd expected. I mean, I was really hurt. Both times." Marvin looked away. He knew he would always feel ashamed about what he had done to Whizzer.
      "I understand, really I do. And if you end up wanting to stay away from relationships for a while, I can learn to live with that." He wasn't really happy about it, but there was no way he could tell Whizzer that. He'd already done so much for him despite everything that had happened.
     "Thank you, again. Now let's get on the ice." He raced ahead of him, before plopping down onto a bench to lace up his skates. Marvin watched him as they both got ready. He seemed so concentrated as he quickly looped the laces through, his tongue poking out from the corner of his mouth as he tied the final knot. Whizzer suddenly looked up at him, and winked. It wasn't fair, he thought selfishly. How am I supposed to keep myself away from him?
     Finally on the ice, Marvin skated with ease. He had good balance, and he glided around the rink. He looked back at Whizzer, and spotted him slipping slightly as he gripped the side of the glass. Marvin chuckled as he slid over.
     "Need some help?"
     "I wish I didn't. We come here every year, and I think I'm getting worse." He shook his head as he tried to stand up straight, and he almost fell on his back.
     "Jesus, Whiz'. I didn't know you were bad at anything." He tried to shove Marvin away playfully, but he ended up almost falling into him. He couldn't help but laugh at Whizzer's helplessness. "Here." He held out his hand to him, and he took it immediately. Marvin skated slowly as Whizzer squeezed his hand tightly. It felt nice there, Marvin realized.
     "Can you go any faster?" asked Whizzer jokingly.
     "You're one to talk." Marvin scoffed. "You literally fell on your ass five minutes ago." But he did speed up, and Whizzer almost instantly regretted his request. Less than 30 seconds later, he crashed into the side of the rink, and Marvin quickly followed. "Are you alright?" he asked through giggles.
     "Perfectly fine. Maybe you shouldn't listen to me." Whizzer sat down for a moment to breathe. He knelt down in front of him.
     "Okay, break's over." He grabbed his hand and yanked him up. He playfully glared at Marvin, but soon the pair was slowly gliding around in circles. He spotted Ilah spinning towards the center, and Whizzer's dad grabbing hot chocolate. Marvin looked at Whizzer and smiled. He looked so nervous, but he seemed happy to be there, and it filled Marvin with unspeakable amounts of joy. He truly missed him, and he needed to tell him. A few minutes passed before Whizzer inevitably fell again, and Marvin sat down next to him.
     "Can I help you?" he smirked.
     "I-" Marvin hesitated. He couldn't say it to Whizzer, after everything. There was no way he could try to force him into a relationship. "I saw your dad getting drinks. Wanna grab some too?"
"If it keeps me off the ice, it sounds like a great idea." The two bought a couple cups of hot chocolate before grabbing a table in the corner.
"This is pretty good." Marvin stated awkwardly.
"Yeah. Y'know, I have been thinking about making my decision." Whizzer looked at him, and he raised his eyebrows.
"Really?"
"Yes. Well, I want to make a decision. But it's difficult. I don't know if I want to be with someone, to commit to that. It seems almost scary, to trust someone that much. I just don't know if I can go through with a relationship with anyone."
"I would love to commit to someone. I would feel safer to know I have a person can trust and count on."
"That's easy for you!" Whizzer took a swig from his cup. "When I trust people, they always end up breaking that trust. It's happened three times in my life, and every single time it's hard."
"Do you not trust me?" Marvin stared at him, waiting for an answer, but he just looked at the floor.
"I don't know."
He pursed his lips and stood up. Whizzer glanced up at him, and almost seemed to try and continue his thought, but was distracted by the music from the rink. His face lit up.
"They're playing Frank Sinatra. I don't care if I fall, it's worth it for his songs." He raced past Marvin, and he shook his head as he watched him. How could he just forget about that conversation so quickly? Unless he wanted too. Marvin sighed, and followed Whizzer to the rink, where he had already slipped.

1068 words