Chapter Text
“Alrighty! If y’all just want to follow me through here,” Eric led the prospective tour group into the shop. “All of us work here regardless of our membership status with the team, although flows do tend to work more than the am and pro skaters.”
There were six kids in the group. Most of them would turn eighteen in the fall and be signed into flow positions like Eric, others were touring for the opportunity in a few years. One of the prospective skaters, Chris, was just as excited to be there as Eric felt when he got the call. Eric didn’t get to tour though, it was at the cost of the prospect and he couldn’t swing the airfare and hotel without the help from his family and they thought the whole pursuit of professional skateboarding was ridiculous.
“We carry everything from team gear to all the supplies needed to assemble a new deck here. We have open skates four days a week and since most of the folks that come through are minors a lot of the time we have to explain they need a parent to check them in for the first time to fill out all the insurance paperwork.
“Next we’re going to go through here into the actual park. Y'all can just set your bags here along the wall. Trust me you’ll get the chance to skate here in a bit. We’re just going to walk a lap and then have you fill out your own paperwork and I’ll get those forms from your parents. Hopefully by the time ya get done the rest of the team will be here and we can skate.
“Any questions so far?”
“Uh yeah.”
“Yes, Mr. Nurse?”
“Nursey is fine. How is like, the atmosphere of the housing accommodations?”
“Well, I’d like to say that I’ve made some positive adjustments, but it still very much has a frat house feel to it.”
“Chill.”
Eric led them through the park, highlighting the best spots and sharing more information about the day to day goings on, like the lessons each of them taught and the best times to work on hard tricks. They made a big sweeping lap ending back in front of the office. Eric sat them down with the clipboards that had been prepped for each of the prospects.
Chris was the last one to finish his paperwork, having to call home for the last bit of information needed. Right after he handed his forms over, Shitty barged through the shop doors into the park.
“BRAHS. Are you ready?” He shouted both hands raised above his head.
“WOOOOO!” Chris cheered back.
Everyone took their time getting into their gear and warming up. The team made sure to watch the newbies as they warmed up too, already examining their skills, the prospects overly aware that they were being watched.
Eric popped in his headphones and went into his own little world, the music drowning out all the sounds from the park. He knew how stressful and overwhelming it could be to audition for a place on the team. He let his thoughts wander and stuck on the incident from a couple of weeks ago when Jack snapped at him on top of the halfpipe. Things had been getting better and Eric had thought he finally gotten through and that he and Jack were getting to be friends. Apparently not, but Eric wasn’t about to give up just yet.
After everyone had warmed up and was ready to get started, The Haus team started showing off letting the prospects sit aside and watch. Most of them worked in the bowl doing their favorite and signature tricks. Holster’s always surprised people since he would do a backflip out of the bowl rotating a little extra to land backwards going back into the bowl. By the time each member had a chance, the prospects were chomping at the bit for their turn.
Chris took his turn first, too excited to wait any longer. He started in the shallow end of the bowl picking up speed headed towards the deep end. His style looked almost like the old school skaters who started out as surfers. Large carves through the bowl adding in a twist or hand plant. His finish was a frontflip out of the bowl to skate away.
Nursey went next. He was so fast on his scooter, spinning the base around several times midair and managed skateboarding tricks just as well. He went up the vertical in the deep end, planting one foot on the edge in a boneless before landing a backflip backwards into the bowl.
Will was the last of the prospects to go. He'd been the quietest of the group and looked to be so deeply focused on the task at hand. He stood on the pedals of his bike, balancing for a moment before pushing off towards the bowl. He did some balance tricks on the ledge and a few twists where he pulled the bike up sideways. The finale of it all was him separating from the bike completely midair for just a second before grabbing it and putting it back underneath him.
🛹
After their showcase, the team and prospects went back to the Haus to hang and eat. Most of them were staying in local hotels and flying out in the morning so they had little to no intentions of heading out early. Will was the only exception; citing work and needing to get his cousin’s truck back. He did stay around the Haus for an hour or so helping Eric out in the kitchen.
They worked quietly with Eric humming along and dancing to the music playing over his phone. He could only handle the quiet for twenty minutes before he felt the need to make conversation with Will, it was only polite after all.
“So what got you into skating? Or biking, I guess?”
“I mean it started as a way to get to jobs before I could drive. Then learning tricks turned into a thing my cousins and I did for fun. They always said I was too good to be doing it just for fun and I should try to go pro. Didn’t think it could ever happen but here I am.”
“You were just so good today! I can’t imagine how tricky tricks on a bike could be especially with how tall you are.”
“Isn’t Holster bigger than me?”
“He is but also not by much. Y’all are just so much bigger than me that it makes me think the tricks are way harder.”
“I don’t think so,” Will dunked his hands back into the sink, washing the dishes for clean up while Eric put away all the leftovers.
“How did you feel about today?”
“I think I did well but I’m not sure if I want to take a spot if they offer.”
“Why’s that?” Eric stacked the last of the containers into the fridge then joined Will at the sink to help dry.
“I just don’t think it’s a solid bet. It’s cool to try and I know I could make it but why take that risk with job security? One injury and you could be out for life.”
“I get that. If it doesn’t work out for me here I get to go back to Georgia and find a job there. And there isn’t really anything I’m qualified to do so ya better believe I’m trying my best to make this work.”
🛹
Lardo had commandeered most of Eric’s desk in the couple weeks leading up to the Samwell Skate Series. He noticed she had been becoming increasingly quiet as well. All her focus poured into the paintings she was doing on the bottoms of each member of the team’s decks. Eric had been sworn to secrecy so none of them could bombard her with particular requests.
He sat on his bed and scrolled through Twitter while Lardo airbrushed the bottom of what he assumed would be Jack’s board considering the Canadian flag motif she had snuck into the design. He played music through his phone speakers while Lardo had on her headphones. The light breeze from the open window moved the curtains but the smell from Shitty being on the roof that afternoon lingered in the air.
After a while, she pulled off her headphones with an exasperated sigh, “Dude I am so burned out on these. I need a break.”
"Well, you have been at it for hours."
“Annie’s?”
“Oh yes, that sounds amazing.”
The pair cruised on their boards down the sidewalk. It was warm, summer weather finally kicking in. Eric was thrilled. It wasn’t the stifling hot that he had in Georgia but it did remind him of home. The silence was more comfortable with Lardo than anyone else too, so they rode for a while the only sounds around them the breeze and their boards on the sidewalk. It never lasted long though, his tolerance for silence.
“I’ve been letting it sit for as long as I can but what on Earth is up with Jack? It’s like he thinks the sun comes up just to hear him crowand I just don’t understand why he’s been so... ugh just you know how he’s been with me.”
“Yeah. There’s a lot of history there. His story isn’t mine to tell but I will say that it gets tougher when his dad is around. He might seem closed off about it but he’s usually pretty willing to talk if the person listening seems to be genuinely interested in his story.”
“That makes sense though. The stuff about his dad. I thought we were finally getting to the point we could be friends.”
“You’ll get there. It can just take a little time.”
The shop door chimed gently when they entered. After placing orders they settled into a booth in the back corner. Lardo pulled a marker out and started doodling on one of the napkins. She didn’t really seem to be drawing anything just some random lines and shapes.
Eric set his phone down on the table and fiddled with the straw wrapper, “So how did you get mixed into all this anyway?”
“Into what? Skating or The Haus?”
“Both?”
“Skating was because my parents thought that roller derby was too violent and I was less likely to get hurt doing tricks. Jokes on them though, because I’ve had some pretty gnarly slams. The Haus was through the competition circuit. They were at one that I was competing in and I guess a few members saw me and begged Hall to bring me on. I love it. I’m so happy to be skating and teaching for a living.”
“That’s so cool!”
“I know bro. There’s literally nothing I’d rather do,” she grinned. “What about you? Not many freestylers these days.”
“So my MooMaw was a freestyler back in the day. She was pretty famous for it back then too but never went pro. Kept skating when she had my Daddy. He wasn’t interested in it though, more of a football kinda guy. I guess I asked her about some of the pictures from when she was young and she taught me.”
“Yo that is so awesome. The ladies of that time never got the recognition they deserved.”
“So true. And on top of that, the vert style started becoming more popular so freestyle has kinda been considered out of date for a while.”
“Also true, unfortunately.”
“But I have been seeing a resurgence of it online. Lots of really young skaters picking it up. So maybe we’ll see some big names come along and really get it going again.”
“That would be so cool. You’ll start getting kids requesting lessons once you compete some here soon.”
“Oof that makes me nervous. But like, also excited.”
Lardo passed Eric the napkin she had been doodling on, now filled with geometric shapes each one colored in different patterns. Eric was used to it. Lardo often doodled on napkins whenever they went out to eat. He took them all and kept them in a little notebook where he wrote down the important things that happened and wanted to remember during his time with The Haus.
🛹
The end of competition season was rapidly approaching and Eric thought Jack had seemed to be warming back into being friends again. They’d been working together in the skate shop every week. Jack usually took care of putting together new boards and maintenance for the kids that didn’t know how to do it themselves. Eric took on the responsibility of talking to the parents and making sure all the paperwork was filled out correctly. They split the sales duties evenly.
Jack had just finished putting together a fresh deck for one of the first timers and was putting away the tools and Eric had just buzzed the child and parent back to the actual park so they were alone in the shop.
Eric had noticed that Jack had been quieter than usual, which was something to behold as he was always quiet but he pushed that thought away and busied himself with restocking some of the clothing items they had on the floor. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack came up from behind and spoke.
“So uh…” Jack started.
“Holy crow! You just scared the daylights out of me.”
“Sorry. I wanted to --”
“We should tie a bell on you, I swear,” Eric interrupted.
“Bittle.”
“Yes, Jack?”
“I was trying to say something that I’ve been I guess having a hard time admitting.”
“Oh! Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Eric stopped folding the Thrasher hoodies on the table and faced Jack to give him all of his attention. He watched Jack take a deep breath before continuing, it reminded him of the centering breaths he took at the top of the half pipe.
“I don’t really like to talk about stuff like my feelings or my history too much,” Jack started. “But I know I’ve been an asshole to you and I’m sorry for it. I’ve been trying to deal with it but I figured you might have questions or something you wanted to talk about.”
“Oh. Well, thank you for the apology. I do appreciate it. Did Lardo talk to you?”
“What? No. She’s told me off for before but not recently.”
“Oh, okay. Um. actually, I did have some questions but are you sure you want to get into that here? We can go to Annie’s after our shift? Or maybe after a skate?”
“After this is fine. You’ve been getting really good so a break should be fine.”
“Why thank you,” Eric smiled. Compliments from Jack were rare so Eric knew he would want to hold on to this one. The after work meeting was a little intimidating though, and he wasn’t really sure what to make of it. Hopefully it was a casual, light hearted, let’s be friends meeting.
The rest of their shift passed quickly and quietly. It was mostly kids that had been to the park before, which meant a quick sign in then buzzing them through to the park. The ride to Annie’s was the same, quick and quiet. The only sounds around them the thunk of their wheels hitting the lines on the sidewalk.
Eric placed his usual order at an alarming speed and when it was Jack’s turn he stared at the board for a while before settling on a plain black coffee. Once drinks were ready they made their way to a table tucked in the back of the shop far from the rest of the hustle and bustle.
They sat down and Jack adjusted his beanie in what appeared to Eric to be a nervous habit. Or maybe it just slid off his head a lot, who was he to assume? Jack then cleared his throat before starting.
“Okay. Hit me.”
“Are you sure you wanna do this?”
“Positive.”
“What if I accidentally go too far?”
“I doubt it, but I’ll let you know.”
“Alrighty then,” Erice took a deep breath. “What was your whole deal with me at the beginning?”
“Uhh. Yeah, sorry about that. Again. So,” Jack settled himself. “I think it’s a couple things. Partly that I don’t really like when things change too much. And the other part is me and Papa.”
“I thought I maybe noticed something going on there as well.”
“Yeah. Do you know who he is? Well, obviously you do, you met him. But do you know who he is?”
“I’d never heard of him until Holster told me. He looked at me like I said I hadn’t heard of Beyoncé.”
“Beyoncé?”
“Jack Zimmermann! Do Not. That’s a whole other can of worms we can get in to later. Back to your dad.”
“Okay,” Jack laughed. “My dad’s been skateboarding since the 70’s. And to some people he’s like the… I don’t know. Really Famous. He’s been on the cover of Thrasher more times than I can remember.”
“Oh my.”
“And growing up,” Jack continued. “There was a lot of talk about my future and how it would or wouldn't compare to his career. I don’t know if you know this or not but I was pro for a while.”
Eric shook his head and let Jack continue.
“I was injured really badly during a competition and stopped skating for a long time after. I didn’t get back on a board until last year and even now there’s bad days where I can’t skate.”
“Oh no, Jack I’m so sorry.”
“It happened and I’m working to get through it, but thanks, I appreciate it.”
They sat at their table in the back of the shop and talked for hours. Eric listened while Jack talked about his injury and the recovery from that and Jack listened to Eric talk about home and how he was bullied for being different. The conversation moved smoothly from one thing to the next until they were talking about Eric’s Beyonce obsession and it was four hours later, drinks long gone.
Eric glanced down at his phone for the first time since they sat down and nearly gasped. There were over one hundred messages in the Haus group chat and he had a few from his mama. The display read out the time.
“Oh my goodness! When did it get so late?”
Jack shrugged.
“We better head back before they send a search party!” Eric laughed.
They cleared the table and walked back to the Haus carrying their boards picking right back up where the conversation left off. It was nice.
When the pair walked in the Haus was loud and filled with laughter. Everyone had started drinking and was going through some kind of homemade obstacle course that involved spinning in circles, climbing over the couch, and under the kitchen table before going ending in a one on one Mario Kart battle.
Eric couldn’t help but smile. He finally felt completely at home.
🛹
A few hours before the final set of runs, The Haus crew was hanging out in one of the staging areas watching replays from earlier runs. The commentators were praising the skill of the Aces team.
“Can you believe how insane the runs from Kent Parson and the Aces are?”
“It’s completely wild. They’re doing tricks I’ve never seen before. And Parson nailing that 720 gazelle flip before going into the stair sets. The air he got was insane. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“They’re really making a run for the title this time.”
“They are. But they aren’t the only team in contention. The Falconers and Riveters are right behind them in 2nd and 3rd places.”
“We can’t forget to mention the 4th place The Haus team either. We didn’t really know what to expect from them going into this series but they have made their presence known.”
“Although how could they ever go unknown with the team being owned by the great Bad Bob Zimmermann?”
“And the appearance of Jack Zimmermann. A once elite skater that has since retired from the sport completely.”
“I know part of it was the injury from his last pro outing but how much of it could be the shadow of his father.”
“Some of it has to be. Now I think, --”
The TV clicked off. Holster stood still point the remote at the now dark screen. All eyes turned towards Jack who now sat silently, face completely blank.
“What do those assholes know?” Shitty said loudly tossing a carrot in the direction of the screen.
Jack pushed away from the table he was sitting at and left the staging area without saying a word.
🛹
The team tried to shake the uneasy feeling that had settled over all of them after Jack left. It worked for some but not for Eric. He just kept thinking of the conversations they had and how Jack had been working to move past all the issues he had surrounding his dad.
It was all Eric could think of leading up to his final run. He fell a lot during the warmup but had been pretty good most of the day. He tried to shake it off as nerves for his run but he felt as confident as he could be with it. Jack had been working with him one-on-one a lot recently.
Eric had threaded his earbuds through his clothes so he wouldn’t get caught up in them. Warmups went by much faster than he thought and before he knew it that were sounding the horn for him to drop in.
Lemonade filled the air around him and he tried to forget everything else. The park wasn’t even close to how Faber was set up. He started in the middle of the park with a few of his favorite flat tricks before escalating to rail grinds and building up momentum to launch off the vert and spin high and tight, landing backwards down the ramp. He tucked down to keep his speed going up for another vertical trick.
Something wasn’t quite right and when he lifted above the table he separated from his board. He rotated his arms around trying to maintain his balance. His foot caught the edge of the coping but he couldn’t get his weight in the right place and continued to fall. A sharp pain jolted up his body. He gasped. The rest of him finally made contact with the table and he felt another flare of pain in his chest. It was overwhelming. Blinding.
In an instant he felt someone pulling at his arms. Hauling him up off the coping. Then there were voices asking him questions. He really didn’t want to answer. He couldn’t focus on anything but the pain in his leg and his chest. Eric felt a squeeze of his hand. It was different than the paramedics who were moving him to a stretcher. He opened one eye long enough to see a very worried looking Jack Zimmermann as they moved him out from the park.
🛹
They had taken Eric to the hospital for x-rays and to make sure his injuries weren’t too severe. He stayed for a few hours as a precaution and went home with a couple broken ribs and a broken leg. He wouldn’t be able to skate for several weeks or even months.
Eric sat in bed and moped for nearly a week before Lardo insisted they go out for dinner.
“I can’t even walk!” he protested.
“Yes you can! And even if that were true, you know that Rans and Holster would carry you in a heartbeat.”
He crossed his arms and made a face.
“Hey. There is only so much Legally Blonde on repeat I can tolerate before I am allowed to murder you. It’s been six days.”
“Okay. fine.”
“Success!! You get dressed. I’ll tell the team.”
“The team? Is everyone going?”
“Well, they’ll all want food so probably.”
Eric sighed heavily, scooting towards the edge of his bed. He reached for his crutches and maneuvered to stand. A loud whoop was heard from downstairs which meant the rest of the team was definitely coming. Maybe he should take them up on the carry him around deal.
Once everyone was settled at the restaurant, and really it was everyone, even Hall made an appearance, Jack stood up. Jack, who hadn’t left his side from the moment they got into the ambulance until they got home, tapped at his water glass.
“Euh,” he cleared his throat. “Thanks for coming. I know this season didn’t end how we wanted it in competition, or with injuries.” He paused to look over at Eric. “But I feel like we, well you, grew as a team and I’m proud to have witnessed it.”
Shitty let out a whoop so loud the host on the other end of the restaurant jumped. Lardo smacked at his arm.
Hall got up and walked to the head of the table where Jack was still standing.
“Continuing where Jack left off. You all had a great season. I can’t wait to see what you do in the coming years.”
The table continued banging cups on the table and cheering. Eric smiled. He felt like he was home, but some small part of him nagged that maybe he didn't belong and his fall was part of that. Maybe they wouldn't renew his contract. Maybe they would send him back to Georgia.
Eric was pulled out of his spiral at the sound of his name. The team was still loud but everyone was looking at him. He focused on Hall and Jack at the end of the table to see them smiling.
"Congrats Bits!" Lardo patted his back.
"What?"
"Bro they're going to sign you as amateur!"
"Wait, what?" He paused trying to make sense of it. They wanted him? And even more they wanted him enough to start to pay him? Eric couldn't believe it.
Hall gestured for the team to quiet down and continued. Jack bent down and pulled a board out of the bag he brought to dinner. The table went silent. They all knew this meant someone was being signed pro. The very first person, to be actually signed pro. The Haus was a small team. Everyone was on amateur contracts until it felt like things were coming together.
They flipped over the board revealing the custom deck that people would be able to purchase in the skate shop. It was a vibrant orange with several graffiti style 💩 emojis covering the board. Over the background in big bubbly letters wrote out “KNIGHT.”
The table went wild.
“Congratulations, Shitty! We’re proud to have you as our first pro skater. Hopefully several more of you join un in that over the next couple seasons.”
Shitty stood and gave a speech. Eric tried to listen, really he did, but just kept being brought back to the team signing him. It was all so overwhelming. He couldn’t wait to be out of his casts and cleared to skate again. The next season was going to be even better.