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" I could teach you to skate , " Noah suggests , bored one particularly late night . His cold body lays atop Ronan's much warmer one , finger running circles into his bicep .
" Since when did you know how to skate ? " Ronan asks , slightly incredulous . He's never seen Noah do it , but then again , he's never seen Noah do a lot of things . Like eating , or sleeping , or entering and leaving a room rather than simply just being there when he wants to be and not when he doesn't . It's simple .
Noah follows his own rules and reality bends around him . He's much like Gansey in that regard . Ronan laughs a little internally at the thought .
" I can do lots of things , " Noah protests , pouting as he usually does when something hurts his feelings . He leans up over Ronan's face to look down at him . " Plus , it's not like you'd be any better at it than I am , " He challenges . Ronan smiles , like there's a knife poised at his throat - Any Lynch loves a challenge . It must be genetic .
" Teach me to skate , then . "
The drive to the skate park was filled with the sound of very many Murder Squash choruses littered with voice cracks that Noah can never seem to get rid of no matter how much he tries . Ronan laughs every single time . There's a couple of skateboards in the trunk of the BMW , and knee pads Noah had insisted on bringing . The greywarren had already decided not to wear them .
Noah doesn't know that yet .
Being the middle of the night , the park is pretty empty , save for a few other troublemakers undoubtedly getting stoned on the opposite side of the fence , and the shitty streetlights that yell out sounds of nearly busted bulbs . It's grating , and awful . Ronan likes it .
Ronan does not like the ease with which Noah drops into the bowl and skates around - Clearly just to show off how much better he is at it than Ronan - but he bites his tongue when the blonde whoops and grins like he feels truly alive for once .
He seems more present , here too . Like a real person . Sometimes Ronan can convince himself that Noah is a mass hallucination created by alien radio waves or some other bullshit he doesn't believe in . Noah laughs every time he's asked about it .
" Dude , it's not that complicated , just lean forward and drop - " Noah cuts himself off laughing , which makes a blush creep up Ronan's neck . He's been trying to actually drop into the bowl , but his palms are all scratched up from eating shit on the pavement .
Every .
Damn .
Time .
His mouth forms into a thin line , and he drops , like Noah was trying to demonstrate to him this whole time . The skateboard flies out from underneath him , like it has every other time he did it , and he braces himself to hit the wall , AGAIN -
The blow doesn't come . Noah isn't exactly strong , so he couldn't keep Ronan from swinging and hitting the wall anyway , but it sure hurt less than nearly spraining his wrists because he's too stubborn to wear guards . Noah helps him up .
Ronan realizes he's still blushing . It's not from failure anymore . He compartmentalizes that thought all neatly and puts it away in a place he'll remind himself to never look at again . Ever .
He growls at the hand still attached to his wrist , and Noah lets go , laughing and offering both hands up in surrender . It bothers Ronan a little that Noah never seems even slightly afraid of him . On the one hand , it's .. Nice . But on the other , it's slightly disconcerting that Noah seems to have no qualms about his own personal safety .
" Wanna try again ? "
The night passes them by , and it's mostly Ronan hanging onto Noah's skinny frame when he can , and Noah showing him up whenever he doesn't hold him still . If it wasn't so nice to watch Noah act like a real person , he might have been mad about it .
" Do you want a water bottle or somethin ' ? You've been at it for a while , " Ronan suggests , shuffling through his wallet for singles . A lone vending machine stands at the edge of the park . Noah blinks at him , and scratches his neck .
" Nah , " Is his simple answer . Ronan quirks a brow to question it , but the blonde executes a wonderfully mastered escape in the form of skateboarding to the other side of the park . Must be a sensitive subject . Maybe Noah has a water allergy or something , Ronan thinks . It's at this point he realizes he should be sleeping , he's getting stupid .
He purchases a Gatorade out of the machine and has to punch it to get it out of the damn slot . His knuckles get red for a minute , but no permanent damage . Not like he'd care one way or another .
Ronan is , at heart , an old lady . So he sits on the bench to watch his blonde skate around with an ease he's pretty sure he'll never get around to . He's not exactly a graceful being the same way Noah is .
It's the break of dawn when Gansey sends the ' Where are you ? ' text . Ronan only notices because Noah's terrible old flip phone nearly blows itself up trying to process the damn thing . As much as Ronan hates his phone , he hates Noah's worse .
" Noah , " He calls , snapping his fingers to get the boy's attention . " Gansey's asking for us . "
Noah pouts again , pale skin nearly reflecting all the light that hits him . Ronan decides that Gansey can shove it up his ass for the next twenty or so minutes . He's responsible or whatever , they'll work it out .
But Noah is nothing if not a creature of habit , so he picks up his board and heads for the bench anyway , leaning against Ronan . Almost tiredly , but truth be told he doesn't seem all that sleepy . Neither was Ronan , but then again , when was he ever .
" I'm really glad we came , " Noah tells him quietly . And with a snicker , he adds : " Even if you suck at skating . "