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“Ren!”
Mavix exclaims, locking eyes with Ren as he wraps him in a tight embrace. Ren giggles from the force of it, getting spun around by his friend. He hugs him back, squeezing him with equal fervor.
“I haven’t seen you all day.” Mavix sulks, shaking his friend by the hips. Ren pats his head to console him, smiling widely. “Sorry, I’ll make it up to you with our skating lesson today.” He grins, “Did you bring everything we need?”
The redhead nods enthusiastically, and Ren urges him to head downstairs. The two run into Qiu and Roxy, waving to the pair in a friendly manner. It was weird seeing Ren’s former best friend hang out with someone else, even if she’s been by Qiu’s side for a long time.
“Qiu…” Ren mumbles, looking down on the floor. He notices Ren’s pensive expression, tilting his head and bending his knees to look up at him. “What’s wrong?” Mavix asks, concerned for Ren. “I hope me and Qiu can catch up soon.” He replies, but doesn’t try to make things a bigger deal than it already was.
“I hope so too.” Mavix responds sincerely, his voice barely above a whisper. He awkwardly wraps an arm around Ren—the height difference making it a bit difficult—but manageable nonetheless. He smiles at the gesture, and notices another familiar figure in the distance as well.
Mavix points to the tall brunette in the distance, “Isn’t that Savannah? Why has she been alone the whole day?” He genuinely asks, and Ren swats his friend’s pointing hand away. “They might hear you. Everyone needs alone time, and that includes Savannah despite their popularity.”
His friend nods, not quite understanding the concept but still resonating with her. “I’ve been alone my whole life, but I can feel for her.” He states casually, and Ren pokes the side of his head playfully.
“Ouch! What was that for?” Mavix frowns, and Ren giggles, replying: “You’re not alone, idiot. You have me.” He insists, pulling his friend in closer as they walk to the exit of the school. “Mhm, I know that. Thanks.”
“I’m here for you too.” He smiles, resting his head on Ren’s shoulder, humming softly as the two walk to the park. Mavix stops for a second, causing Ren to do the same. He turns his head as his friend grabs his own backpack and starts rummaging through it.
“What’s this for?” Ren questions, but Mavix doesn’t answer verbally. However, Ren realizes what will happen once Mavix pulls out his wired earphones, before slinging his backpack over his shoulders again.
Mavix smiles, plugging the earphones in his phone’s jack while walking, placing the right earbud inside his left ear. He offers the other one to Ren, raising an eyebrow. “You already know the drill.” He chuckles, and Ren enthusiastically grabs the other earbud, putting it inside his ear.
The two continue walking quietly, just listening to their favorite songs. Somehow, the distance to the park closed quickly because of the music. Did their walking become faster or did the time pass speedily?
“We’re here.” Mavix grins, starting to become even more charmed with the idea of learning how to skate. It was going to be the highlight of his day; Ren being there just made things even better. Ren mirrors his friend’s expression, seeing Mavix happy made him happy too. They were like two peas in a pod.
The pair reach the skating area of Golden Grove’s park while taking their earphones out, and Mavix quickly unpacks his bag to put his phone and earphones back, revealing protective equipment in the process. He sighs, scratching his head. “Do I really need to look like I have to go to war just to roll around on a skateboard?” Mavix raises his eyebrow, and Ren swats his arm.
“Come on, it’s risky since it’s your first time.” Ren says, helping Mavix put his helmet on, buckling all the straps of his safety gear. Mavix can only huff, wanting the fun part to happen already as the final strap is fastened.
Ren brings out his skateboard, gently placing it on the ground. He almost stands on top of the board, but is stopped in time by Ren. “Be careful, Mav.” Ren smirks, and Mavix scoffs; he was an impatient one, but does understand that taking the slower route would be less dangerous.
“Place your feet above the bolts.” Ren instructs his friend, and Mavix carefully follows his friend’s words, nearly losing balance. Thankfully, he held onto Ren’s shoulders in time, which caused Ren to blush slightly.
After a while, Mavix is finally able to stop wobbling on the skateboard. However, he notices Ren’s silence, and tries to break the ice. “What’s next?” He curiously raises his eyebrow, and cautiously lets go of Ren, trying to ground himself without any assistance.
“Bend your knees.” Ren grins, and Mavix nearly loses his balance again. Ren catches him on time, holding his hips in place. The proximity was enough to kill the two, and Mavix nervously clears his throat. “You can let go now.”
He nods, letting go of the boy, staying close by just in case he loses balance again. Mavix curiously looks at him, and Ren scratches his head. “Could you try shifting your weight towards your toes? Then go back to your heels again.” Ren directs his friend, and Mavix raises an eyebrow, unsure what to do.
“It’s fine, I’ll get on it.” Ren chuckles, urging Mavix to cautiously place one foot down before the other. Ren follows his own commands, the skateboard slightly dipping forward when Ren shifts his weight to his toes, then backwards when he does the same on the heel.
Mavix beams, impressed by how easy Ren made things look. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.” He grins, extending a hand out for his friend. Ren gladly takes it, warily getting off the skateboard. “Thanks, Mav.”
“You’re welcome, Ren.” He winks, getting on the skateboard again just like he did so earlier. While holding onto his friend’s shoulders, he follows Ren’s instructions perfectly; this causes Ren to grin from ear-to-ear, chuckling lightly.
“Can you do it without me now?” Ren asks, and Mavix hesitantly lets go of his friend, missing the contact. Surprisingly, Mavix was able to follow the instructions quickly, making him feel incredibly overjoyed.
Mavix squints his eyes, “Maybe.” He mutters, smirking widely as he continues shifting his weight. “Do you think you could try skating to me now?” Ren interrogates, and Mavix nods without any hint of hesitation.
“Yep, just stand back. I’ll go to you.” Mavix winks, causing Ren to giggle yet again. “Alright.” He nods, moving back against his friend’s place to lean against a nearby wall. Waiting patiently, Ren carefully watches Mavix as he rolls to him from afar.
Surprisingly, Mavix does a great job at remaining balanced on the skateboard. However—it wasn’t for long as he starts to panic since he didn’t know how to stop or slow down the vehicle. “Ren! How do you slow this thing down?”
“Drag your feet across the floor!” Ren shouts, but it was a little too late as he braces himself for impact. He opens his arms, and Mavix crashes against his body. Miraculously, his skateboard remained unharmed, and him being against a wall reduced the chances of large injuries.
The two are trapped in an embrace as Mavix is still standing on the skateboard, making the two have less of a height difference. They both giggle and blush, loving the proximity even if they wouldn’t outright admit anything.
“I’ll need to teach you how to stop and slow down next time.” Ren pouts, and Mavix ruffles his friend’s hair while giggling. “There there, Ren. We have the rest of the week, you can teach me how to slow down by then.” He says, patting Ren’s back reassuringly.
“Yeah, we really do.” Ren mumbles softly, closing his eyes as the two embrace one another. How things happened was an accident—but the two weren’t sure if they were ready to let go of each other yet.