1964 words
~ Normal Stuff ~
* TAGS: skating - meeting up with friends - ice cream
"It's really sunny today, isn't it?" The boy walking next to you said. You hummed in reply and nodded, hoisting the board you held further against your side. It wasn't that heavy as you got a small one, but you had been carrying it for a little while now, and the weight started to feel heavier with the step. Mark noticed and held his free hand up, the other holding his own skateboard.
"Should I hold it for you?" He asked. You glanced up at him for a brief second before shaking your head and looking back at the road. "Nah it's fine. I signed up for this when I agreed going out with you today, so it's okay."
Mark chuckled and braced your shoulder to stop you from walking. "Let me hold it for you." He said and reached for the board, grabbing it out of your grasp before you could protest. He hoisted it up under his own arm and smiled cheekily at you, having no problem with the extra weight whatsoever. You pouted but still leant in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
He just shook his head and told you it wasn't a big deal. You continued walking down the side of the streets, looking everywhere your eyes could land. It wasn't your first time being here, but you had never seen this part of the city. Usually when you visited Mark's hometown he was still working, and you just stayed inside or went shopping. Other than that you never really went anywhere when you were here, not having the motivation when he wasn't there with you. Your English wasn't as good as his, so you preferred to stay inside anyway. It wasn't bad, you just didn't want to walk into awkward or difficult situations.
But now, it was different. He was on holidays and he had asked you to go back to LA with him. You immediately had told him yes, that you'd love to be there again. You hadn't seen his family for a while and you were excited to be in California again. You loved spending time with him and when he asked if you'd wanted to skate, you didn't hesitate to get ready. You had pulled on some light blue jeans with a white shirt you had stolen from him, tied in a knot at the base around your middle to form a crop top. After that you had told him to match you, so he pulled on some blue jeans as well with a white shirt and a jacket on top.
"We're here." Mark then said, and you turned your head in the direction you guys were walking to. You couldn't help but giggle when you saw the sight. It was a skater park surrounded by a fence to mark the territory. Ramps and poles were scattered around the area, a half-pipe and steps somewhere in there too and it was completed by holes in the cement, like an empty pool. A small group of friends were showing each other tricks on their boards, there was a girl on skates trying to get better at doing the half-pipe, and there was someone trying to teach their friend how to use a skateboard.
You could see a little Mark running around here, making friends, learning tricks and failing miserably but trying again and again until he succeeded. You had no doubts he had at least a small scar somewhere to prove that. It was just so...him.
One of the guys must've recognized him, because when you were stepping through the opened fence he yelled something and ran towards the both of you. Mark put the boards down and smiled brightly, walking towards him and bro-hugging him.
"How's you been man? I haven't seen you here in ages!" The male spoke up, lightly pushing at his shoulder and smiling. Mark returned the smile, raising a hand and brushing it through his hair. "I'm sorry bro, I was busy. I tried to come here more often I promise!"
"Ah it's fine, we ain't mad." The male replied, glancing back at the rest of the group who were approaching. "But hey who's this?" He then asked, turning towards you and looking you up and down.
Mark looked at you and reached for you, pulling you into his side. "My better half, so you better not try anything." He said. "We all know what happened with Cindy."
"That was nine years ago, man! You know I won't try that again I don't wanna have a near death experience again." He chuckled, putting his hands up in surrender and feeling the others of the group behind him now. You knew who Cindy was and what had happened, so you didn't question it or felt bad when he brought it up. The male looked at you and nodded politely. "Shame though, I'd love to catch something like that bro. But hey nice to meet you, welcome to the group!"
You smiled a bit awkwardly and nodded as well, silently thanking him. The group of friends told you to come join them and you agreed, turning to grab the boards from the ground and following them. Mark then leant towards you. "That was Mike, an old friend of mine. We go way back but we don't really talk anymore. It's always nice when we meet up again though." He told you. "The girl is Emma, she's the girl of Jordan, which is the guy in the green hoodie. And then lastly we have Noah, he's a friend too but he's a bit shy and quiet so don't mind him too much. He's a pro skater though, I learned a lot from him."
You smiled and nodded, trying to remember it all and place the names next to the faces so you knew who was who. Mark smiled and turned to Mike, who was putting an arm around his shoulders grinning. "So man, how's life back in Korea?"
While Mark told him all about what had happened in the time they hand't seen each other, the girl approached you. She smiled softly and held her hand out to you. You frowned a little but slowly accepted it, shaking it in a greeting. "I'm sorry, I'm not really familiar with how you guys greet each other back there." She chuckled. You shook your head. "It's okay, don't worry about it. Mark actually told you some stuff about you guys."
She lit up at those words, glancing back at the boy who was shoving her boyfriend at something he said and laughing along with them. "Really? What did he say? Only good things, I hope?"
You nodded again and smiled. "Yeah only good things. He told me you guys got together during a competition and then met Noah along the way and you guys kinda just.. clicked and never separated. Even when he decided to go to Korea to become an idol."
Emma smiled as the memories found their way back to her and she nodded. "Yeah, it were good times, really. Sometimes I wish I could go back and skate with them all day everyday, just like old times, y'know. I was kinda sad when he told me he'd leave the country, but after that went down I was actually really proud of him. Must've been a hard decision. But I see he got quite the reward from it." She said and looked at you. You couldn't help but return the smile. You already liked this girl. Just when you were about to speak, Mike yelled at the both of you.
"Are you guys just gonna talk or are you gonna skate?!" He yelled, holding his skateboard up and looking at you with wide eyes. Noah stood behind him, one foot on his skateboard and his bangs fell over his forehead and you could tell he was shy, just like Mark had told you. Jordan was shoving Mark his shoulders at something he had said and you noticed he was a couple inches taller than the brunette. You knew he probably was a giant teddy bear, judging from the bright smile he had and the cute dimples, but you made a mental note to not make him angry.
"Yes yes we're coming!" Emma yelled at him, faking an annoyed tone. he just huffed and turned around, running before dropping his board and jumping onto it, rolling past the other boys and snatching Mark his white cap from his head. You giggled at the sight and watched Emma drop her board, dropped your own board to the ground as well, stepping onto it and following her lead.
⏳⏳
When the evening fell you sadly had to say goodbye to his friends. Throughout the day you had grown towards them a little, and you could see why Mark thought of them as his best friends back here. Even though they were so different from each other, they all fit so well together. You made sure to get Emma her phone number before you left.
After giving Emma a hug, getting pulled into a hug by Mike, getting a head pat from Jordan- who thought it was funny how small you were compared to him- and getting a smile and a whole sentence out of Noah, you picked up your board from the ground, walking away from them.
Mark looked behind him and waved at them one last time before turning to you. He smiled and reached down to grab your free hand in his, swinging them between your bodies. "And?" He said, looking down at you expectantly. You frowned. "And what?"
"What did you think of them?" He asked. You grinned and squeezed his hand a little. "They're really fun to hang out with. I can see why you're close to them." You said, seeing his smile get even bigger at the thought of you accepting his friends. "I really liked Noah his style." You commented, his ripped jeans and white thrasher hoodie together with the chains and the shiny stud on the side of his nose really appealing to you.
"Why do you think I dress so good?" He chuckled. "He didn't only teach me his skating skills."
You smiled and looked down, hoisting your board further against your side. Now you were tired from the day it felt even heavier than before, but you weren't about to let him carry it home as well. You were sure he was tired too.
"Hey you want some ice cream?" Mark suddenly asked you and stopped walking, making you stop as well by your clasped hands. You tilted your head and he cocked his head to the other side of the road. You looked at that direction and saw a small shop. You softly smiled and nodded, feeling him pull you along.
After asking what kind of flavor you wanted he ordered them, putting his board down briefly to pay for them and soon enough you were walking home again. This time you couldn't hold his hand, but you were fine with that for now, having an ice cream instead.
It had gotten a bit chilly, and the sun had started setting. When you walked over the bridge you had to cross to get home, you stopped and looked over the water. The sun was making it appear to be glistening, like there were diamonds under the surface.
Mark stopped walking as well, licking at his ice cream, as he watched you look over the water. He came up next to you and bumped his shoulder with yours. You looked up at him and smiled, leaning against his side and watching the sunset.