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 Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:33 am
Ethan laughed warmly. He felt bad. He could tell that Cary was uncomfortable. Maybe he wasn’t as interested in him as Ethan was hoping. It wasn’t as though it was just anyone that Ethan wanted to spend time with. And he rarely got to spend time with Cary in the first place.
Or at all.
At least not beyond some friendly waving and awkward smiles. Mostly from Cary. Ethan had practiced his smiles in the mirror to make sure they would never be awkward. It was necessary for his career!
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m only confident about myself. If you’re no good on the ice, that’s okay. I know I won’t let you fall. It won’t be any work at all, I promise. Really,” he once again insisted. Maybe Cary would be horrible on skates. That was okay.
“So my family is from Nebraska, you know,” he started, because it was always good to plug in a little bit of a reminder for his background. “And it gets hot. So just like today, we hung out at the skate rink. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was nice to get out of the heat. And I guess I picked up being able to balance faster than my siblings. And I wanted to copy what I saw when my parents had the winter olympics on the television, so I started practicing jumping off anything I could climb up. Eventually my parents got me a coach just so I would stop jumping off the couches. Oh, and horses smell. Like, they’re fine and all, but having to take care of them? I’d rather not.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:34 am
Cary didn’t take it the wrong way, and maybe it was a little bit of a relief that Ethan knew it was possible–and likely–for Cary to fail. At least his expectations would be low. Cary drew in a breath and seemed to relax a little, maybe comforted by the thought that Ethan was okay with him failing.
Failing. Yeah, that was okay.
It was reassuring enough that Cary’s smile even relaxed and he no longer held the milkshake in a deathgrip.
Was it weird to admit that he knew Ethan’s family was from Nebraska? He’d heard it from someone before but didn’t want to admit that he liked to eavesdrop whenever he heard someone talking about Ethan. He nodded along with the story. Most of it was new to him, anyway.
The idea of little-Ethan jumping off of couches was cute, and the corner of his lip twitched into a somewhat less nervous smile.
“Oh, that makes sense. I’ve never smelled a horse–I don't think I’ve ever even seen a real horse?–but I think I can imagine.” Cary grimaced suddenly, and shivered, like he’d imagined too powerfully.
“When you put it like that, skating seems like the smarter choice. Horses sound too messy. Teddy would probably love to see one though,” he said, and could have kicked himself. It wasn't his fault he was always thinking about Teddy! He just wanted him to be safe and happy and living a good life! “But, um. You know, he’s still pretty young so everything’s exciting. He likes birds more. Um, you know. But it’s good to have hobbies. Well–yours is a little more than a hobby, right? What is it–well, a career for you? I mean, you do competitions, right? I think I heard someone mention it?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:34 am
“Have you been to the Science Center? They’ve got a section with farm animals. And an aviary. I don’t know if they’ve got any horses, but I know they’ve got donkeys and alpacas and goats,” he grinned enthusiastically. But more important than those animals were the aviary.
“They’ve got peacocks that just roam freely throughout the open area. And a ropes course-- oh, but that’s for older kids. One of the kids who train here was talking about it. I haven’t been there myself. Maybe the three of us could go?” he suggested, not seeming to mind at all if Cary had his brother with him.
“But yeah, I hope to place for the Olympics at some point. I mean, that’s the goal for a lot of professional figure skaters, isn’t it? I really have to up my game if I’m going to, though. Gotta land quads for all my jumps, and make sure I have a killer step sequence figured out. Ah, the music is really important, too. And the costume.”
For a moment it seemed as though Ethan had wandered off into his own thoughts, but easily shifted his attention back to Cary with a grin.
“What about you? I know you’ve gotta do more than just working part time and going to school.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:34 am
Cary was instantly interested at the Science Center because–no, he’d never been, but they had farm animals? Just out there in the open, to see? Like a zoo? Which, he also didn’t want to admit that he’d never been to. But an aviary–Teddy would love that. And a science center sounded educational!
Wait, he didn’t need to justify it; Ethan had already invited the both of them and it was probably obvious how interested Cary was just by the way his eyes lit up.
Except, before he could agree and find some conversation to sidestep to from there, Ethan was asking questions he didn’t have the answer to.
He tried so hard not to just fill the silence with another ‘um’ but barely hid it with a ‘hm’ instead.
“I mean, not really,” he admitted. “I think that’s really all I do,” he said, chancing an embarrassed laugh. “I’m not really very exciting.”
It hurt him to say, not because he wanted to be exciting but because he didn’t want to be boring. It was just safe.
“I…I guess I read? I mean, it’s easy, there’s no real commitment, you can read one page and then go do something else. I don’t have any big goals like you–the Olympics? Well–but, like I said, I really do think you’re the best skater I’ve ever seen. I bet you can do it.”
He didn’t know what actually went into it, and he knew he was blinded by bias, but if there was anyone he’d like to see at the Olympics, it was Ethan.
“If you want to go to the Science Center sometime–that sounds really neat, I’d like to go. I haven’t been in Destiny City for very long so there’s still a lot that’s new to me. Do you ever do any local competitions? I mean, do they let people just come in and watch those or is it like…invite only?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:34 am
“They’re usually ticketed events, but I’ll grab you a couple for the next one,” he beamed, clearly excited by the idea of having Cary come watch him compete. He knew he was probably being a bit much with his offers and suggestions, but he couldn’t help himself. It was good enough that he could even sit in one place for so long to chat!
“Reading is a hobby!” he added with a laugh. “There’s nothing wrong with not being exciting. Definitely not as sore. We’ll start you off slow when you get on the ice. Jumping and falling? Not fun,” he insisted, but he laughed again.
He was clearly excited by the thought of going to the Olympics, but he knew he had a long way to go, and it was unlikely when there were so many other big names in figure skating to go up against. It was a nice dream, though. And not one that he was going to give up on so easily.
“Alright then, we’ll figure things out. I hate that we don’t have the same lunch schedule but--” he paused as he dug his phone out of his pocket. “Let me give you my number. That way I can let you know when I’m free so we can check out the science center and grab lunch and whatever else you’d like to do. Teddy too, of course.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:35 am
Once more, Cary’s face visibly lit up with excitement. Ethan could get them tickets? He didn’t know if Teddy would be as interested in it as he was, but he could probably beg Teddy to come with him. It could be something fun, and new! And it was a good excuse to get out of the house.
“I’d like that. All of that, thanks.” His mouth was dry and when he cleared his throat it did nothing to dislodge his heart. He pulled out his phone with nervous, shaky hands. It wasn’t a fancy phone, literally the cheapest he could get. But that was okay! He needed it for calls and texts–in case of emergencies. The internet access wasn’t great but it wasn’t like he was playing games or doing extensive web-surfing.
He went to his contacts and misspelled Ethan’s name twice before getting it right. “I’ll plug your number in and send you a text so you’ve got mine, too.”
Ethan’s laugh was reassuring; Cary’s cheeks were warm again but a smile played on his lips. This felt less unreal but he was in such a haze that he was now worried he was either dreaming or having some heat-induced hallucination.
Why did Ethan know they didn’t have the same lunch schedule? And he was still talking about taking him on the ice and lunch and the science center and getting him tickets to a skating competition and whatever else he wanted to do? Ethan was friendly but was he always this friendly? He didn’t seem like he ever had to make that much effort to make a plan with anyone else.
Cary felt special, and then felt silly for feeling special, so he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was trying to abduct Teddy–they weren’t, he hadn’t moved since Cary last checked.
“Teddy and I don’t really have a lot of obligations so as long as I’m not working we should be able to make things work? But I’ll let you know.” He was trying so hard not to sound so excited but he wasn't doing a very good job. His mind and heart were racing and it was a rough combination when he was still hoping not to come across as too desperate.
“And we have to get milkshakes some time,” he said, even as his ears were ringing. He felt so greedy, they already had a long list of things to do. But Ethan had been the one to suggest it so it had to be okay, right? He cleared his throat and reminded, just in case, “For that raincheck.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:35 am
Ethan was quite pleased with the outcome of his spontaneous cornering of Cary. He felt bad about it! Cary always seemed so shy and trying to keep a low profile, but Ethan couldn’t help it if he thought he was cute. And talking to him only further confirmed as much.
He was trying not to be too overwhelming! He thought he was doing a very good job of not bouncing around in his seat, and looking cool and whatever. It was like acting for a judge in competition, only he didn’t want to make Cary think he was just making things up about himself for attention. Not that he didn’t want the attention, because he did, but that seemed like it wouldn’t be the right kind of attention.
“For that raincheck,” he agreed with a bright smile, perking up a little more than he already had been and leaned close so he could tell Cary his number.
“Feel free to text or call me any time. If I don’t respond I might just be busy or not have my phone on me, but I usually get messages on my watch and can sometimes give a quick, short reply,” he explained, holding up his wrist where he wore a smart watch. He felt a little guilty about it since Cary’s phone definitely wasn’t top of the line, but he wasn’t trying to brag! Just explain.
“It was a gift,” he quickly added, just in case Cary did think he was trying to flaunt that he had more.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:35 am
“Really?” he asked, and since Ethan was so close and showing off the watch, he tilted his head. He was only nervous about being perceived but it never occurred to him to think that Ethan might have been trying to show off or brag. “That’s so neat!”
Of course he knew that smart watches existed, plenty of kids had them at school.
“I think I’d get too distracted if I had one,” he said, already distracted as he tried to meticulously plug in Ethan’s phone number. And now that he had that plugged in he had to figure out what to send.
He opted for a quick ‘Hi!’ and hoped that was normal. His log of text messages were all but empty so it wasn’t like he had much experience.
“Too much going on at once stresses me out,” he admitted, hoping that wasn’t weird. He was just very meticulous and liked things organized in a very specific way.
“But–you know, no rush on texting or calling. I’m kind of bad at it. But I promise it’s not because I don’t want to talk.Just, if it takes me a while–I mean, I hope it won’t, but just in case–”
Oh, he was making it weird again and had to draw in a breath because he had Ethan’s phone number, to call or text.
Any time.
“Um, well–just in case, I do want to talk. I just don’t want you to think that I don’t.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:35 am
“Oh good, I was worried you were getting tired of me already,” Ethan teased, clearly elated with the whole encounter. He hadn’t heard Cary say so much before, and he hoped it would be the start of many long conversations.
The text popped up with an alert on both his phone and his watch, so he poked at the watch and sent back a smiling emoji, before working on getting Cary’s contact set up.
He’d barely finished typing out his name when another message came in, and Ethan made a face.
“Ah… I was supposed to help my brother with errands,” he frowned and sent a message back on his phone.
“Okay, well… thanks for indulging me for this long, Cary!” Ethan grinned once more. “If you don’t get around to texting or calling back, don’t worry. I’ll just keep sending you things until you tell me to stop,” he laughed and pushed himself up from the table.
“I’ll see you around, yeah?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2025 7:35 am
Getting tired of him already? No! How could he? Ethan was like, the most interesting person he’d ever met! Maybe he was saved by the text, even if he was sad to see Ethan go.
“Yes, of course,” he said quickly. “Oh–about seeing you around, not about getting tired of you. I hope–well–soon!” he insisted. “We’ll talk soon,” he added abruptly. His face was red again and he couldn’t wait for Ethan to leave because that meant he didn’t have to feel bad about burying his face in his hands and melting into a puddle .
“Have a good day!” he said, and at least that was honest–as much as the smile that appeared on his face.
For as awkward and nervous as he was about all of this, he had enjoyed talking with Ethan–and he was looking forward to talking again.
…He just needed to get all of his worrying out first. And maybe practice a few conversation topics so he wasn’t floundering so badly next time.
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