jxlian·:
He didn’t need to ask why, in fact, it was pretty obvious even to him exactly why his friend was trying to deter him from entering Skating Haven on that lovely evening. However, he did not care. He found his lips were upturned into a challenging smirk, like a child he had once been, a boy with a bad attitude who had yet to develop the dangerous taste he had for alcoholism, “Are you afraid that I’ll out skate you even pissed?”
It was almost like nothing had happened at all, the slight mania in his eyes hidden behind those lovely blue spotlights that now shone out heaving with excitement. He was itching. He was going to skate. He shouldered Chase playfully out of the way, heading into the building and swinging his bag as he went, skates rattling heavily inside. He held the door open, his back now against it, the sounds of the few skaters left in the last hour ringing out, “Come on. You wouldn’t deprive me of the only thing I have left, would you?” He tilted his head to the side, a mock sad expression on his face, bottom lip out, “I think it’d be rude to say no.”
There were plenty of things for him to be afraid of, but being out skated by his old best friend, especially given his current state, was not one of them. No, Chase was far more concerned with other things, like Julian’s deteriorating sanity, misguided intentions, and ideas that threatened their-- but especially her, existence.
It would’ve been fair to say yes, he absolutely would deprive Julian of the only thing he had left. He was trying to destroy the one miracle life had accidentally given them, so hey. It was only fair. Jaw and fists clenched, Chase opted to step through the doorway, back into the skating rink that had housed so many memories it may has well been a home. But the building was just a building-- it was the people he had been with that made it what it was. This was goodbye to them both. “Fine.”
