From behind, Skye wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing the ink on the right of his head. Finally, his fingers let go of the Rubik's Cube. He looked over his shoulder.
"Are you nervous?"
He shrugged, avoiding her gaze.
Obviously a 'yes'.
"You think he'll be there?"
Almost two months had passed since he'd been stuck in the elevator. Somehow, the meeting with Raine had changed him; he was quieter, often lost in thought. After a few days, he'd bought a Rubik's Cube. Whether it was meant to help him handle his stress, or whether it was a silent memento of a lost friend, was hard to tell.
"Dunno. The Warriors will be there, but maybe he's with his sister..."
Skye nodded. Every time she had a performance in the hospital, she stopped by at Oncology to see if there was a guy with a kutte around, but so far she had been disappointed. She really wanted to meet him; she was very curious to the type of guy who had such a huge influence on her best friend.
"I hope he won't be around," Blaise muttered. "I'm sure it will be fucking awkward if he is."
"It won't." She squeezed his shoulders. "I'm with you, remember? Awkwardness is impossible around me. Come on, let's go!"
Sighing, Blaise got up. His fingers stroked the colored cube before slipping his hands into his pockets
. . .
At events like this, Skye never knew where to look. Bikes – as far as the eye could see. She loved to watch them, it always reminded her of her wish to get her license too. One day. If she ever had the money.
It always filled her with joy, seeing how all clubs shoved their rivalry to the side on days like these. She loved to go to fundraisers. This one was organized by an organisation standing up for disabled bikers; whether they were born with a handicap or had been in an accident. Because of the danger all bikers were familiar with, it was something that bound them.
Happily, she hooked her arm with Blaise's while they followed the other Foxes to the terrain. It didn't take long before they found the members of the other charters. Blaise greeted some people he knew and Skye did the same. Once she'd said hi to everyone whose face looked familiar, she dropped down in the grass. After putting on her sunglasses, she rubbed sunscreen over her arms and face.
She stashed the bottle back in her purse and looked around. Close to them, sat a group of Warriors. She peeked to the side, smiling when she saw that they had attracted Blaise's attention as well. She let him be for a moment, his breathing showed her how tense he felt.
Curiously she watched the Warriors. Most of them were a little older than them. One at the side caught her eye, since he was blowing bubbles. A little girl stood next to him, dancing and jumping while trying to catch the bubbles.
It was probably the cutest thing she had ever seen, a bubble blowing biker. When his eyes fluttered into their direction, she smiled. He didn't seem to see it, he looked just past her.
Her eyes shot to Blaise, who had bent his head down. His cheeks were flushing.
Occasionally, Skye had wondered if her friend had a little crush on the Warrior. It would explain why it was so hard for him to forget about the guy. Still, she'd brushed it off – as far as she knew, Blaise had never had feelings for someone of the same sex. This time she wasn't making assumptions either; she knew how socially awkward her friend could be, whether it was around guys or girls.
She leaned into him. "It's the one with the bubbles, right?"
His head snapped up.
She chuckled at the sight of his wide eyes.
"How did you know?"
"I saw him looking at you."
"Y-you did?" Blaise stammered. His eyes shot back to the group of men.
She laughed quietly. Whether he was in love or had a desperate wish to become friends – it was cute either way.
"Is that his kid?" she asked curiously.
Blaise shook his head, softly answering: "No, she's his niece. The daughter of his sick sister."
"Go talk to him," she encouraged him.
"Wouldn't that be stupid?" he muttered. "It's been two months since we talked. I wouldn't know what to say to him." His head was bowed down, his thumb tracing the ink lines on his left arm. "Maybe I was the only one feeling that click. Maybe I'm the only one who wants to be friends."
"Sweetie, you're the best friend anyone can wish for. Of course he wants to be friends with you."
He sighed. "But I can't just walk over to him. I'm sure I will make a fool of myself."
Knowing Blaise when he was nervous... yeah, he was probably right.
"Shall I ask him out?" she mused. "He looks like a great guy. I'll take him home for a drink afterwards. You'd have an excuse to see each other without your brothers getting suspicious."
Blaise looked nervously at her. "Won't that be stupid?" he muttered.
"Doing nothing is stupid, Blaise."
"Then what are you going to do? Just head over to him and ask him out?"
"Why not? He's surrounded by his friends, you really think he dares to turn down a hot chick like me?"
He chuckled softly. Skye was happy to see him smile again.
Her glance slid back to Raine. He was taking a bag of chips from a girl, who sat down next to him. "Hey, that's Sammy," she said in surprise.
Blaise looked up. "You know his sister?"
"Yeah, she helps me with the puppet show every now and then."
One day, Skye found her upset and in tears in the hallway because of her sister's disease. To distract her, she had asked the girl if she'd like to help her with the performance. She had even filled in for her partner one time.
"This is perfect! I'm going to say hi to her, hang out with them and then you can join me a little later. None of your friends will think that's weird. They all know how protective you are of me."
She patted his knee, got up and walked to the group of Warriors.
"Hey Sam! How nice to see you here!" She flopped down next to the girl.
"Oh hi! Umm... this is my brother, Raine."
With a smirk that was a little too obvious, Skye looked at the biker while shaking his hand. His arms were muscular, the tattoos on them gleaming. There was a calculating look in Raine's eyes; he must have seen her sitting next to Blaise.
"Hey," she said. "Nice to meet you. Actually, I wanted to ask you out."
Okay, plan B was set in motion. In case Blaise was too chicken to join her. Which he most probably was.
. . .
Raine looked a little bewildered at the girl. Well... That one had a sharp tongue. She looked a little too eccentric for his taste, but she seemed nice.
"Why's that?" he asked, lifting the corner of his mouth. He had seen her sitting next to Blaise and was curious to see if she would mention him.
"You're hot," she winked. "Blaise told me how you helped him with the Rubik's Cube. That thing is his new hobby now so I thought: maybe you can get me a new hobby too."
He smirked. She was funny. "Hell, why not?"
His eyes wandered to the Fox – which wasn't the first time today. Their encounter never completely let go of him; every time he stepped into an elevator, his mind wandered back to the biker. It might be nice to talk to him again and a place like this was suitable for it. However, not as long as he kept sitting with his brothers.
"Awesome!" she replied, her eyes beaming with enthusiasm. She handed him her phone. "Just put your number in it!"
He chuckled because of her determination, leaving his number in it. He was actually curious about this friend of Blaise.
"How's he doing?" he asked. "No more panic attacks?"
"Not that I know of! Your Rubik's Cube works wonders."
"It always helps me too!" Sammy said.
The two engaged in a conversation from which his attention slowly drifted away. He turned a little more towards his brothers. It was cool to be around the guys of Addersfield again. He didn't feel the need to participate in their conversation, but he liked listening to their voices.
After a while, his eyes were drawn to the Fox again. He didn't know why, but for some reason the guy looked a little bit lost, as if he wasn't at the place where he wanted to be. When Blaise got up and lined up for a food court, Raine decided that it was neutral ground.
"I'm going to get a hotdog," he told his sister. "You keep an eye on Sasha?"
She nodded and he stood up.
. . .
Blaise didn't like the fact that Mouse had gone to Raine. What the hell would he think of him now? She had quite a striking appearance. If Raine had really looked at him, he would know she was there with him. What would they talk about? Would she tell him her roommate had talked about him? The thought of it made his hands clammy and he wiped them on his jeans.
"Hey," a voice sounded behind him.
Blaise felt like he couldn't breathe. It was him. He would recognize that voice everywhere. But was he talking to him? Or to someone else? He didn't dare to turn around, instead he stared forward, pretending he hadn't heard him.
The nudge against his shoulder was so unexpected it almost made him fall. He snapped his head to the side and was met by Raine's grin.
"You daydreaming about that chick behind the counter?"
Blaise felt his ears glow. Shit – it was really hot today. He manned up, answering: "Yeah, thanks for ending that dream, man." He rolled his eyes playfully, but smirked slightly to let him know he was joking.
Blaise noticed that his palms felt even clammier than before, and his heart was racing in his chest. At first he didn't understand where that sudden stress was coming from, but he quickly realized it was better if no one saw them together. He looked around nervously.
"Relax," Raine said. "This day we celebrate the brotherhood, right?" He wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "We're just settin' a good example. If someone asks how we know each other, we just tell 'em we're high school homies who haven't seen each other in ten years. As long as they think we see each other sporadically, they won't care."
Blaise breathed in sharply since they were standing so close. Suddenly he started to feel a bit nauseous. He hated his nervousness – he didn't even know where it was coming from, why he was so afraid of what his brothers would think of him. Raine's excuse would work.
"You're gonna join the races?" Raine asked, taking his arm away. His hands slipped into his pockets.
Blaise shook his head. "No, motor races aren't really my thing."
"Mine neither. Two of my friends like it though; think it's their turn in about half an hour. You wanna watch the race with me?"
Blaise swallowed. An unknown feeling streamed through his veins; overwhelming but pleasant. The fact that they were talking right now, did that mean Raine had felt that click too? Did he also long for a friendship? For the first time in days his lips, remembered how to form a genuine smile. "Yeah, cool."
He took a few steps forward since a gap had formed in the queue in front of them. Raine walked with him. Once they stood still, their elbows touched and there was that jolt-like sensation again. Raine jerked his arm back in response. Blaise's eyes flashed to the side, and he almost forgot how to breathe when the Warrior caught his gaze. Immediately Raine's eyes shot into another direction, as if he neither knew what the hell that was.
Confused, Blaise looked down. He felt so awkward that he didn't know what to say. When Raine remained silent, he wondered if he felt the same.
Silently, they shuffled towards the front of the line. Blaise bit his lip, looking for something to say. One more minute and he would have his hotdog – then what? Should he wait for him or walk away? Did Raine still want to watch the races with him? Or did he think Blaise was behaving like an idiot; hadn't he felt that strange sensation at all?
Cautiously he peeked to the side. Raine was staring forward. His frown told Blaise that he was deep in thought. Blaise wondered what he was thinking about, but he didn't dare to ask.
It was his turn to buy food.
He cleared his throat. "Uh – you want something too?"
Raine shook his head slightly, as if he was trying to shake off his thoughts. "Hmm?"
"Umm... It's my turn. So umm.... you want to eat something too?" he floundered.
A brief grin crossed Raine's face. "Well I'm not in line because it's so much fun, so yeah I plan to buy some food."
Blaise felt his cheeks heat up. Awkwardly, he toyed with the chain on his pants. "Yeah, I get that." It obviously wasn't like he'd joined the line just to talk to him, it had just been a coincidence. He suddenly felt fucking stupid. "Ummm, what do you want, I mean. I mean – obviously a hotdog, but with sauce? And you want something to drink?"
"Oh, that's what you meant..." He ran a hand across his head, smiling like Blaise used to do when he didn't feel comfortable. "Nah I'll pay for myself."
"I don't mind," Blaise said softly. "Just tell me what you want."
Their eyes met. From his chest, a paralyzing feeling was spreading through his stomach and arms. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't look away. It felt like he could see so many things in his eyes; things he was longing for, things he needed... without knowing what kind of things they were.
In the end, it was Raine who tore his glance away, watching the price list. Blaise thought to see a pink tinge on his cheeks, but he wasn't sure. Somehow the thought that he wasn't the only one feeling... overwhelmed, comforted him. Was this what they called the soulmates experience? He'd never thought about that concept before, but he didn't know how else to explain his weird feelings.
"I'll go for a hotdog with mayo and a can of orange," Raine pulled him out of his thoughts.
Blaise nodded, turned his attention to the sales girl and summed up the order. A few seconds later they left the line, food in their hands and looking around a little awkwardly.
"Wanna sit there?" Raine nodded to a few large picnic tables. People with various kuttes were sitting at them, they wouldn't stand out.
"Yeah, sure."
They sat down next to some other people, with enough space between them to sit apart. Raine was sitting across from him.
When he noticed that nobody was staring at them, Blaise felt a little more relaxed and he started to eat the hotdog.
"Oh, I should thank you," Raine started after a while. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I guess you got me a date."
"You mean with Mouse?"
"Mouse? I thought she said her name was Skye."
"Yeah, Skye. I dunno, I always call her Mouse."
"Because she's so small?"
He shrugged his shoulder. He realized he didn't even know why.
"Anyway. I'm not stealing a chick you like now, right?"
Blaise shook his head. "No man, Mouse and I had our time."
"Hmm..." He smirked. "Good."
Blaise didn't know why, but the look in Raine's eyes made him feel a little shy, and he quickly turned his attention to his food. He hoped Raine wasn't expecting something big of the date. It would be quite a downer if he would fall in love with Skye, only to find out that she was dating him because Blaise wanted to be friends with him...
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