FicWad

"Are you sure about this?" Frank asked, apprehensively eyeing the ice that people were gliding smoothly around on strips of metal. Or stumbling and trying to regain their balance by kicking their heels up - most of the time just falling flat on their face or butt.

There were seven teens waiting in line outside the temporary ice skating rink that had come to the Californian town for Christmas - Frank, Ollie, Lee, Phin, Jared, Andy and Will. Lee was feeling really guilty for coming though; his girlfriend, Amy, was ill and her parents had forbidden her from coming, claiming that the chilly weather wouldn't help her recover. As a result, Lee felt bad for not going round her's and cheering her up, but Amy had insisted that he should go and have a good time for her. The tickets were pre-ordered and the rest of their gang was busy that night, so Frank's boyfriend Will, had ended being invited along.

"Have you seriously never been skating before?" Ollie asked in amazment.

"No. Never saw the attraction in Jersey, and, well, ditto for here." Frank shrugged. To be honest, he still didn't seen what was so appealing about trying to keep your balance on rick solid ice that would wreck should you fall over.

"Yeah, but I'd have thought that Phin or Jared would have invited you along before now - they go every year."

"What do we do?" The girl in question, turned round to the two younger boys upon hearing her name.

"Fuck eachother senseless." Ollie teased, earning a few glares from surrounding parents.

"Well, I'm not gonna deny that, eh Jar'd?" Phin smirked, elbowing the brown haired boy in the ribs.

"No way!" His smirked reflected hers, as he draped his arm around her shoulders. Of course, they weren't really dating, but they were just putting on a show for their group's benefit.

All the same, Frank caught the flash of jealousy that flashed across Andy's eyes. It was funny really - the boy had been completely enamoured with Phin since the moment he laid eyes on her three months back. He just didn't have the guts to say anything. Not that Frank exactly blamed him; with all of her confidence and brashness, Phin wasn't the most approachable of girls.

"Are you any good at this?" Frank asked, turning back to Ollie.

"I'm ok - I mean, I can stay in my feet for most of the time but I can't go particularly fast or anything." The younger boy paused for a second, apparently thinking about something. "Jared's the best I reckon, and Lissa's quite good but obviously she's not here. Lee's ok and Phin can go really fast but falls flat on her face whenever she tries to spin or whatever like Jared." Frank laughed at that thought. Phin flipped him off, earning a few more glares from surrounding parents.

"Anyway," Will said, wrapping his arm's around his short boyfriend. "Don't worry about falling - I'll catch you if you do."

Eventually (though it was too soon for Frank's liking) the reached the front of the line, and exchanged their shoes for blue boots with blades at the bottom. How they were supposed to balance on them was beyond the young boy.

When they had all pulled the things on and strapped them up, Lee stood and the others followed him onto the ice. Well, everyone else did - Frank stood up and wobbled violently. Will caught his arm and held him up until The younger boy regained my balance. He smiled at him in thanks.

By the time they had reached the rink, everyone else was zooming back and forth - Jared and Phin racing each other to the opposite end. Frank looked after them, feeling slightly jealous at their confidence, especially when Jared gracefully spun round at the end and came to a smooth stop. Phin just collided with the barrier, making both boys watching her laugh.

"Right," Frank muttered. "Let's do this shit! Now how do you move?"

His boyfriend giggled slightly. "You just glide I guess. Push with one foot and glide on the other. Watch everyone else do it; you'll get the idea."

"Ok." Frank looked at one particularly confident girl who was bombing around the edges of the rink, occasionally pirouetting in the corners. It didn't look too difficult.

He let go of the barrier, pleased when he didn't immediately topple over. "Now just glide." Will advised him. The smaller of the couple pushed forward with one foot, trying to mimic the girl whom he'd been watching earlier's actions. To his surprise he found himself glinding smoothly over the ice. The very top layer had melted, so the surface was smooth and Frank's skate cut smoothly through the thin pool of water. He then pushed forward with the other foot. Ok, he could do this!

Will appeared next to him, skating along just as smoothly. "Well done!" Frank beamed at his boyfriend's praise.

The two skated round the rink for a while longer, Will catching Frank when he slipped, as promised. After about half an hour, the younger announced that he was tired, and leaned against the railing to rest whilst the other zoomed off to perform a graceful piroutte for his boyfriend's benefit.

Frank giggled as the other boy zoomed off, much faster than they's been travelling earlier.

"'Eya Frankie!" Phin grinned as she crashed into the barrier next to him. With the speed she was travelling at, Frank was amazed that she didn't break her neck on impact.

"Hi," He responded, laughing at her less than graceful stop.

"You enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah, it's fun actually. Really strange glinding like that, but fun."

"You should try skiing, you thing skating's weird then skiing's just plain odd."

"Yeah, maybe someday." Frank gazed across the rink to where Will and Jared were now racing eachother.

"You and your boyfriend seem to be getting on well." Phin said, following her friend's stare. "Will's really sweet actually."

"Yeah, I guess." Frank shrugged.

"You don't like him?"

"He's nice enough. Just really clingy. It's kinda annoying. Anyway, I'm not out for a permanent relationship."

"Dude, you've been dating him for two weeks now, I wouldn't call that permanent!" Phin laughed.

"True, but you know what I mean."

"Yes - you're a slut." The two friends laughed together at that, Frank not bothering to deny anything. He knew it was true.

"So what about Andy?" He asked.

"What about him?" The girl smirked back, and Frank rolled his eyes.

"You know what I'm on about, he is continually staring at you. Head over heels much?"

"That is such a strange saying." Phin mused. "I mean, when you're standing, your head's usually over your heels. Unless you're a hunch-back or something." The boy laughed at her comment. "What?" She asked innocently, though her eyes were sparkling.

"You can be so stupid!"

"Says you!" Phin rolled her eyes. "Seriously though, I think he's kinda cute."

Frank frowned for a second, before realising she was talking about Andy again. "Yeah, more than kinda - everyone knows you lurrrrvvvve emo boys!"

"True."

"So what are you gonna do? Let him suffer in silence, or make a move?"

The girl bit her lower lip for a moment, apparently thinking about something. "A bit of both, I think. I'm not gonna say anything, but can you?"

Frank was slightly surprised by her request, but nodded none the less. "Yeah, sure, what do you want me to say?"

"I dunno, just tell him he's never gonna get any if he doesn't say anything!"

He laughed at her crude wording. "Fair enough."

"Are you gonna dump Will, by the way?"

"Not soon, but maybe, I don't know."

"I wouldn't. As I said, he's cute."

"What are you guys on about?" Jared cut in, skating smoothly up to Frank and Phin, then spinning and spraying the two of them with water.

"Hey! You bastard!" The girl protested.

"Thanks." The newcomer bowed mockingly, then said; "Fancy a train?"

"Definitely!" Phin pushed off of the wall grinning. "I'm at the front though!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way! How else would I see your arse?" Jared teased. The girl pushed him, but ended up travelling backward as she was so much smaller.

"Again - you are a complete barstard."

"Again - I say 'thanks'!" The boy grinned back, then turned to Frank. "You wanna join in?"

"Errr, what is a 'train'?" The youngest answered hesitantly. He'd learned that both Jared and Phin were adrenaline junkies, and more than slightly reckless.

"Exactly what it sounds like! Just hold on to Phin and I'll push."

"Ok..." Frank did as instructed, still wary of the idea, and not entirely sure what was going to happen.

No sooner had he grabbed Phin's waist did he feel Jared's hands on his shoulders and was hurtling forwards. Ice passed under his skates, and he felt horribly out of control. Being at the front, Phin was steering, and was turning them around sharp corners. Frank hadn't been this afraid for his life in a long time.

As the boy at the back drove them forward as fast as he could, and the girl at the front dodged round other skaters and walls, the small boy in the middle screamed and tried to keep his balance so he didn't die.

Eventually, they were called to a stop by one of the rink's attendants. The older two were laughing to hard to hear a word of what the severe looking man was saying, and Frank was beginning to see the funny side of it, now they'd stopped. When the attendant finally skated off in disgust, the three began to move again, this time at a more reasonable speed.

The group carried on round for another half hour, before being ordered off.

As Frank hadn't got his license to drive yet, Will was taking him home. They talked quietly for the journey, laughing at Phin's crashes, Andy's crush, Jared's incredibly camp pirouettes, Ollie falling over, and Frank's screaming. Really Will and Lee were the only ones who managed not to embaress themselves completely in the last couple of hours.

"Well, see you later." The older boy smiled, as he pulled the car up infront of his boyfriend's house. Frank rolled his eyes, grinned and leaned forward to kiss Will. The two locked lips passionately and sat in the front seat exchanging saliva and breathe for a good few minutes. Will pulled away too soon for the other's liking.

"N'awww come on man, I don't wanna go home yet." He whined.

Will smiled and leaned forward for another short, sweet kiss, this time their lips barely brushing. "Another time, when neither of us are expected back." Frank's eyes twinkled at the promise, and he gave his boyfriend one last kiss, before climbing out of the car.

"That you Frank?" His mom called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm home!" He called back. "What you cooking? It smells great!"

"Canneloni! Go up, get changed, and it'll be ready by then!"

"Thanks mom!"

Frank ran upstairs and pulled on a clean pair of jogger bottoms and an old top. Dinners were never formal in his house, though him and his parents would all sit down together in the dining room. They only dressed up on special occasions like birthdays and Christmas. Actually, it was Christmas very soon, and the sixteen year old couldn't wait. His mom and dad still pretended that Santa Claus was real (although Frank knew full well he wasn't) and their son was happy to play along. He had brought them both some really expensive presents with money he'd saved up from weekend jobs, and he knew his mother well enough to sense that she was excited to give Frank his. Which meant that he'd like it.

He went back down stairs and sat down with his parents, in the dining room There was already an impressive tree standing there, fully decorated.

"Did you have a good time love?" Frank's mum asked as she began dishing out the pasta.

"Yeah it was great. Phin and Jared nearly killed me though!"

"How comes?" The boy's father grinned. He liked Phin - she'd gave his son so much confidence, and helped him make friends.

Frank began explaining about the train and how fast Jared made the three of them travel. The family carried on talking throughout dinner. Soon enough, the conversation turned to Christmas and what their plans were. All three were excited for the holiday, and the New Year.

Shame how divided the parents and son would become in the year they were so excited for.