Page 7 of Pippin & Nacho

Where was he going with this? Everyone knew we were best friends.

“Yep, we’re best friends.” I gave him a bright smile. Bright smiles disarmed people, especially when I felt uncomfortable or lacked confidence. Happiness hid pain and lies.

The only one who saw my pain was Nate. Too many years of being hurt because I didn’t behave as I should have forced me to hide behind joy. Sometimes, I felt it. Most times, I didn’t. Hell, it took me years to accept my sexuality. Well, our crew knew I was gay, but no one else. Too many years of torture made me fear that anyone outside of our family would find out. But Nate helped with that, making it clear that nothing was wrong with me, and it helped that he was gay, too. I trusted him above all else, so it made me less afraid.

“You know, sometimes friends and roommates end up being more.”

Why was he talking about this? Did he figure out how I felt about Nate? My face burned as the panic started to settle in the pit of my stomach and my smile stretched wider.

Suddenly, Nate approached us, standing nearly a foot shorter than Ajax, yet looking up at him with fearless determination. “That’s enough. Let Sam work, Ajax. He needs his earbuds in to focus.”

Nate pulled Ajax aside, away from the bar, as I slipped my headphones back in, the headache-inducing noise muffled to a bearable sound, and watched them talk. Nate looked angry and jabbed an irritated finger in Ajax’s chest. Ajax rolled his eyes and walked off to patrol the bar to make sure the crowd stayed responsible.

Did I miss something important? If so, what exactly?

My stomach dropped from the height I’d reached, and the thrill of my skateboard hitting the lip of the ramp. I caught air, did a kickflip, and spun my board 360 degrees. Even more exhilarating was landing without bailing. I reached the other side of the ramp and caught air again.

The world could be a dark and cruel place, but a few things made it bearable: Nate, skateboarding, making cocktails, and my crew—our family of friends.

When I skated, I was free. It allowed me to focus on making those tricks without falling, silencing all the noise in my head. Nate and I never intended to be skateboarders when he brought two skateboards back to our little tent under the bridge all those years ago. They were only meant to travel around faster. It was boredom that drove us to a skatepark one day, where we learned the basics, and it was where we eventually met Alpha.

Little did Nate know that when he bought those boards, it would change our lives forever. We would find a new family, work, and shelter. Nate and I finally found home.

After skating for another ten minutes, I stopped and jumped off my board, popping it to grab it before making my way over to my friends.

Stix and Stone were still skating. Those two were glued at the hip, kind of like how Nate and I glued ourselves together, except they were open with their love while me admitting my feelings terrified me, so I pined from afar. It made me a little jealous and envious, but I was happy for them. All of us deserve love.

The early March afternoon was in the forties, which was warm for this time of year. Skating made me sweat, but I’d soon be getting cold now that I was done, so I grabbed my thrifted army jacket I’d tossed on the ground and put it back on. Nate handed me my used fedora when I sat next to him. I fingered back my hair and put the hat on the back of my head.

The twins, Jazz and Blondie, sat close together, quietly chatting about something on their shared phone. Jazz was the only girl in our crew. She kept her blond hair shaved on one side and bubblegum pink. She was sassy, strong, and vibrant. We all adored and protected her, though she hated it when we did that.

Blondie was more on the fem side, keeping his blond hair bleached as Stix did, with long bangs, wearing a loose sweater that fell off one shoulder. He wasn’t as sassy as his sister, but he was sweet. Both of them had been runaways before they’d met Alpha.

I pulled a pack of smokes out of my jacket, popped a cigarette into my mouth before lighting it, and sat next to Nate, making sure to touch him somehow. Our shoulders rubbed against each other as I hung out with my crew, not saying much. I usually didn’t talk a lot out of fear of saying the wrong thing or just blurting shit. Years of being smacked around for it would do that. Unknowingly showing a side of myself was what landed me in conversion therapy. It was best not to show any cards.

“Do you need your buds?” Nate asked.

I shook my head. “Nope, I’m good right now.”

“Wanna beer?”

I nodded and smiled at him. “Yeah, thanks.”

He handed me a can of something cheap. I popped the tab and took a gulp of it.

The winter months at skate parks were generally quiet, so I liked skating this time of year despite the cold.

“What the fuck you looking at, asswipe?” Blaze said, suddenly grabbing my attention as Blaze and Ajax gave each other death glares. Ever since Blaze intentionally injured Stix while skateboarding before Stone and Stix started dating, Ajax had hated him. Blaze eventually and reluctantly apologized, but it wasn’t enough for Ajax.

Blaze stood about as tall as Nate, but he acted as if he was taller and bigger than Ajax. Blaze was Stone’s former roommate before he and Stix moved in together. I assumed they called him Blaze because of his fiery temper, but what did I know?

Cueball sat next to Blaze, who had also been Stone’s roommate. He rarely talked, and even less than I did. I had no idea what he was all about, but he watched everyone and everything with intelligent amber eyes. They called him Cueball because he completely shaved his head.

I was still wary of Blaze and Cueball, our newest additions—our step-brothers, so to speak, thanks to Stone being with Stix.

The only one not here was Alpha. Ever since he opened his bar a couple of years ago, he’d been working nonstop. We missed him, and sometimes, we had to go to his house to drag him out for some family time.

They were my family, my crew, and I loved them all.

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