We rolled into the parking lot of the skating rink, ready to go. Finny had brought his own skates from home and got them out of the trunk. I would have to use some of the ones that were owned by the rink.
Finny pulled the paperclip out of his ear hole. He kept it there while he was at school. He was very paranoid about it growing back together while he wasn't watching. He slipped his loop earring in, and twirled it once, superstitiously.
"Let's go," he said, with his ever-present grin.
After having to force myself to stick my feet into those black holes they called skates, we were ready. Well...Finny was ready. I was still a little nervous about skating. I didn't think I would ever be ready. I don't know what it was about it that I was afraid of, but for some reason I just couldn't get up enough courage to just roll onto the floor and do it. I would never be confident like Finny was. He was fearless in everything he did. School, home, sports, drama, you name it, he did it, and wasn't afraid at all of it.
Even then, he was staring at me, wondering why I was stalling. "Are you ready?" he asked, quietly. "Do you think you can do it?"
"Of course," I lied. "I was born ready." I shakily stood up on my legs, feeling like they were uneven. My arms wheeled around a bit, trying to grasp onto something. Finny's shoulder was what they found. I nearly knocked him down in the process, but he managed to support the both of us somehow.
I couldn't help but stare into his eyes. They were so captivating. I had never noticed how deep and solid they were. They had a little shine to them, as well, even though they were a dark color.
I blushed and looked away. I released his shoulder, trying very hard to maintain myself on my own. It proved to be too difficult a task for just me. I accidentally grabbed a cute girl by her arm, who ended up punching me before I could let go of her.
Finny appeared behind me, chuckling. He always thought it was hilarious to see girls creeped out at something.
Especially when that something was me.
Phineas helped to steady me, before I could fall again. "Let's take it from the top," he said, with a sigh. "Skating is an art, as I have stated before. You like art class? Well, now, you're gonna learn to like skating."
"I don't know. That sounds like a threat to me," I said, jokingly.
"Well, in this rink, it IS a threat," he returned, with a slight laugh. "You remember those paintings we started on today? Mine's of the lunch lady.." he whispered, dreamily. "Anyway, think of that. We're starting a new painting. We have a clean slate. Just like with skating. Nothing says you have to mess up or fall on your butt."
I tried to suppress laughter. Finny caught sight of my grin, though, and decided to keep egging me on.
"Nothing and nobody can tell you that you have to go out there and skate on the little kids, who just wanted to escape the comfort of their homes for the evening," he carried on. "No one is gonna tell you that you have to bump into every person you come across. Nothing can make you grab onto hotties for dear life and get slapped across your face."
By this point, I was rolling with laughter. I had had to sit down in the middle of his speech, for fear of toppling over.
He paused to catch his breath. "Are you ready now?"
"Yeah, let's go."
I was somewhat "skating" if you can call it that. I could barely keep my balance at all. Finny, on the other hand, was skating around like a pro, at a much faster speed than I could muster. It was almost laughable that he could go so fast and yet, fall so little. I didn't know if I had ever seen him fall of his own accord before.
He skated up to me when he heard his favorite song being played.
"It's my song, Gene!" he shouted over the loud music.
"I don't see why!" I yelled back.
He began to sing it, very loudly. "I'm blue, da ba dee, da ba di, da ba dee, da ba di, da ba dee, da ba di, da ba dee, da ba di."
"What's so great about this song?" I asked.
"My hair," he said, "is blue, da ba dee, da ba di, da ba dee, da ba di-"
"Oh-kay!" I exclaimed. "I heard you the first time." I had just about forgotten about the drastic color change he had done to his hair in the dim lighting of the skating rink. It looked almost normal amidst the multicolored lights that were spinning around the room.
I still couldn't understand why Finny could be so much better at skating than I was. Why couldn't I skate as well as he could? It was probably because he had skated every weekend ever since he was three years old. This weekend, of course, he would have to work instead.
"All right, everyone," the announcer said, in a drone voice, "this next song is for couples only. Anyone who doesn't have a partner, please get off the floor."
I was about to attempt to skate off to the side when Finny grabbed my right hand. After that, either because of my flushing face or the speed we were going, I could make no protests.
"When I first saw you I already knew
There was something inside of you
Something I thought that I would never find
Angel of Mine."
Great, I thought to myself. Just the song I needed to hear.
Finny didn't seem to notice that people were staring at us. If he did, he probably thought that they were laughing with us instead of at us.
I wasn't laughing.
"I look at you looking at me
Now I know why they say the best things are free
Gonna love you boy you are so fine."
I blushed heavily at this point. I knew that everyone, including Finny, had to have noticed my embarrassment.
"Angel of mine."
Finny was an angel, all right. But, he wasn't mine, and I didn't want him to be...or did I?
"How you changed my world you'll never know
I'm different now, you helped me grow You came into my life
Sent from above
When I lost all hope
You showed me love
I'm checkin for you
Boy you're right on time
Angel of Mine."
I came to the realization soon enough that I never wanted that song to end. Not now or ever again. I hoped that it would keep repeating over in over in my head forever. And I hoped that I could hold onto Finny's hand forever, too.
"Nothing means more to me than what we share
No one in this whole world can ever compare
Last night the way you moved is still on my mind
Angel of Mine
What you mean to me you'll never know
Deep inside I need to show You came into my life
Sent from above
When I lost all hope
You showed me love
I'm checkin for you
Boy you're right on time
Angel of Mine."
It should have been outlawed for them to play that song in a skating rink during couple skates when they allowed people of the same sex to skate together.