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Evan sat on the bench quietly, small sniffles coming from him every now and then. Elizabeth, Gregory, and Michael sat next to him, and Gregory was gently petting his back, “It’s okay Evan! Liz and I have no idea how to ice skate but we’re going to do it anyway!”
“Yeah! There’s no need to cry, we’ll all be falling and slipping!” Elizabeth chimed in, beaming brightly at her younger brother. Evan looked at her with glossy eyes, he didn’t look fully reassured.
“You two just start ice skating,” Michael grumbled, “I’ll stay here with Evan.”
“Are you sure?” Elizabeth questioned, not wanting to leave them behind. Gregory had already gotten up and threw himself on the ice. Michael nodded and Elizabeth turned around, giggling to catch up with the brunette.
Evan looked up shyly, watching the two kids ice skate. They looked so happy, so carefree. They just slid around and fell, then got back up again laughing. Skating around trying to trip one another.
It made him so jealous.
Why couldn’t he be like that? Why couldn’t he just be happy and carefree? Why couldn’t he just stop being so wimpy and start enjoying his life? He hated being so scared and pathetic. He hated crying his eyes out all the time. He hated all the paranoia and anxiety he felt all the time.
He just wanted to feel like a kid.
Hot tears welled up in his eyes and he let out another sob. The wetness stuck to his face due to the freezing weather. His cheeks burned and his nose turned stuffy. Evan pulled his knees to his chest and hid his face, continuing to cry.
He felt a light smack on his head and he looked up to see Michael glaring down at him. Evan opened his mouth to respond but Michael cut him off and roughly grabbed his shoulders, forcing Evan to stand up, “I’m not just gonna sit here and listen to you cry! You’re gonna skate whether you like it or not!”
Michael knelt down and firmly tightened Evan’s skates, then he dragged him to the ice rink. Evan immediately let out a cry and clung to the wall, letting out a whine. The older boy sighed and gently moved Evan from the wall, holding him underneath his arms for support. Michael sighed, “You’re not gonna get anywhere by just clinging onto the wall. Do you wanna try moving?”
Evan nodded yes slowly. He could still feel himself panicking.
Michael’s voice became more gentle, “Alright, well the first mistake people make is trying to just walk on the ice. The first thing you have to do is angle your feet so that your toes face each other.”
Evan moved his feet slowly and almost slipped. He yelped and clung onto Michael’s arm. Michael would never admit out loud (not even with the threat of death) that he found Evan clinging on to him adorable. Michael continued his instructions, “Good! Just like that Ev, now let’s try moving, alright?”
Evan nodded and whimpered, clearly scared. Michael spoke up again, “You have to push yourself with a stroke from each leg. Keep your toes facing each other but don’t let the gap between your feet get too wide.”
Evan gently pushed out his right leg, followed by his left. He moved forwards slowly, his legs wobbling. Michael skated in front of him and turned around, gently taking Evan’s hands. He skated backward and allowed Evan to use him as support. The two moved very slowly and were approaching a turn in the ring. Evan let out a shriek, “I don’t know how to turn! Michael help! Help! What do I do!?”
“Just put more weight on your right leg than your left leg since you’re making a left turn,” Michael instructed. Evan did as he was told and the two turned.
Evan smiled widely, his eyes shining, “Mikey! Mike, I did it! Did you see that? I made a turn!”
Michael smiled from seeing his brother so happy. It was rare he was like this. Usually, Evan just cried and cried and cried, clinging on to his stupid Golden Fredbear plush. Michael had to admit that he was majorly the reason Evan was so scared and anxious all the time. He wasn’t sure why he scared his little brother so much. He thought it was funny to see him so scared over dumb shit.
Though, the feeling of seeing his brother so happy because of him.
It was the best damn feeling in the entire world.
“Yeah, yeah! I saw you, Evan! Do you wanna go faster?” Michael asked with a stupid smile on his face. He couldn’t stop smiling even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. Evan nodded yes ecstatically and Michael skated to be next to his side. Hand in hand the two skated faster, but not too fast so Michael didn’t freak Evan out.
Evan let out happy giggles, and Michael eventually let his hand go. Michael slowed down and held on to the wall, taking a break. His feet ached, he never liked skating that much. He wasn’t planning to skate at all.
But he did it for Evan.
Elizabeth skated up next to Michael, stopping to talk to him, “Geez, did you see Evan out there? I didn’t know he could skate.”
“He couldn’t, but I taught him,” Michael replied bluntly, “He’s a fast learner, and he seems much happier out here skating than he did sitting on the bench crying.”
“You taught him?” Elizabeth questioned, turning to look at Michael. He nodded his head, yes, not looking at her. Elizabeth didn’t have a response after that until she pieced it together. She giggled, looking up at Michael, “Aww, look at you being a good older brother. What happened to the Michael who would always torment Evan, huh?”
“Shut the hell up,” Michael replied, flustered. His face turned red. He huffed, “That Michael is gone, he got tired of hearing ‘Dah-dee! Michaewl is bull-ee-ing Ev-ahn agaihn!’ in someone’s thick-ass British accent.”
Elizabeth just flicked her hair and skated off, leaving Michael alone again. Though not even five seconds later Evan skated up to him, gigging happily with Gregory behind him, “Skating is so much fun! Thank you for teaching me, Mike! I caught up to Gregory and we skated together and we both kept trying to trip each other. I tripped a bit, I think my knee is bruised. But it was still super fun!”
Michael smiled hearing his brother rant.
“Can we come here again next week, please?” Evan begged, looking up into Michael’s eyes happily.
It was much different this time.
Usually, when Evan begged and looked into Michael’s eyes it was always different. With glossy eyes and a frightened expression, he would look into Michael’s eyes and beg. Tear-stained cheeks with begs of not to lock him in dark rooms, or not to jumpscare him. He was always scared and wimpy.
It was so nice to see Evan look up at him and be happy. He looked so, so happy. His eyes were shining and his cheeks were blushing, with a huge grin on his face. He looked his age for once.
It made Michael so damn happy.
He smiled back stupidly, reaching his hand down and ruffling Evan’s hair, “Of course, we can Ev.”
So damn happy.