Equal Ice // Harry Styles AU

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Gabrielle’s POV

When the three of us had finally made our way up to the entrance of the rink, we all walked inside. The overly worried side of me was expecting everyone to already now about Harry and I once I walked in, but I knew that Harry’s coach probably wasn’t even here yet since he really didn’t have to be here until it was time for his team to begin practice.

Once we were inside, I was looking around at all the people and I couldn’t help but feel they were all staring at me. I knew it was just my imagination, but I had a feeling that later on in the day it wouldn’t be my imagination, but it would be my reality and I was defiantly not looking forward to it. Bella, her mom, and I stopped along the way as we walked to the private rinks to talk to a few people that we of course haven’t seen since before the renovations started.

Paranoia was getting the best of me though as every time we went stopped to talk to someone, I felt like they were judging me, or that they already knew. I forced myself to let all those thoughts go though and just enjoy the time I had left of me just being a regular skater here instead of that girl who is dating a hockey player, because I’m pretty sure that’s who I’m going to be by the end of the day here. I was hoping that Harry’s coach would wait until after his hockey team’s practice to tell people because then at least I wouldn’t be here to deal with it until tomorrow.

It meant I’d have another night of worrying, but just sitting and imaging what might happen was better than it already have happened and knowing what the outcome was. We finally quit stopping every five seconds and made our way to the doors of the private rinks. The change we noticed was in the doors themselves, the regular old and chipped dark grey paint on the doors was replaced with a lighter, more silver like color.

As we opened up the doors, my mind was now actually focused on something else for a change, something that didn’t stress me out or worry me. I was excited as we walked into the rink where I practiced, and observed all the changes made in the renovation.

To start, the border of the rink had a new coat of the blue and red paint, and there was an American flag painted on each little door that led onto the ice. The logo of the rink was now present on the ice, the ice in the center of the rink colored blue into the logo. The bleachers looked so much better now that they replaced the old ones that were there before. There were two water coolers in the corner, and the walls surrounding the place had been completely repainted, just like almost everything else was, but now they had American flags and the words “Team USA” painted on them.

The three of us continued to walk further into the space, calling out to each other when one of us noticed something new. A majority of this renovation was just repainted everything, but I thought that was a good use of the renovation time.

The only reason they had done this in the first place was because the hockey guys were non-stop complaining about how these rinks needed to be updated since professionals were training there. I have a feeling they didn’t do have the things that the hockey players asked them to do, and I was happy about that.

“The place looks nice,” Bella’s mom said once we all came back over to the bleachers once we finished looking around the rink.

“All they really did was paint, I was hoping they would add a bunch of cool stuff,” Bella said.

The hockey players and her I think were the only ones that were expecting so extravagant change to the rink, minus Harry who didn’t really care about the renovation.

“Stuff like what?” I asked her, wanting to know what all she thought would’ve changed and been added.

“I don’t know, but I didn’t want them to just paint,” she answered.

“Well they only had a little over a month to renovate all of the private rinks, and they’re pretty big so there wasn’t really much they could do I don’t think,” I told her.

“They still should’ve done more,” Bella scoffed, being the diva that she can be, it was a given that she would’ve expected the rinks to be completely changed.

“Well I think all the paint they did is nice. They must’ve but a lot of hard work into it with all the detail that they did,” Bella’s mom said as her head tilted up to the walls to look at all the things that were painted on.

“You have to admit everything does look nice, I mean the stuff they did update, and just the paint makes a huge difference,” I said to Bella.

“Maybe to you,” Bella had her arms crossed now.

After seeing her reaction, I was happy I would get to see the hockey player’s reactions to the renovation since they came in for their practice just as I finished up mine. Considering they are the ones who started the want for a renovation, if Bella was upset about it I was almost positive that all of them, except Harry, would be disappointed. Especially Zack.

“Well I think I’m going to get going now,” Bella’s mom told us, “You two have fun,”

She then told both of us bye after that and then headed back out through the newly painted doors. “Well I should probably get to my rink since my practice time started like ten minutes ago,” Bella told me, and I just nodded and sat down on the bleachers as she left.

My practice time technically didn’t start for another fifteen or twenty minutes, but Lillian, the girl who usually practices before me, apparently wasn’t here today. I decided that I would go ahead and start skating now. If I got a head start on my practice for today, then maybe I could get off the rink quick enough to be off the ice when the hockey guys come and just see their reactions and then leave before their coach comes in.

Once my skates were on, I walked up to the border of the rink and opened the square door that had an American flag painted on it now, and then stepped out onto the ice. I already felt better just by stepping on the ice, like just by having my skates touch the ice all of my stress was just melting away for the time being.

Once my skating time was up, my stress was going to be walking right to me, and I meant that literally.