A Spy Racers Christmas

Chapter 2

"We'll see if you make it that far."

"On my mark," Echo told them. "Ready. Set. Go!"

Layla took off with ease, speeding around the first turn. Tony followed, somehow keeping pace with her despite the fact that he looked like he was about to fall over. It was as if continuing to move forward was the only thing keeping him upright. Thankfully, the cold temperature meant there were less people on the rink than usual, so Tony and Layla didn't have to worry too much about running into anyone.

"Let's go, T!" Cisco called out. "You're almost there, bro!"

Unsurprisingly, Layla made it back to the starting point first, and she turned just in time to see Tony coming in fast right behind her, unable to stop due to his clumsy technique. Tony's eyes went wide as he realized and he put his hands out, bracing for impact. But at the last moment, Layla wrapped her arms around him and turned, sending the two of them spinning in a circle instead of falling to the ground. After about four turns, they came to a stop, holding on to each other for dear life. The rest of the crew stared, eyes wide, as did some other nearby skaters.

"Uh, what just happened?" Frostee asked slowly.

"Apparently Layla knows a thing or two about ice skating," Echo remarked, looking both impressed and confused.

Layla and Tony opened their eyes, which had been shut tight, and looked at one another for a moment. Then, Layla seemed to realize how close they were and quickly dropped her arms from around Tony. He still looked somewhat dazed but gave her a lopsided grin.

"Okay, you were right. Not as easy as it looks."

"Course I was right, Toretto," Layla replied, playfully punching his arm. "Not bad for your first try, though. It took you way longer to fall than I thought it would."

"But I didn't fall."

"Yeah, only 'cause I caught you! You were about to eat it!"

"But I didn't- thanks for the save," Tony said, grinning teasingly.

Layla rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, Layla, that spin was pretty dope," Echo said as she, Cisco, and Frostee skated over. "Where'd you learn it?"

"Oh, uh, that just kinda happened," Layla admitted. "I didn't think it would actually work."

"Tony's lucky you stopped him before he ran into a wall," Frostee said. "I don't think Miss Nowhere would be too happy if one of us came back with a broken nose."

"Alright, my turn," Cisco stated, taking a deep breath. He took his hand off Echo's shoulder, which he'd been using for balance. "If T can do this, so can I. Here goes nothing."

Cisco slowly started moving forward, but as soon as he tried to speed up, he couldn't stop and went sliding across the rink towards the opposite wall.
"Should've seen that coming," Echo said with a sigh. She quickly skated over to where Cisco was now on the ground, struggling to regain his footing. Echo tried to help him stand, but ended up slipping and landing on the ice next to him.

"Uh, should we go help?" Frostee asked as they watched their two friends try and fail once again to stand.

"You're the one with the drones," Layla replied, gesturing to Frostee's hover-backpack.

"And I don't think I'd be much help," Tony said. "You saw how bad I am at skating."

Frostee scowled at them but gave in, grumbling as he made his way to the center of the ice.

"Ugh, fine. Just like always, send in the tech-guy to fix everything. And this isn't even a tech-problem!"

"I can help you, if you want," Layla said to Tony once Frostee had gone.

"Huh?"

"With ice skating."

"Oh...um, I dunno.

"Okay...why not?"

"Well, ya know...usually it's the guy helping the girl."

"Aw, look at you Toretto, tryin to be a gentleman," Layla said sarcastically, smirking at him. "It's not like we're on a date."

"Right, yeah, cuz...that would be weird." Tony looked down at his skates.

"...I didn't say that."

Tony glanced back up and Layla raised an eyebrow at him, searching his face for a response. However, the conversation was cut short as the others finally made it back to the edge of the rink, out of breath and looking slightly disheveled.

"Okay," Echo began, putting her hands on her knees. "I think that's enough ice skating for one night. Let's go wait for the tree lighting ceremony to start.

"Fine by me," Cisco agreed. "I think I'm gonna need another hot chocolate first, though. I feel like a human popsicle from falling on that ice so many times."