Golden Ice

Chapter 11

The next few weeks were rough. I trained all morning, ate lunch alone or with a few people in the training room (namely Jenna, Casey, Jordan and Alice). During the afternoons, I'd stopped working on my powers with Oliver, even after he regained consciousness. I spent the afternoons working on them myself. Lex eventually came out of mourning, but we didn't speak. I had a feeling our friendship was over.

It was a Monday afternoon. I finished off my sandwich and started conjuring fireballs and hurling them at the wall, controlling them enough so that the place didn't catch on fire. I was working on expanding and shrinking the size of the fireball, and playing around with the different shapes I could put them in-

The door flew open. The bright, overhead lights I hated came on. I froze, sure that someone was going to witness me with my hands full of fire.

"Ella."

The fire died as I whirled around and gaped. Oliver stood at the door, pale hair sticking straight up from his head.

"Oliver?"

Oliver took a few long strides towards me. "Ella, what's going on? I haven't seen you in weeks. Nobody has, except maybe Jordan."

I didn't know what to say. "I-I guess..."

"Lex misses you," he said. "She hates herself for yelling at you about Sam."

Memories I'd been trying to suppress came flooding back. "I don't want to talk to her."

"Isabella, what is going on?"

To my horror, I could feel tears rising in the back of my eyes. "I don't know," I choked.

"Ella, come on. Forget about practice. You've been working yourself too hard. Let's take Goblin for a walk. There's a college campus near your house, right?"

I nodded stiffly and brushed a stray tear, noting hopefully that Oliver genuinely seemed to care about me.

But I didn't think that would help if he found out that I was in love with him.

...

"What is this place?" Oliver looked around, eyes widening. "It's huge! And outdoors! Look at the field!"

"Have you never been on a college campus before?" I teased, letting Goblin sniff the lamppost.

"No," Oliver grumbled.

I grinned. "It's great. I go running here all the time. Well, I used to, before the Demonclaws interfered."

"How tragic. You get elite access in a top-secret facility. I pity you already."

I stuck out my tongue like a toddler and immediately regretted it, but Oliver just snorted.

"The hell is that spiral thing?" he asked a moment later.

"That would be a labyrinth," I answered.

Oliver hooted. "They think that's a labyrinth? They should see the Ghost Labyrinth at the Facility in Texas. No one comes out of that thing alive. Humans really are dumber than I thought."

"It's a different kind of labyrinth," I grunted. "Let's walk it."

It was the kind of labyrinth that went in a big spiral pattern and took a good ten or so minutes to walk. Leaves tumbled to the ground over our heads as we drew closer to the center of the labyrinth.

"Does this ever end?" Oliver complained.

I laughed for the first time in weeks. Oliver was right; this walking thing really helped my mood. These people needed to get out more. "Yes. Relax, we're almost there."

And we suddenly reached the center. We stood on the four rocks that represents peace and looked around at the sun glinting off the rooftops of the buildings and the glassy pond where the geese flocked. Oliver met my eyes and smiled.

And almost as if I couldn't help it, I leaned in and kissed him.

It lasted a total of two seconds. When I stepped back, he wore a look of confusion, and then sudden realization.

And pity.

"Isabella...I didn't know," he sighed.

And then I got it. He didn't like me. He never had. I was his sister's stupid friend, and always had been. And now I'd made a fool of myself and ruined everything.

Tears stung my eyes again. "Forget it," I croaked, turning. I hopped over the grassy mounds, one by one, and ran from the labyrinth-and Oliver-as fast as possible.

"ELLA!" he yelled. "Dammit, Isabella, get back here!"

I didn't. I fled as fast as my feet could take me, belatedly realizing that Oliver had Goblin.

I could trust him with my puppy. For now, I was out of here.

My feet carried me past the entrance to the Demonclaw Facility and down the road. I was going to the only place I could think of.

My best friend Amelia's house.