Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

f o u r

Aspen was already grinning when she slid into her seat beside Elle in their history class. It was the only class the pair had together, and it was, thankfully, before lunch. Elle looked up from her book, Aspen's excitement reflecting on her face. "Should I begin with congratulations, or..." Aspen teased smugly. When Elle grinned, Aspen reached over and tugged her best friend into a tight hug. "I told you so."

Elle leaned back, punching the shorter girl in the shoulder with a playful smile. "I get it. You're always right, and I should never doubt you," she confessed jokingly, her grin not once wavering. She tapped her pencil against the desk in front of her as she eyed Aspen curiously. "How did you already know that I made the team?" she asked, her eyebrows pulled together suspiciously.

"You know Connie?" Aspen asked easily, smiling when Elle nodded. She continued, "We have a couple of classes together, and I saw her in the parking lot this morning. She told me all about tryouts and how excited she is to have you on the team."

Hearing that made Elle perk up, her smile widening. It was immediately apparent to Aspen that her friend had been feeling apprehensive about having to play with entirely new teammates. None of their other peewee friends were attending Eden Hall, and Aspen and Jay had both quit. The only hockey player they grew up with that was still around was Roland Riley, and he evidently had lost his spot on the team. It was no surprise that Elle was nervous. "That's cool," she finally said evenly, though it was clear that she was extremely relieved, "Connie is nice. It's great having other girls on the team. Though, they're definitely no you."

Aspen smiled sadly at that, bumping her friend's shoulder softly. "I may not be in the locker room, but you better save my spot in your heart," she said sentimentally, faking a sincere pout.

Elle laughed, "Don't worry. You're always my number one." She glanced around the classroom for effect before dropping her voice, "Don't tell Jay. He'll cry about it."

The pair of girls fell into a fit of muffled giggles as the chairs around them began to fill. As they continued to chat about hockey and school, a familiar head popped between them, making both of them jump. Aspen pinched the bridge of her nose as Elle socked the boy behind them in the shoulder. "You can't just butt into conversations like that, Peter. This is why no one wants to be your friend," she chastised angrily, causing the boy to pout.

"You're just mean," Peter muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest. He blew out a hot breath, "And here I was, about to congratulate you on making the team."

Elle snorted, "Oh what, your bestie couldn't make it so now you're sucking up to the only person who could?"

Aspen sighed as her gaze flitted between the pair. Peter Estevez had been going to school with them since they were in preschool, and his feud with Elle had been going for almost just as long. She wasn't sure when they began fighting about every little thing, but it sure had become quite the typical occurrence. "Don't you two ever get tired of bickering?" she asked tiredly, casting her weary gaze to the boy behind her.

Peter just shook his head and grinned as Elle let out a disgruntled huff. Deciding to ignore the hockey player, Peter leaned against his desk, peering into Aspen's eyes. "How's your first few days been, Hops?" he asked with a humored lilt, though there was a genuine smile on her lips.

Aspen rolled her eyes at the nickname, but was pleased to find that she didn't take any offense to it. She knew that Peter wasn't being cruel, though perhaps the joke was in poor taste. She much preferred to be able to joke around about it with someone than to have everyone talking about it in hushed murmurs. Over the years, Peter's nickname had actually become one of her favorites. "Not awful," she answered after a moment of consideration, "and I assume yours has just been perfect?"