Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t w e n t y - o n e

"Navy it is," Roland responded with a grin. He had to bite back the compliments that sat on the edge of his tongue. He didn't quite have the confidence for that. He figured that Aspen would just think the subject change was his attempt at avoiding conversation about his family, and in a way, it was. He was dreading having to talk to his father after school, and Rick was going to be making his life all kinds of hell from there on out.

But the small smile that was permanently painted on Aspen's lips? And that glimmer of affection in her eyes?

That was worth it.

--

Aspen left the nurse's office a little while before the bell ring, stopping by her fifth period class to drop of the excuse note before heading to chemistry. When she settled down across from Delanie, the girl immediately perked up. "Aspen Folsom, you are an angel," she gushed as a greeting.

Aspen's eyebrows immediately flew skyward, a wave of confusion washing over her. She creased her forehead. "Um, I mean, thank you," she stammered.

Delanie laughed when she caught on to the girl's confusion. She gave her a wide smile. "Lunch today? Getting Roland to talk to Rick? Bothering Joey and Caine? Asp, you didn't have to do all that for the ducks. You could've just ignored it. You and your friends are like, heroes."

Aspen blew a sarcastic raspberry. That was overselling it. All they had managed to do was get into a fight at lunch. Nothing had changed. "Not quite," she sighed with a small head shake. She gave Delanie a sad smile. "I don't think we changed much. Joey wouldn't even try to help, and all Rick did was give Roland a concussion."

The smile that had been on Delanie's lips fizzled into a frown. "Jett and Zander tried," she confessed, a sad glint to her brown eyes. She sighed, "Apparently the dean wouldn't even listen to them. Adam's heartbroken."

Though the urge to tease her about her relationship with Adam was there, Aspen resisted it. Delanie had, of course, begrudgingly kept her updated on their status, but she had the feeling that she hadn't quite gotten around to telling Charlie. Either way, relationships weren't what mattered. If Elle was as depressed as she was, Aspen couldn't imagine how distraught Adam was. "I'm sure," Aspen hummed sadly. The girls shared a sympathetic look as Charlie seated himself beside Aspen.

Aspen was expecting him to set in on teasing Delanie, asking her for updates -- the usual -- but he didn't. He instead turned only to her, that cheesy smile that always tugged at her heart on his lips. Aspen arched a brow. "Can I help you?"

"You can. I wanted to ask you for a favor, actually," Charlie admitted, his smile unwavering.

Aspen narrowed her eyes curiously at him. She wasn't sure if she liked that sound of that. "I see. And that is?" she asked cautiously.

Charlie grew a bit sheepish for a few seconds before seemingly being refueled by confidence. "The board meeting is today. Yknow, that board meeting," he explained spitefully. When Aspen nodded, he regained his composure. He scratched at the back of his head. "I was wondering if you and Jay would maybe, I don't know, be there. Not in the meeting of course, but, well..." he droned off awkwardly, a flash of self-consciousness flooding through him. He looked a bit embarrassed, and Aspen thought it was adorable. It wasn't often that she saw him so off his game.

Aspen had gotten the gist of what he meant, and even if she hadn't, Elle had already asked something similar of them. A smile immediately spread onto her lips. "Of course," she answered without hesitation, her stomach pooling with a happy warmth when she noticed the way he perked up.

"Really?" he asked, almost in disbelief.

Aspen nodded. "Well, Elle had already asked us to go," she confessed with a guilty smile. Charlie let out a small, almost disappointed oh that made Aspen's heart soften. He turned his face away awkwardly, and she couldn't help herself. She reached over and gently held his chin in her hand, forcing him to turn back to face her. His eyes were wide when they made eye contact once more, and Aspen had to hold back a giddy laugh. "I still would've said yes, Charlie. Even if Elle hadn't said anything," she explained softly.

His grin slowly returned, coupled with a fresh blush that had crept up his neck. It took a moment for Aspen to realize how close she had guided his face, and with a start, she dropped her hand and leaned back a bit on her stool. She expected Charlie to be overcome with a similar awkwardness, but he wasn't. He didn't even falter as he blurted, "Have I ever told you how pretty you are?"

Aspen's face immediately flushed, and she found it extremely hard to ignore Delanie's snort of amusement. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back away from her face. "I mean, I don't... I don't know. Maybe," she stumbled over her words like a drunkard, far too flustered to respond comprehensively.

Charlie chuckled at how adorable her stammering was, pleased with himself for catching her so off guard. "Clearly I need to say it more often," he mused thoughtfully, his grin widening at the smile that appeared on her pink face.

"Just do it when I'm not around, hmm?" Delanie interjected. There was a playful smirk on her lips, but Aspen's embarrassment increased anyway.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Just because you have no game, Park, doesn't mean I can't," he snarked back, causing the girl to stick her tongue out at him.

"Oh go back to your table. I'd like to actually learn something today," Delanie jeered, shooing the boy away with both of her hands. Charlie scrunched his nose up at her, but obliged anyway. He stood from his stool, sending a wink in Aspen's direction before heading to his own table.

As soon as he was gone, Aspen let out a breath she had been holding. Delanie chuckled quietly. "Girl. You need to get better at managing your shyness," she teased with a smile.

Aspen rolled her eyes. "Easier said than done, Lanie," she shot back with a pointed look.

Delanie nodded emphatically, "Oh I know. But come on, what's there to be flustered about?" She dropped her voice, glancing over her shoulder before leaning closer to her friend. "Aspen, you'd have to be crazy to think he wasn't infatuated with you."

"Infatuated is pushing it," Aspen warned. Her insecurities had definitely wrapped her mind in caution tape. Regardless of Charlie's constant flirting, she still found herself doubtful of his intentions. That, of course, did nothing to curb her crush on him. It just made it that much harder to manage.

Delanie scoffed, "Whatever you say, Asp."

Aspen didn't respond to that. She was preoccupied with biting back a smile. Though her mind was battling against it, her heart had managed to grab hold of Charlie's words. It was different from when Elle or her mom would call her pretty. That always seemed like an obligation. Charlie had no reason to call her pretty, not unless he really meant it.

As she set her sights on the worksheet in front of her, she absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Her back was a little straighter, her head a little higher. He thought she was pretty. And she believed him.