Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t w e n t y - t w o

Aspen had grown accustomed to Peter's impatience. He was one of those people who always needed to be moving, an inherent restlessness woven into his DNA. She had accepted it, and it no longer fazed her. However, she was not used to Jay exhibiting an uncharacteristic jitteriness. And now she was stuck in between the both of them, their combined pacing making her skin itch.

"Can you two stop?" she snapped, her gaze flickering between them. When they gave her bewildered looks, she puffed a strand of hair away from her eyes indignantly. "You're making me anxious."

Peter scoffed and ignored her, resuming the tight circle he was walking around her. Jay had stilled, coming to a stop at the girl's side. Where his legs had stopped, his head began. It was as if he was on a swivel, his eyes darting all over the hallway. His fingertips were drumming against his pant leg nervously, causing Aspen to sigh. "Jay, I get that you're anxious, but you need to take a deep breath or something. We can't do anything but wait."

After a moment, the taller boy nodded. A ragged breath left through his chapped lips as he tucked his fingers behind his glasses to rub his eyes. "You're right," he breathed. He began to gnaw on his lower lip as he turned to her, his deep eyes hopeful. "They'll be fine, right?"

"I sure as hell hope so," Aspen muttered back, a new wave of anxiety settling in her stomach. She knew why Jay was so nervous. He might have been hesitant about Elle befriending the ducks at first, but it took an absolute moron to not see how much she had grown to love them. Neither Jay nor Aspen could stomach seeing her devastation if she lost them.

Peter grumbled as he paced in front of his two friends, "If varsity gets their way, I might kill someone." Aspen sighed, but she couldn't help but agree. As much as she wanted the board to rule in favor of the ducks for her friends' sakes, she also thought she might lose her mind if she had to see that smug look on Rick's face.

"I have to agree with you there," Aspen admitted solemnly. "I mean, can you imagine if varsity gets their way? We'll be hearing about it for-"

Her concerns were cut short by Jay hissing at her to be quiet. She was taken by surprise at first, but quickly followed his pointed gaze to the group of hockey players that was streaming into the hall. Aspen felt her heart thump nervously until she noticed the aggravated looks on the faces of many of the varsity boys. Her nerves quickly became excitement when she heard Russ's unmistakable cheers.

Peter finally froze in place, a hesitant but giddy smile spreading onto his lips. He exchanged hopeful looks with both of the friends beside him, but none of them spoke. They just waited.

Sure enough, Elle came barreling from the room, her head swiveling as she desperately searched for her friends. When she found them, her face split into an overjoyed grin. She nearly sprinted across the hall, causing Aspen to giggle. Her laughter was quickly smothered by Elle's shoulder as the older girl pulled both her and Jay into a tight group hug. "They're staying!" she shouted into her friends' ears. She pushed away from the hug so that they could see the happiness that was on her face. "We won! They're staying!" she repeated.

Aspen quickly found that her lips were mirroring Elle's, an uncontrollable grin falling into place. Jay was smiling as well, though his was gentler. "The jv-varsity showdown is sure to be a riot," he joked. Elle playfully grimaced. It was clear that she didn't really want to think about that just yet. She wanted to ride this wave of excitement for as long as she could.

Ignoring the boy's joke, Aspen softened her smile. "I'm happy for you, Elle," she doted kindly. "I know how attached you've gotten to them."

"Oh, don't pretend like you aren't just as fond of some of them," she teased, reaching over to shove her friend's shoulder. Aspen's cheeks flushed, but she didn't argue. Peter cleared his throat before she got the chance, anyway.