Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t w e n t y - f i v e

At first, Aspen was vehement about Jay not waiting for her. They had spoken about it during class: he wanted to walk to school for the game together, and she wanted to do literally anything else. That's not to say she didn't want to walk with Jay because really, she would love to not have to walk alone or ride with her parents. But she knew how nasty the scene in front of the rink's doors would be. She would have to give herself a five minute pep talk just to reach for the handle, and even then she may have to turn tail and walk home.

But then his annoyingly persistent self showed up at her front door at 6:00, and she realized he wasn't giving her much of a choice. The pair walked the short distance to Eden Hall together in almost complete silence, Aspen's untamable fears plaguing her mind far too severely for her to think of conversation. Jay accepted the silence willingly, not bothering with idle, one-sided chatter. No questions were asked, no pitiful "we can go home at any time" reassurances. He just stood by her side as she soldiered on, his presence enough.

When they arrived on campus, Aspen was suddenly extremely grateful for Jay's company. He reached to pull the door to rink open, but she caught his hand before he got far enough. He turned to look at her, and she just shook her head. Understanding that she needed a minute, he took a step back, allowing her to hold onto his hand for comfort. He didn't even squeal when her grip became uncomfortably tight.

After a minute or two, Aspen let go of her best friend. With a final deep breath, she gave him a small nod. For the first time, he spoke. "You sure?" was all he asked. Another nod was all the verification he needed. He led their march into the rink without looking back.

Aspen caught pace with the taller boy's long strides, one of her fists balled up in the bottom of her jersey. As they walked towards the bleachers, she did her very best to stare straight ahead, ignoring the view of the ice that she had from her peripherals. She instead took to glancing around the stands in search of their other two friends. Despite her focused gaze, it was Jay who found them first, giving her arm a light tug in their direction.

Roland and Peter were sitting just two steps up from the ground, something Jay wasn't happy about it in the slightest. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, or do you make sitting in the absolute worst seats a hobby?" he grumbled tartly. He didn't make an effort to sit just yet, instead standing in front of Roland, who looked up at him with a frown.

For a moment, Roland had no response, but no one missed the way that his eyes flickered to Aspen. It clicked in Aspen's head at the same time it clicked in Jay's. Sure, the view would be better from a seat higher up, but Roland and Peter has completely forfeited that once they heard Aspen would be joining them. They wanted to save her the trouble.

Aspen almost wanted to argue, to promise that it wasn't too much trouble, to claim that they didn't need to change their routine for her. But she knew better. Dismissing their efforts would only make Roland feel bad, and at the end of the day, it really was quite sweet of them to take her into consideration. Without saying a word, Aspen lowered herself onto the bleacher beside Peter as Jay bitterly plopped down beside Roland.

For the first time since they entered the building – and for the first time in five years – Aspen begrudgingly raised her gaze to the ice in front of her. The teams hadn't taken to skating for warmups yet, making the rink look a lot less menacing. She felt herself pale a little bit, her stomach churning as that same vicious memory threatened to reveal itself, but she managed to keep the anxiety at bay.

Peter glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before fully turning, a concerned look on his usually playful face. "Hops, you alright?" he asked cautiously. She turned a blank gaze to him, causing his frown to deepen. "You're looking a little pale."