Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t h i r t y - o n e

Delanie had her arms thrown around Aspen before the girl even saw her. Her group of friends had hardly entered the cafeteria when they were ambushed. "You look so pretty!" Delanie squealed into her friend's ear. When she pulled back, she had a broad smile on her lips. Adam was standing beside her wearing an awkward expression, but when Aspen met his gaze, he managed a kind smile.

Aspen chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Thanks, Lanie. I love your dress. You should wear that color more often." It was common knowledge that the girl's favorite color was a hue of light pink, but she hardly ever wore it. It looked quite nice on her, and the fact that she had convinced Adam to wear a tie of the same color made it even better.

Delanie's cheeks became the same shade of pink as her dress, and she smiled. Her eyes strayed to Roland, and her grin grew. "Rollie!" she squealed, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You look so good!"

Roland's cheeks reddened, and he offered a meek smile. "Thanks, Lanie." He tentatively met Adam's eyes, surprised to find that the blonde boy was void of jealousy. He simply offered the other boy a smile.

Delanie opened her mouth to say something else, but Connie popped around her shoulder before she could. She had a grin on her face, and she was tugging Guy along by his arm. She gave Aspen a tight hug before turning to Elle and gushing about her hair. Guy, far more comfortable than Adam, engaged Jay in a quick conversation. Behind that couple came Julie and Luis, who paused at Aspen's side.

Julie meekly tapped Aspen's arm, her pale cheeks reddening. "I don't know if we've ever like, officially met..." she began softly.

Aspen waved her off easily. "No introductions needed. I'm pretty sure we have at least three classes together," she joked. Julie laughed along, her nerves easing at the girl's warm personality. Aspen turned to Luis, who she figured must have been Julie's date for the evening. She gave him a smile. "Luis, right?"

He grinned and nodded, looking quite pleased that she recognized him. "That's me," he said coolly. His grin elapsed into a small smirk, and his flirtatious nature seemed to return in an instant. She flushed under his steady gaze. "I can see why Conway likes you so much."

Aspen felt her palms begin to sweat. She opened her mouth to say something, only to promptly close it into a frown when she realized that she had nothing to say. When Roland cleared his throat, she realized that she was extremely grateful for his existence.

Roland met Luis's gaze intently, his posture stiffening for a moment before returning to its normal relaxed state. He offered a genuine smile. "Don't you sit in front of me in English?" he asked calmly, clearly trying to change the subject. Whether that was for Aspen's sake or his own, none of them really knew.

While Roland was able to maintain his usual kind demeanor, Luis was less amiable. He made a show of looking the taller boy over, an expression of distaste falling across his handsome face. He chose to ignore the boy's question entirely, instead turning a perked eyebrow to Aspen. "You couldn't have found a better replacement?"

Aspen choked on her own tongue as his words resonated in her head. She furrowed her brows, more in irritation than in confusion, and set her lips into a firm line. "What's that supposed to mean?" she retorted sharply. She didn't raise her eyes to Roland. She didn't want to know what sort of hurt was coating his features.

Luis shrugged her tone off as though it didn't bother him in the slightest. "It's just ironic, I think. You choosing to date a Riley." There was a venomous lilt in the way the last word rolled off his tongue, and he made as face as though the name pained him to say.

Julie dug her nails into his bicep, but he hardly winced. He instead gave Roland a smug once-over, a challenging expression on his face. The taller boy was bristling, his jaw set as he tried to keep himself composed. Though there were better things she could have said, better defenses she should have taken, Aspen's initial response was, "We aren't dating."