Cloud 69

38:

"An ice rink?" I asked, my voice echoing off the walls. The stadium was completely empty, and there was just enough light to illuminate the ice, leaving the vacant seats mostly dark. 

"I thought it could be fun," He responded. 

"I know you actually didn't rent the entire thing out for the night."

He shrugged, "Only the best for you."

I smiled excitedly as he handed me a pair of skates, which apparently he had grabbed from thin air. Once we were laced up, we made our way onto the rink, and I bit back a laugh as I watched Carson attempt to skate. He almost fell a few times, and grumbled every time I let out a snort. 

"I thought you knew how to skate?" I asked, grinning widely.

"Yeah, when I was 11. I'm a little rusty."

Once he got into his groove, he skated over to the side and grabbed something. When he came back, I found that he was holding two hockey sticks and a puck.

"You up for a game?"He asked, handing me one of the sticks.

"Carson," I stared at him and shock.

"Yeah?" His smile faded. "What? Is everything okay? We don't have to, I just thought it could be fun."

"How is it that you did all of this? How did you know what to do so perfectly?"

He shrugged and started pushing around the puck absentmindedly, "I remember one time you were talking about how your dad would take you skating every winter when you were younger. You guys would play hockey and he would let you win. You said that you guys had stopped doing it, so I thought it could be fun if we did it. Of course, I wouldn't let you win."

I couldn't help but just smile at him. It was now that it hit me how serious he was about the whole five years thing; I remember telling that story– when I was 14. He really knew everything about me, and I had blind to it for so long.

"So, are you just gonna stare at me or are we gonna play?"

I laughed, "We're gonna play, but be prepared to lose."

"We'll see about that."

***

"Careful now, watch you step," he whisper shouted back to me, as he stumbled around the chimney. 

"Carson, what the hell are we doing?"

"You said you were hungry."

"That literally provides absolutely no explanation."

"We're having a picnic."

"On your roof?!"

He reached out his hand for to me to grab, which I was more than happy to take. He carefully pulled me past the chimney to the flat part of the roof. After taking a minute to count my blessings that I had lived through this excursion, I noticed my surroundings.

There was a large blanket spread out on the roof, on which was an assortment of food, ranging from fruit to Wendy's takeout, complete with those little fairy lights. 

"You did all this?"

He shrugged, "I had help."

Carson led me over to sit on the blanket with him, pulling out a large box of chicken nuggets from the Wendy's bag. 

"You can see the entire city from here," I observed, looking out to the tall buildings in the distance, blending in with the dark starry night. 

"It's a good place to think. And hide," He responded. "Plus, I figured this beats some crummy old restaurant with a waiter named Beau."