*4 weeks later*
I grab my gloves off the bench. I'm finally on that skating date with Jace.
Unfortunately my friends from LA couldn't come, since I had flown to Canada 3 days ago.
Jace had gotten special permission to spend a week with me over the break. it had taken a lot of convincing, but our parents had agreed. Jace was staying in a hotel and not with us in our old home though.
"Come on!" I laugh, pulling Jace onto the ice.
"It's harder than it looks." Jace puffed.
"You'll get used to it." I tell him. "Here, put your arm around my shoulder." I move closer to him.
"You just want me to hold you." Jace teases, swinging his arm around me.
"Maybe I do." I grin back.
I then quickly take off, gaining speed and moving away from Jace.
"Hey!" He exclaims, stumbling on his skates. I laugh at his attempts to catch up.
"Well, you're not bending as much." I tell him.
"What do you mean?" He looks down at his knees. "Am I supposed to stand up straight?" He looks confused.
"No." I shake my head. "Beginners bend their ankles inwards when they skate. You're not doing it as much anymore."
"Oh." Jace grins proudly.
He then proceeds to fall on his face. I burst out laughing. Jace glares at me.
A supervisor in a bright reflective vest skates up to us.
"Everybody okay here?" The girl asks, she's maybe a year older than us.
"Yeah, it'd be better if she'd teach me to skate instead of just laughing at me." Jace shoots me a look.
"Well, you can use the boards if you need to." The girl tells Jace.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Hey, aren't you on that show or whatever?" The girl asks, looking at Jace.
"Yeah, actually." Jace replies sheepishly. I don't think he'd anticipated being noticed here in Canada.
"Oh cool, my sister loves your show." The girl is being pretty calm, so it probably is her sister and not her that likes the show, or Jace.
"I'm glad." Jace grins.
"What are you doing across boarder?" The girl asks.
"Visiting some friends, and vacation."
"Oh, ok. Hey, maybe you could like one of my sisters photos? She has a fan account for you." The girl says.
"I can do one better." Jace smiles mysteriously. "What's the username?"
"Uh, gimme a second..." The girl trails off as she checks something on her phone.
"It's 'Jace.norman.fan.foreverrr', with 3 'R's'." she says.
"Tell your sister to check her account in an hour." Jace says.
"Oh, she's always on it." The girls smiles. "Anyways, thanks." And she skates away.
"You're getting more and more popular." I say, kinda teasing.
"I guess. But what's it going to be like tomorrow when we hang out with Riele? Like will they recognize both of us?" He muses.
"I dunno, maybe wear a hat and glasses?" I suggest. I'm kidding, but Jace takes my seriously.
"Yeah, maybe."
"I was kidding!" I exclaim. "Now come on! I wanna skate." I say, dragging him along with me.
"Okay! I'm coming." Jace laughs, and we keep skating for another hour.
~2 hours later~
"Hey, I'm home." I call into the house. It's kinda empty since we haven't lived here, other than vacations, in awhile.
"Hey honey, how was skating?" My mom greets me.
"Fine, Jace fell a lot." I laugh.
"And did you help him or just point and giggle?" My mom asks, looking at me ruefully.
"Um, helped him?" I offer, grinning sheepishly.
"Sure you did." My mom replies.
"Listen, Katie, your Dad and I want to talk to you and your siblings." My mom says suddenly.
"Uh, alright?" I say.
My mom leads me from the hall into the living room, where the rest of my family already is.
I take a seat next to Sam on the couch. I look at her to see if she knows what this is about, but she just shakes her head.
"Alright guys, we have some news." My mom starts. "As you know, my hours have been getting a little less flexible at work recently."
"Which wasn't supposed to happen since we moved to LA." My dad says.
"But my company would like to move me again." My mom finishes.
"Again!" Sam and I cry in protest.
"I know, it's not sounding great yet. But, you haven't heard where they want to move me to." My mom says, smiling kindly."
"Where?" Callum demands.
"Right back here." My mom points to the ground, grinning.
"You mean we'll be going to school here? With all our old friends?" I ask, getting excited.
"Yep!" My dad says.
"I know we haven't been in the new house that long, but I figured you might wanna move back here." My mom adds.
"Yeah!" I start. Then my face falls. "But what about our new friends, and you know... Jace?" I say.
"Well..." My mom says. I jump up from the couch, tears brimming in my eyes. I rush out of the room to upstairs, where my old bedroom is. I slam the door closed and burst into tears. What am I supposed to tell Jace?
~Next Day~
I'm sitting at an outdoor table, under the awning, at a small café, where I'm meeting Jace and Riele.
I've never actually met Riele before, but Jace had said she was super nice, so I was looking forward to this.
Riele was home in Canada for the break as well, so Jace thought it would be a great idea if we all hung out.
"Hey. Katie?" A girl's voice asks. I turn around to see Riele standing behind me.
"Yeah. Hi!" I say, quickly moving over to make room for her to sit down next to me.
"Thanks." Riele smiles as she sits down.
"How did you know who I was? I mean we haven't secretly met and I don't remember it right?" I giggle.
"No haha." Riele says. "Jace has a picture of you and him as his lock screen." She explains.
"Oh." I blush, slightly embarrassed.
"It's a pretty cute picture." Riele adds.
"It's better than the picture I took yesterday." I grin mischievously.
"Ouu can I see?" Riele says, looking interested.
I pull out my phone and show her the great shot I got of Jace yesterday. It's him mid-fall on the ice. His arms are flailing around him, and his face is one of pure, tortured, fear.
Riele bursts out laughing, and I start laughing too.
"I see you guys are already getting along." Riele and I turn to see Jace standing there.
"Too bad it's at your expense." I tease. Jace's face pales.
"What do you mean?" I hold up my phone.
"Remember this?" Jace's eyes widen, and then narrow into slits.
"You got that on camera?" He asks through gritted teeth.
"Maybe." I reply innocently. He rolls his eyes and Riele and I start laughing again.
"Wait, have you guys ever had Tim Hortons?" Riele asks.
"Not in years, but it was my life." I giggle proudly.
"What's Tim Hortons?" Jace asks.
Riele and I look at each other.
"Come on!" Riele says decisively. "You haven't lived until you've had one of their donuts!"
We grad Jace by the arms and drag him inside the store. He's going to try some wether he likes it or not!
~20 minutes later~
Jace and Riele laugh at a joke I just made. We've been having a great time chilling.
My phone, sitting on the restaurant table buzzes. I pick it up. It's a text from my mom.
Mom: Hey honey, I know you're still upset, but we need to start packing.
I ignore it and put it back on the table. I keep talking for a few more minutes. Before it buzzes again.
M: Katie, you can't ignore this. WERE MOVING.
Jace picks up my phone before I can, reads it, and then looks at me.
"You're moving! To where!" He exclaims.
"Jace, you weren't supposed to see that." I say in anguish. Riele looks awkward.
"When were you going to tell me?" He asks, looking hurt.
"I just found out yesterday okay?" I exclaim.
"You still could have told me!" Jace says angrily.
"I don't wanna talk about it!" I say, anger creeping into my voice.
"You didn't think it was important?" Jace fires back.
"I'm going to go." Riele says, backing away and leaving.
I walk outside, and Jace follows me.
"You can't run away from this!" Jace yells at me.
"Watch me!" I say back. I start running, tears have begun steaming down my face.
I keep running until I'm out of breath. I stop and collapse onto a bench nearby. I don't know where else to go.
My phone rings. It's Lilian.
"Hey Katie! How's the North?" She laughs.
"Hey Lilian, now's not the best time." I say.
"What happened!" She exclaims.
"I found out I'm moving back to Canada." I explain, sadly.
"Does that mean you're not coming home?" Lilian asks, her voice trembling.
"I think my parents think I'm already home." I answer.
"No! Home is where your heart is! Where Jace is! And your friends are!" Lilian says fiercely.
"I wish." I say wistfully. "I'm sorry Lilian, I gotta go. I'll call you later." I say, and hang up.
I sit on the bench in contemplation.
I don't know what to do. I'm not sure if I should fight to stay in LA now, or move back to Canada with my old friends.
It would be weird going back to my old friends. Since they'll probably have new friends and everything. Or I could stay in LA, with my new amazing friends, and my awesome boyfriend.
My phone lights up with a text from Jace.
J: where ru? Ru gonna come back to LA or stay here? Sam told me...
K: Ik what I want, I just don't know if it will happen
J: what do you want then? 😁
K: to go home
J: home where...?
K: home is with you 😘💕
J: then come home! 😘😂
K: I'm coming home then! 😉😝
~ The End ~