six

I skated around, hoping to catch his attention. If we hadn't made up, I would have waited for someone else to come, or I would have skated laps, ignoring him, but we were friends now. Do I want to be more? A voice asked in my head, and I shook it away. Hayden didn't want that.

He was focused on skating fast around the rink, and he was good at it.

I decided to leave him and do my spins when he noticed me.

"Jules," he calls from across the rink, skating rapidly towards me. He stops right in front of me, making snow with his skates.

I do a spin in response, and he laughs.

"You're great at tricks," he says. "I know some too."

I tilt my head and look at him. "Stick to skating in a straight line."

"I can do more than that. Hockey requires skill."

I point my finger at his chest and say, "The skill of skating around in a straight line."

"Trust me," he says, and I look at him, confused. He grabs my outstretched wrist, holds it tight, and spins me around him. He passes my wrist from one hand to the other, twirling me and bringing me close with every spin. He finishes off his move by dipping me, and I just stare at him, shocked. We stay frozen in that position, him hovering over me as I hold onto his arms.

I had never tried duo figure skating; I always did it alone, but if I were to skate with Hayden, I would definitely enter competitions. I pushed the thought away, knowing that Hayden was more focused on hockey.

We both stood up, still holding onto each other's arms, and inched closer to each other's faces when we heard the rest of his team enter the rink.

That was the cue for us to separate and skate away from each other as if we were never together.

Usually, we wouldn't be using the same rink, but the other rink was being used for something, so we had to share for tonight.

I continue with my routine and tricks, occasionally glancing at Hayden. What would've happened if his team had shown up a few minutes late?

He glances back at me between laps, smirking at me for getting distracted. At least my coach wasn't here to scold me.

I step off the ice and head to the changeroom to check my phone. Where was my coach?

As I unlock my phone, I see that she had messaged me that she couldn't make it due to a sudden family emergency. She also told me to give the entire rink to the hockey team, and I laughed to myself. Coach never liked the way hockey players practised; she thought they were pretty stuck up, thinking they were better skaters than figure skaters.

Between Bailey and me, we see something going on with her and the boys' hockey coach. They used to fight all the time over the rink and during practice, complaining that the other was too loud or was taking up too much space, but we thought it was because they just liked talking—or bantering—with each other. Maybe we weren't delusional and they actually had something going on between them because the coach I know would never give the full rink to the hockey team.

I change back into my shoes and go to the stands to watch them practise. There weren't many people there, leaving me enough room to get comfortable. I was going to be here for a while.

The boys had started with warm-up laps, the same way I do, except they did way more and focused on speed. Then, they moved on to drills, doing zig-zags fast, dodging each other, and shooting the puck.

Finn and Dylan joked around, pushing each other and falling. They seemed to be distracted the entire time, but their coach didn't care since they were good players.

On the other hand, Hayden was focused on everything his coach told him. He was taking it very seriously.

I observe as he shoots goals and never misses, unlike his sub from the other game.

They finally finish practice and play a mini-game. I sigh, ready to go home. It was exhausting watching them and not being able to do my sport, but it was also entertaining.

I giggle as Finn gets knocked down by Dylan and stays there, sprawled on the floor. He was being dramatic, but when Dylan came closer to ask if he was okay, he pushed his skates, making him fall backwards.

I fight back a laugh when their coach scolds them, pointing his finger in their faces. Sure, it was dangerous, but a little revenge never hurt anyone. It did hurt Dylan, though; he got sent to the penalty box as he rubbed his back.

Hayden looked happy to play; he hit the puck around and scored goals easily. I hope it's like this in the academy; this is like a test round. Hayden deserves to play in big matches, and I'm sure he will. They can smell talent from a mile away.

The whistle blows, and the coach dismisses his team. They quickly get changed and meet me in the car. The seating plan was the same as always, but Finn guilt-tripped Dylan into giving him the front seat, and instead of leaving a seat between us, Hayden sat right next to me.

The car ride was silent as they got dropped off at their houses. It wasn't tense or awkward silence; it was comfortable, tired-after-practice silence.

Three of the boys got dropped off, leaving Hayden, Ian, and me in the car. I couldn't help but close my eyes. It was late, it was quiet, and the motion of the car was putting me to sleep.

My head falls to the side, landing on Hayden's shoulder. I hear his soft breathing and his head lean on mine, realising he was asleep.

I smile to myself, falling asleep too.