Break the Ice
Summary: Oh, great. It was just one more thing he could do better than me. "What, ice skating? I've known how to since I was six." "Of course you have, Nagihiko. Of course."
(A/N: ATTENTION. THE AUTHOR RECOMMENDS PULLING UP YOUTUBE AND SEARCHING "MAYBE - YIRUMA" PLEASE CLICK THE FIFTH VIDEO. THE VIDEO HAS A PICTURE OF A LITTLE ANIME BOY PAINTING. PAUSE THE VIDEO AND DO NOT PLAY IT UNTIL ADVISED. :)
So it was a Saturday morning in the middle of January.
I was lying quite comfortably in my bed, reading the newest issue of my favorite gag manga, until my phone started blaring. I cursed, wondering why I had even given it a crappy ringtone in the first place.
I pushed myself off of the bed and picked up my orange phone. I pressed a button and held it to my ear irritably. "Hello?"
"Hey, Rima-tan! Did I wake you up?" Yaya.
"No, I was already awake. What do you want?" I tried to ask as nicely as possible.
"We're all going ice skating at the park!" she chirped cheerfully. "Do you wanna come?"
"Do I want to come?" I pretended to think for a long time. "No."
The sound of Yaya's whining emanated through the speaker. "But come ON, Rima-tan! You have nothing better to do, right?"
Okay, so she had a point. "Well, maybe you're right, but I still don't wanna go."
"Fine! Then Yaya's coming to your house and dragging you!"
I wasn't the least bit scared.
Now that I think back on it, I should've been.
The thunderous sound of some very loud knocking at my door almost made me fall off the couch. Groaning and mumbling nothings to myself, I turned off the TV and made my way to the door slowly.
"Who is it?" I asked as I opened the door.
As soon as I saw exactly who they were, I slammed the door shut.
"RIMA-TAN! No fair!"
"Yo, Mashiro!" More pounding. "Open up!"
"Rima, please?" Amu.
"Rima-chan, I know you're still standing in front of the door." Stupid Mr. Know-It-All Nagihiko. Creeper.
I started to walk away from the front door when I heard something turning in the doorknob. Wonderful, they were picking the lock. I had half a mind to call the police and get them all arrested. Wouldn't that be hilarious?
"I don't think you're supposed to use a paper clip." Kukai remarked.
"Use my bobby pin!" Yaya shrieked, probably ripping one out of her hair.
"It'll never work!" Amu cried hopelessly.
"Here, let me try it." Oh, here comes Nagihiko to save the day by breaking into Rima's house. This had to be illegal, right?
Leaving the four idiots-maybe five, was Tadase with them?-on my front porch, I decided to go upstairs and change. They came all this way, after all. I figured I would just sit and read my gag manga while Yaya falls on the ice on her butt.
I went through my closet and picked out a light blue turtleneck sweater-dress-type-thing with white tights and white furry boots. I poked my head out of my bedroom door and heard someone screaming. They were still trying to get into my house? Hm, good luck.
After changing, I placed a lavender headband with a tiny bow into my hair. As I made my way downstairs, I heard something click. I blinked, my golden eyes getting huge. The door was thrust open and Yaya flew at me-literally.
The girl jumped like fifteen feet into the air and tackled me. It was inhuman.
Then everything went black...
When I woke up, I was on someone's back. I blinked a couple of times and rested my head back on the person's back. Who knew a back could be comfortable to sleep on?
Sleep on...?
Suddenly alert, I threw my head up and looked around. I saw Yaya and Kukai a couple feet ahead, laughing noisily about something. Amu and Tadase were behind them, making small talk.
That meant the only person left who could've been piggybacking me was...
"Oh, are you finally awake, Rima-chan?" Nagihiko asked, tilting his face so I could see him.
"Yes," I grumbled. "And I'm sure this is kidnapping."
"Well, Rima-tan was being stubborn!" Yaya cried.
"Kidnapping is kidnapping." I shot back, trying to kick Nagihiko.
He chuckled. "Don't worry, we're almost there."
"You don't have to CARRY me!" I protested, feeling my face redden. I was pretty sure it wasn't from the cold. A couple walking past our group smiled at me. I wanted to puke.
I hated winter.
"There's the park!" Kukai announced, pointing up ahead.
The trees were all bare, and there was no sign of green grass or any plant life. What used to be rolling green hills were now snow hills. Little kids with sleds were sledding with their friends down tiny hills and teens were daring each other to go down the big hills.
My eyes looked over to a different part of the park. The huge lake in the center of the park always froze over this time of year. There were tons of people on the rink, which made me feel relieved. If I fell, not as many people would notice.
"Why is there a stage over there?" Amu asked to no one in particular.
She was right; a stage had been set up right behind the ice rink. There were lots of stage crew setting up speakers and microphones.
"Maybe there's some kind of performance?" Tadase suggested.
I was wondering why I felt so relaxed. Then I remembered.
"You can let me down now," I mumbled to Nagihiko.
"Oh, sorry." he let go of me carefully and I slid to the floor. He smiled teasingly. "Don't I get a word of thanks?"
"Nope," As I walked over to Amu, I swear I could just hear him smiling behind me.
It turns out there was no place to rent ice skates. How pathetic. Everyone had brought their own pair, except for me. I never even owned a pair in my life. Unfortunately, Yaya had an extra pair "just in case" for me.
After four failed attempts at putting on a stupid pair of skates, Amu had to help me. At least it wasn't Nagihiko who helped. He was talking to Kukai about something. Weirdos.
"Who's ready to ice skate?" Yaya cheered, putting a fist in the air.
Everyone cheered back in response, minus me. I felt like the odd one out, since I didn't how to ice skate. The others all raced each other to the rink. Ugh, I'd be sitting here all alone. Boring.
Yaya was surprisingly, a really good ice skater. Other ice skaters watched in awe as Yaya seemed to be performing. I guess when you're a ballerina you're somewhat of a figure skater too.
Amu wobbled a lot, which made me smile. Tadase held her hand, causing Amu to turn extremely red. Gross.
Nagihiko was perfect. He used his fancy dancing to look good on the ice, not that I'm saying he looked good, because he didn't. Oddly enough, girls fawned over him. Another thing that was gross.
He caught me staring at him and frowned, like he was wondering why I wasn't there with everyone. I was happy on my bench, thank you very much, Crossdresser.
Oh, I was right. He was coming over.
"How'd you do that?" I asked when he was in front of me.
"What, ice skating? I've known how to since I was six." he stared at me like that was obvious.
"Of course you have, Nagihiko. Of course." I had to use all of my willpower to not roll my eyes. One day, they would get stuck, so I had been trying not to do it as much.
Nagihiko smiled at me-this kid has a bizarre thing with smiling-and grabbed my hand. Before I had time to yell, kick, scream, or call my mother, he dragged me along with him. I knew I shouldn't have gotten up this morning.
Soon, we were on the ice, and I wasn't falling. That was probably only because Nagihiko was pulling me along. He stopped right in the middle of the rink and I almost fell flat on my butt in front of a bunch of strangers. Nagihiko grabbed my shoulders and steadied me.
Wow, it must have been really cold that day, because my cheeks couldn't have been pinker.
"So, let's teach you how to ice skate." Nagihiko did a little three-sixty action as he said that.
"I don't need to know how to." I pointed out, folding my arms.
"But I bet you want to know how to," he countered. "It's really easy. You'll get the hang of it, trust me."
Fate hated me.
"Here," Nagihiko held out his hand, as if he expected me to take it.
"Yes?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.
He laughed. "Take my hand."
"Why would I do that?" I scrunched up my nose like the thought of doing that was petrifying.
"Because if you don't, you'll fall on your butt for everyone to see." he smiled, and I thought I saw a hint of a smirk.
Reluctantly, I took his large hand in my petite one. Step-by-step, he showed me how to first walk on the ice in skates. That was the easy part; I only fell twice and Nagihiko came crashing down with me both times.
Then we moved on to the actual ice skating. It seemed impossible. You had to push yourself off and glide, moving both feet in rhythm, left, right, left, right. Oh, that didn't take long at all. Yeah, right.
Nagihiko left me by myself a few hours later to get some food. I was starved; it had been five long hours. I was covered in a layer of cold sweat. Another thing to add to my "Gross" list.
I turned and saw Amu, Yaya, Kukai, and Tadase sitting on a long bench on the sidelines. They were pigging out on red bean buns, onigiri, and possibly French fries.
"RIMA-TAN!" Yaya waved with her entire arm.
I managed to smile weakly and wave in return. Gosh, I was so hungry, I could eat a horse. Theoretically, of course. I've heard that horse meat isn't the most delicious thing ever.
I looked around for Nagihiko; where did they even sell food? Stupid parks.
"Move it, kid!" a really buff guy roared, skating past me in a flurry. I almost fell face-first onto the cold, hard ice when a pair of familiar arms caught me.
"How rude of him," Nagihiko stated, glaring slightly at the oversized teenager.
"Thanks," I mumbled, clearly embarrassed.
"Don't mention it, Rima-chan." he smiled brightly at me, probably glad that I had acknowledged him. "You just owe me a parfait."
"In your messed up dreams, Nagihiko."
Food tastes so good when you've skipped breakfast. I took a big sip of my hot cocoa and shoveled a large scoop of vanilla ice cream into my mouth.
"You actually eat ice cream in the winter?" Nagihiko raised an eyebrow, amused.
"You actually don't fly south for the winter?" I shot back cleverly.
"Funny, Rima-chan."
At that moment, someone's phone went off with an earsplitting beeping noise.
"Kukai, shut your phone off!" Yaya complained, pressing her hands to her earmuffs on her ears.
"Alright, alright." Kukai took out his cell phone and answered. "Hello?" he frowned. "Yeah. Why? Wait, how did you know?"
"Who is it?" Amu asked, interested.
Suddenly, a devious smile was plastered on Kukai's face. "Got it. Later."
"What was that about?" Nagihiko questioned.
"Who was it, Kukai?" Yaya kept smacking him on the arm uselessly.
"I'll tell you guys over there." Kukai gestured to a large tree by the stage.
"Why? What's-?" Tadase began.
"FULL SPEED DASH!" Kukai shouted, pushing Yaya, Amu, and Tadase toward the tree.
"What about us?" I called after him. How could he forget me? Was it because I was short?
I looked to Nagihiko for guidance, but he just shrugged.
"Irks," I grumbled, munching on a fry.
"UTAU-CHAN!" Yaya glomped Utau excitedly.
Utau smiled and put a finger to her lips. "We don't want Nagihiko and Rima hearing us, do we?"
Kukai nodded and his eyes twinkled deviously. "So how are we gonna do this?"
"Wait, I don't even know what's going on!" Amu flailed her arms up and down to prove her point. "What's the plan?"
"What is the plan even for?" Tadase asked, a bit confused.
Yaya groaned. "Isn't it SO obvious by now?"
"Umm," Amu frowned. "No?"
"Goodness. Dense people." Yaya pouted.
Kukai and Utau laughed in unison at the irony.
"Okay, okay, shhh!" Utau quieted everyone down. "Let's start from the beginning."
"A beginning would be good." Amu mumbled.
Utau nodded. "So the reason I'm here is because I'm performing." the singer pointed to the stage behind her. Kukai and Yaya added to the effect by gesturing with a grand motion.
"And?" Amu persisted.
"I've been watching your friend Rima trying to learn how to ice skate." Utau sighed dramatically at this point. She pretended to be interested in a nearby shrub.
"Yeah, no offense, but Rima-tan's terrible!" Yaya giggled.
"She's trying at least." Amu smiled unsurely. "And it's not fair for you to say that because you're some Olympic figure skater!"
Yaya frowned and pouted again. "Yaya's not a figure skater!"
"Never gonna be," Kukai grinned playfully.
Yaya and Utau both hit one of Kukai's arms simultaneously.
"Ow! I'm sorry, I'll shut up!"
"That better teach you to be mean to little sisters." Utau smirked, fist-bumping with Yaya.
"The plan?" Tadase coughed.
"Oh, right." Utau turned her attention back to Amu and Tadase. "Let's just say, things are about to get pretty intense."
Amu and Tadase leaned closer as Utau whispered the plan. Yaya giggled giddily and everyone had to bribe her with food to make sure she would keep her mouth shut...until after the plan, of course.
"I like it," Kukai approved, nodding.
"Thanks, I'm a genius." Utau smiled, proud of her work.
"Let's do this!" Yaya pumped her fist in the air wildly. She thrust her hand in the middle of the group.
All she received were blank stares.
"Guys, you're supposed to put your hands in!" Yaya sighed, exasperated. "Yaya saw it in a movie once!"
"Oh...!"
"Why didn't you say so?"
"Makes sense, I guess..."
"Okay then..."
"One, two, three-!" Yaya stopped abruptly mid-count.
"What's wrong?" Kukai inquired, nudging her.
"Yaya's not sure what to say after that...we need some sort of word or phrase!" Yaya snapped her fingers.
"How about...?" Utau tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Operation: Break The Ice?"
"Sounds cool!" Amu agreed.
"Works for me," Kukai shrugged.
"Me too," Tadase said.
"It's perfect!" Yaya added. "Let's go! OPERATION: BREAK THE ICE!"
"You didn't need to say it all loud so Fujisaki and Mashiro could possibly hear..."
"Oh, whoops. I hope they didn't hear."
"Did you hear something?" Rima asked Nagihiko quietly.
"Sort of," Nagihiko narrowed his eyes. "Something about making the rice?"
Rima's eyes softened and she almost let laughter escape from her lips. "That definitely can't be it."
"Hey, you were about to laugh." Nagihiko pointed out with a smile.
"No, I didn't." the blonde denied, glaring.
"Sure, Rima-chan."
Rima muttered something incomprehensible under her breath and stood up. "Let's keep practicing."
Nagihiko looked surprised. "You want to?"
"Well, I have to learn sometime. And I don't see anyone else around to teach me." Rima said matter-of-factly and a little begrudgingly.
"Speaking of everyone..." Nagihiko scanned his eyes through the crowded park. "Where are they?"
"Who knows," Rima sighed. "Who cares? Teach me." Rima tugged at Nagihiko's coat.
"What's the magic word?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Now."
"Actually, the magic word was mango, but I'll teach you because you're cute." Nagihiko walked up ahead and glided onto the rink magically.
"Wait, come get me!" Rima called after him.
Nagihiko turned around and stared in slight confusion. "I thought you could walk on the ice!"
"Barely," Rima uttered quietly to herself.
"What was that?" Nagihiko asked.
Rima shook her head. "Nothing."
"Oh," he shrugged.
"Aren't you gonna come get me?"
A laugh escaped Nagihiko's lips as he made his way back over to the feisty blonde. "Sorry. Here," he offered his hand.
Rima took it this time, without hesitation. He was her support, the thing that kept her from crashing and burning. As much as she didn't want to admit it-in her head,-she relied on Nagihiko.
Now I'm talking to myself in my own mind. I've officially lost it. Rima frowned.
"You okay?" Nagihiko stared at Rima with a hint of worry in his eyes.
"Fine," Rima replied, wondering why the heck he even cared.
As he guided her towards the chunk of frozen death, Rima squinted at the stage and thought she saw Yaya peeking out from backstage. Was she spying on them? And what was she doing backstage?
Something's up, Rima concluded. Oh, here I am. Talking to myself again.
Nagihiko skated a couple feet away and gave Rima a look that said, "Watch me." Rima rolled her eyes at his slight arrogance.
He glided around the rink a few times and built up speed. He twirled into the middle of the rink. Rima's eyes got big as she watched Nagihiko dance on ice.
There's no way I can do that. Rima told herself, rubbing her hands together to stay warm.
Nagihiko came sliding back to Rima and raised an eyebrow. "Did you get that?"
"Huh?" Rima frowned. "No."
"It's just like walking, except you have to push yourself to glide around. Once you build up speed, you just kind of relax and go from there." Nagihiko explained patiently.
"I can't do it," Rima insisted. "There's no point in trying to anymore."
"Sure there is," Nagihiko said reassuringly. "You have to try."
Rima shook her head stubbornly, making her curls bounce a little. "No."
Nagihiko smirked. "You want me to carry you over there?"
"No thanks, I'll walk." Rima steeled her nerves and teetered over to the middle of the rink. "How's that?" she gritted her teeth and smiled sweetly at Nagihiko.
"Perfect; you're doing great!" Nagihiko pretended to applaud.
Rima rolled her eyes, forgetting the fact that her eyeballs would get stuck.
Just then, the other ice skaters cleared the way, leaving the rink.
"What's going on?" Rima turned her head to look back at Nagihiko, who was already right behind her. She blushed at the close proximity. "Umm..."
Nagihiko scooted back a bit, laughing awkwardly. "Sorry. Why did everyone leave?"
"Good question; let me get back to you on that."
The sound of feedback from a microphone squealed. Rima and Nagihiko cringed. Soft piano music began playing from the speakers. (*A/N: Now would be a good time to play the music I recommended at the beginning. I suggest reading a slower at this part.)
"What is this?" Nagihiko wondered aloud.
"Music," Rima answered blatantly.
She began experimenting by moving her feet back and forth, left, right, left, right. Rima pushed herself off and felt her body gliding on the ice. A small gasp emanated from her lips.
"You're actually doing it!" Nagihiko's face broke into a grin as he skated over to Rima.
Rima tilted her head back and smiled at Nagihiko. "I did-!"
"Gotcha," Nagihiko caught Rima by the waist just as she was about to collapse. He spun her twice in time to the music and watched Rima slide away in the opposite direction, looking about as graceful as she ever would.
"Stop doing that," Rima scowled.
"What? Saving you from cracking your head?" Nagihiko gave her a funny look.
Rima sighed irritably. "Never mind."
They skated in sync, their feet moving together to the rhythm. Rima had a small smile plastered to her face. She felt like she was floating; it was an incredible sensation that she couldn't describe. The chilly air blew in Rima's face as she skated, but she didn't mind. She pushed on, forgetting all of her troubles for the moment.
Nagihiko smiled as he skated alongside Rima. She was smiling to herself, a rare sight indeed.
"Do you mind?" he took Rima's hand and led her in a big circle around the ice.
"I didn't answer, you know."
"I know."
Rima was suddenly being twirled continuously. Nagihiko let go of her hand and watched her spin around and around. She had no control and Nagihiko laughed.
"This...isn't...funny..." Rima grabbed Nagihiko's hand just as she was descending. The two of them fell on to the ice simultaneously with a soft thud.
"Ouch," Nagihiko murmured, rubbing his elbow. "That wasn't nice, Rima-chan."
"You're the one who spun me. Idiot." Rima straightened out her dress. She stood up and stuck out her hand. "Just get up already."
"Sure thing," Nagihiko responded casually, reaching for her small hand slowly. He enveloped his warm hand in hers and yanked hard.
"Jerk!" Rima growled as she tumbled down.
Crack!
"...Is ice supposed to make that sound?"
"Not usually, unless it's breaking..." Nagihiko answered.
"You are really, really stupid, you know that?"
With a huge splash, the two dove feet-first into the icy waters.
"C-C-Cold..."
"It's freezing water, Rima-chan."
"Shut up." Rima scooped up a small handful of water and threw it in Nagihiko's face. She smiled gleefully as he glared, water dripping down his face.
Nagihiko smirked, using his hand to splash water on to Rima's face. "Feeling cold yet?"
"You're gonna regret getting my hair wet, Fujisaki."
"I can't see, I can't see! Move, Kukai!"
"...OW! Why would you push me into a pine tree?"
"Shush! You're gonna blow our cover."
"Help me up, Utau!"
"I think it's already been blown."
"What makes you say that, Tadase-kun?"
"Well, Mashiro-san and Fujisaki-kun are walking towards us."
"Eeeeep!"
"...OWW!"
"Oops! Sorry, Kukai! I didn't mean to shove you into a shrub!"
First of all, this is my crap-tastic present to everyone. :) Yes, yes, sorry for the crappiness, but it's all I could muster up in a couple of days. I'm not sure if anyone's ever written an ice skating story in the Shugo Chara archive. Anyways, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Have a wonderful whatever-you-celebrate. Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or maybe something else.
Second, I hope the music sort of fit. If you guys read at the right pace, it should've worked. I don't know; I thought it would be a lot better with music. Yiruma is awesome. Just puttin' that out there.
Third, the point of view switches a bit from time-to-time. It sometimes changes from first person (Rima's point of view) to third person, like when the others are talking to Utau away from Rima and Nagihiko. Hope that wasn't confusing. It shouldn't have been anyway...
Sorry for any mistakes, my eyes are not very good with looking over my own work. -_- Hopefully, you guys enjoy this story even though it's not the GREATEST present in the world. You'll forgive me, right? :]
The next chapter of Writing For Dummies will be either by the end of the year or the beginning of the new year. Probably the latter, since I'll be so occupied with my Christmas presents. Hehe.
HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY! :D
-Sky