A/N: Hey there! This is a chapter I had half-ready for quite a while now. ^_^' One of the guests who reviewed said they'd like an "awkward first date fic," and this one's for you! Thanks again for your patience. I have an idea deficiency, so please continue to request scenes and I can get them on here much faster! Enjoy!
On Thin Ice
Dear Jeff,
Meet me outside the school gates at five this evening. I have a surprise for you to kick off our winter break! Be sure the principal doesn't see you; we're not allowed to leave the building until tomorrow. See you there!
Your friend, Tony
I stared at the letter in my hand, admiring Tony's neat—if feminine—cursive penmanship. It had been folded underneath the doorway of our room. Tony wasn't here, and neither was any sign of him; I checked the clock and realized why—it was nearly five PM. I tossed my backpack onto my bed (my classes ran late today) along with the textbook I had been holding, reading the letter over again.
What preparations did this event require? I really didn't feel like changing, and nothing I owned seemed to be worth bringing along. I didn't even know where we were headed, so I dug into the closet and tucked my Death Ray into my pocket—just in case. I threw on a jacket and scarf for good measure, took the dorm key from the doorknob, and shut the door behind me, knowing Tony would have a fit if I was late.
I rounded the corners of the wide hallways and made my way to the main entrance. No students were here at this hour, probably because dinner would be served soon in the cafeteria. I was able to slip out with more ease than I had imagined, which was a relief.
As I stepped outside, the harsh winter air bit at my cheeks; already I felt my nose freeze. Immediately my lenses fogged up and I sighed, irritated. Shutting the door carefully behind me, I shuffled through the 6 inches of snow and walked toward the gate, where Tony was presently standing, waving. He was only a blur through my fogged lenses.
"Hi Jeff!" he said when I reached him. "Right on time you are."
"Hey Tony," I greeted. "Cold, isn't it?" I removed my specs and proceeded to clean them, but Tony took them from my hands.
"Allow me," he said happily, producing a handkerchief from his pocket and gently scrubbing the lenses in neat little swirls.
"Th-thanks," I chuckled awkwardly. Tony was always eager to clean my glasses. I didn't really know why, but I guess that was the way he was—always nice, always wanting to help. It was kind of sweet, but...a little much, at times.
"There!" He beamed, his classic smile touching his eyes. "All clean, just for Jeff." He carefully handed the specs back to me with both hands, and I accepted them. I smiled gently, putting them back on. He was much clearer now, and—truth be told—even my vision was more clear than it had been in a while. I always found it odd how Tony didn't wear glasses himself, but owned a cloth that cleaned them better than I could. Or, well, maybe I should just stop using my shirt.
"What do you have in store for us today?" I asked him.
Tony's smile grew. "You'll see!" he said. "You're ready to go, right?" Before I could answer, his mittened hand grabbed mine and we hurried off—well, Tony hurried off. I was being rather dragged.
"Easy, Tony," I said. My breath was visible in the thin air. "You're going to tear my hand off."
"Sorry," he said, slowing down a bit. He glanced back at me, still jogging. "I'm just so excited!"
I chuckled under my breath, the snow crunching loudly beneath our boots. "As always."
For about fifteen minutes we trudged through the thickening snow. My hand began to cramp thanks to Tony's strong grip, and I had to politely ask him to release it, lest I lose precious circulation. I was about to ask where we were headed again when he stopped and held out his arm.
"Here we are," he announced, slightly out of breath from our trek.
"What is this place?" I asked my host, glancing around the place Tony had led us.
Tony grinned again. "Just my little secret spot," he answered. "But I'm willing to share it just this once."
We stood in the middle of a forest clearing, where the trees wore coats of snow and the ground was pure white. A few steps in was a glistening sheet of ice, tinted a subtle blue, that stretched throughout the clearing. Perhaps it had been a pond in warmer days, but the land of Winters had not seen such times in decades. Here, hidden away beneath the snowy trees that hung lazily over it, I realized at last what Tony saw in this place: an ice rink. He ran to a nearby tree and returned with two pairs of ice skates, which had been resting against its trunk.
"How's this for celebrating winter break?" he said excitedly. He handed me a pair of blades, which I did not accept right away.
I felt guilty as I mumbled uncertainly, "I dunno, I'm not much of a skater."
"Really?" he said in disbelief, lowering the skates. "But you're good at everything."
I tried a smile, feeling my cheeks burn red. "Not skating."
"Well then," said Tony, "I'll just have to teach you." He bent down where the snow was thinner and tied on his own pair. "Come on. Tie yours up and then I'll help you." He joined the laces of his old boots together and put them on the side. Reluctantly I took the blades and tried my best to tie them, but the laces kept coming loose; when I took off my gloves to make things easier, I was able to properly tighten them, but now I had a case of possible frostbite.
"Yeesh," chuckled Tony from behind me. "Having trouble?"
"N-no," I muttered, finally tying a bow on my right skate. But something else didn't feel right. It was especially hard to balance, and sure, I was standing on a thin metal blade, but-
"You've got it on the wrong foot, Jeff," said my friend lightly. By now I was certain my cheeks were red.
"O-oh," I said, trying a laugh. "So that's why it felt so weird."
"The master of quantum physics," he teased, "but can't figure out which skate goes where?" He smiled softly. "Just let me do it," he suggested, bending down and undoing the damage I'd caused.
"No, Tony," I assured him, "I'll fix it. You're gonna get snow on your pants."
"We live in Winters," he pointed out with a chuckle, "I've had snow on my pants since my first time wearing them." He took off the skate and motioned for me to give him my other foot. When it was on correctly, he expertly tied it in what felt like merely seconds. Before I knew it the other one was on as well, and I was off-balance more quickly than Tony could stand all the way up. Desperately I grabbed his small shoulders to steady myself.
"Whoa, are you all right?" he asked, his arms awkwardly wrapped around my back. His knees almost caved under my weight, and he gently pushed me back a bit and gripped my arms, which were now pinned stiffly at my sides.
I managed a nod. "I'm fine..."
Tony smiled again. "Let's get practicing, shall we?" He walked slowly next to me, demonstrating the most efficient way to move through the snow on ice skates. As we approached the frozen pond, my heart began to thud irregularly within my chest. Tony and I were close, but I wasn't quite ready to thoroughly embarrass myself in front of him. ...Again.
"Don't be scared," Tony coaxed, as if he could read my thoughts. "I'm right here." He offered his hand and I took it gratefully, feeling about to slip before I even stepped onto the ice.
"Easy," he cooed again, moving onto the makeshift rink with ease. He carefully pulled me along with him, and the sudden change in traction beneath me was enough to trigger a spike of panic.
"Ack," I said, flailing around my free arm in distress.
"That's not 'easy,'" chuckled Tony, stilling my flapping arm with his hand. He was now behind me, both hands by my elbows. I could feel his breath from an opening in my scarf around my neck. I shivered, and not from the cold.
"Now," he began, pushing off with his foot and sending me gliding along with him, "I want you to do long, even strokes. Slowly. And bend your knees a bit. Got it?"
I nodded again, bringing a wobbly foot in front and placing it on the ice again. I bent my knees and pushed gently, nervous out of my wits.
"That's it!" praised Tony. "Now with the other foot, and this time with a little more oomph." He released me ever so slightly, still ready to catch me if I made a mistake. I did as he instructed, and successfully skated in a straight line.
"I'm doing it!" I said excitedly, turning my head around to smile at him. By doing so I immediately lost balance, and he gripped my sides to steady me. I tensed at his firm touch, but at the same time I gave in, letting him keep me standing.
I was facing him now as he pushed us gently along. "Excellent job, Jeff," he told me, snowflakes catching at the edges of his hair. "Of course, you're a fast learner." We were still sliding along the ice, pressed against each other. His chocolate eyes locked on mine, and for a minute I couldn't focus on anything else. Then something snapped me back to reality and I remembered I still wasn't all that good at this.
"Uh, Tony?" I said, glancing behind me to confirm we weren't about to crash into a nearby tree.
"Yes?" he asked brightly.
I swallowed. "What else is there to learn?"
"Oh!" he exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. "Careless me. You need to learn to turn, but you should practice staying balanced for a little while more." He spun me around to face forward again and gave me a few more pointers. After we rounded the pond a few times, Tony declared it was time for me to turn on my own—without his hand to guide and steady me. He taught me to curve gently around the rink—there was no need to learn sharp turns just yet.
"Point slightly with your inner foot," he told me. "Then pivot your body to where you want to go."
In the next few rounds I had mastered this method, since the pond was spread widely and allowed extra space for mistakes. Tony clapped proudly when I performed my turns correctly. Feeling a bit confident, I tried to gain some speed—like riding a bike, I noticed, ice skating was easier when you were going faster. Unfortunately I met the edge of the rink too quickly and had to make a turn right away, lest I slam into a nearby tree.
"Gyah! Watch out!" I exclaimed. I had turned too sharply and was about to crash into Tony, who held his arms out to steady me. It was of no use, though. I tore into his chest and he collapsed beneath me, falling into a pile of snow with a strangled "Oof!"
"Sorry," I mumbled, slightly disoriented. "I told you I wasn't very good."
Tony shook his head, a few snowflakes caught on his eyelashes. "No, you were great," he said with a weak smile. "My greatest pupil, in fact."
"Your only pupil," I corrected.
He chuckled. "Maybe so, but still." It may have been the frosty air, but I noticed Tony's cheeks were beet red. And then I realized mine also were, and concluded it was not from the cold. We were inches from each other, our pulses exploding in our cheeks.
"I guess I should've taught you how to stop, huh?" said Tony.
I shrugged. "That's okay. I'm stopped now." I took a shaky breath, realizing I was still on top of him. "Are you okay?" I whispered.
He nodded. "Just perfect."
I brushed some snow from his forehead and he smiled bashfully. He tightened his grip on my back, pulling me a little closer. My heart was pounding so violently I heard it in my ears.
"I need to tell you something," Tony murmured. I couldn't speak, just nodded okay. He hesitated, his eyes glancing at something above us, then back at me again. "Um," he said quietly, unsure of where to begin. Then, as quickly as the topic came, he shook it away. "Never mind," he said, a little louder this time. "We should get going. We don't want them closing the doors on us back at the school."
I wanted to ask what he needed to say, but knew better than to pressure Tony into doing something. He was a sensitive kid, and couldn't handle well under stress.
"You're right," I said instead, removing myself from him and checking my watch. "Dinner's already over by now." Tony got up and dusted the snow off his pants and backside, and I did the same.
But I couldn't let it go just yet. "That thing you have to tell me," I said, "is it important?"
For a moment Tony looked as though he wasn't sure what I was talking about. Then, all traces of his reddened cheeks gone, he smiled.
"Oh, it's nothing," he assured me. "Don't worry about it, Jeff."
"All right," I said uncertainly. As I untied my skates I thought about the way his expression changed—how his eyes were wrought with worry and hesitation. I had never seen Tony that way before, and it made me wonder how well I truly knew my best friend.
We took our time on our walk back to Snow Wood. Walking felt weird after we spent so much time skating and, ironically, I almost felt more off-balance in my flat shoes than on the blades. I brought this up to Tony, who laughed and waved a dismissive hand.
"You get used to it," he told me. "Even I feel that way sometimes." He reached out his hand to brush the snowy trunk of a tree, rubbing the snow between his mittened hands.
"You know," he said, "having a secret place is a lot more fun when you can share it with somebody."
I smiled at that. "Thanks for showing me. I never would've guessed you'd escape there sometimes."
"Well, I did mean to show you someday," he said brightly. "Why else would I keep another pair of skates there?"
I thought about that and smiled again, my cheeks going hot again. I glanced over at Tony, who wore the same pair of rosy cheeks. He opened the gate for me when we got back to the school, and I wondered briefly if what he had to tell me was the same thing I wanted to tell him.
