A/N: I honestly wish I could have been able to respond to all of you from the last chapter's reviews. Really, I do. They were all wonderful. As it stands, I hope this one helps you guys out at least a little bit... It probably won't, but a writer can hope!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of money making ability. I seriously wish I did.
Chapter 25
Ivy's eyes narrow at the computer screen in front of her as she looks over her article one more time before submitting it to her editor. It may not necessarily be her job to check over spelling and grammatical errors, but she still wants to provide a concise, well written, and error free article before it gets looked over by someone else. She considers it a matter of pride.
The October issue of the magazine is focused on the old pagan Samhain traditions and how it evolved from its beginnings into All Hallows Eve to what is celebrated now in America and the different traditions around the world. Ivy was given the task of researching the old lore about jack-o'-lanterns and what their purpose was to the tradition. She grins at her current lay out, with the pictures added to it to give the black page an even more sinister look. Halloween may not be her favorite holiday—mainly because she scares easily—but it doesn't mean that she doesn't find it enjoyable for the most part. Dressing up and handing out candy to the kids really is the best part.
A head slowly pokes above the wall of her cubicle, a flashlight held under her chin to create some dramatic effect. Ivy's eyes dart up to stare at the face of her best friend, shaking her head at her. "If you're trying to be scary, it's not working," she points out.
"Nah, just getting into the holiday spirit!" Ashley chirps, clicking the light off. She folds her arms on top of their dividing wall and smirks slightly at a deadpan Ivy.
"Halloween isn't for another two months, Ash," she points out. The October issue will be released next week, only two weeks into September.
"Doesn't mean we can't get into the Halloween spirit!" Ash announces. "Halloween is my favorite!"
"I know," Ivy confirms, shaking her head again before returning her focus to her completed article. She still can't get over the fact that the magazine never thought to do this before, an all Halloween edition during the spookiest time of the year. It usually stuck with its usual creepy mysteries, but to focus on Halloween and all the lore that surrounds this odd little holiday will only make their sales go through the roof.
"I know we keep saying this, but it was a good idea, Ivy," Ashley compliments, walking around their wall to come sit on one of her countertops. She giggles suddenly. "All I can picture is Fred's face after you pitched the idea to him. He was so astounded!"
"That's one way of putting it." Ivy smiles herself. She has a pretty good relationship with the older, far crazier editor. She should after working there for almost two years. He always goes to Ivy when he has a crazy project he wants her to do or to simply bounce ideas off of. It was only because of her good relationship with him that she was able to get Ashley in to the magazine as well. Ashley's been working there for almost seven months. She had been let go by the small newspaper she was working for and all Ivy had to do was hand her résumé over to Fred and he called her immediately. It took some convincing on Connor's part to get them to move to Chicago, but now they all live only a block away from each other and he managed to find a job at an art museum.
She can't help but miss her old newspaper sometimes, but Ivy is definitely more happy here than in her lonely little apartment back in Detroit. It helps having her friends so close by too.
"So," Ashley starts, leaning forward with her hands still braced on the countertop. "I heard Helena's going to be back sometime this week."
"Really?" Ivy asks excitedly, her hazel eyes growing wide. Helena is one of the two traveling writers on contract with the magazine. She travels all over the world, finding odd little places to feature in the magazine. Her articles are some of the most popular and she is definitely one of the favorites of the office. She's a little eccentric, but that could be because of the things she hunts down for a living.
Not to mention, she's probably one of Ivy's closest friends, even if she doesn't see her very often.
"Oh, I miss her," Ivy bemoans, leaning back in her leather swivel chair. "I wonder what she's discovered this time?"
"Oh, only an abandoned village in the center of Germany, no big deal."
Ivy's head snaps to the side, smiling as soon as she sees the tall woman leaning against the opening casually. "Helena!" she greets, bounding up out of her chair to give the woman a tight hug. Helena returns it readily, laughing slightly.
"Good to see you finally, Helena," Ashley greets warmly.
Ivy pulls away to take in the pale woman in front of her. For all the traveling she does, you would expect that she would have a least a slight tan, but no. Her skin is almost snow white, her ginger, waist-length hair only making it stand out just a little bit more. She's at least six feet tall, basically towering over Ivy which isn't hard to do in the first place. She has high cheekbones that frame bright blue eyes. She's dressed in dark blue skinny jeans tucked into knee-high black boots and a black long-sleeve shirt. A silver necklace on a black cord hangs around her neck. She keeps the pendant tucked underneath her shirt and Ivy's only ever seen it in passing before. But, she still can't make out what the oddly shaped pendant might be.
"What were you saying about an abandoned German village?" Ashley asks, also hugging the other woman tightly before resuming her place on Ivy's countertop.
Ivy sits back down in her chair as Helena leans against the wall, crossing her arms. "Well, I found this little article in a German newspaper about three weeks ago just after I finished my trip to Mexico. It detailed this small village that had suddenly just disappeared over night about eight years ago. No one knows what happened to any of the villagers and all of the buildings are still completely vacant, just rotting away in the wilderness. People are too afraid to enter the village, believing it was cursed by a trickster or elemental."
"Elemental?" a new voice asks, rounding the corner and standing beside Helena as she stares up at her quizzically.
"Hey, Ida," Helena greets, nodding her head.
Ida is just as small as Ivy but probably more aggressive. She's a normally kind woman but there are a few things that she will be forceful about and one of those happens to be her friends. She has long strawberry blonde hair that falls to her waist. It's currently tied back into a tight braid trailing down her back. Her brown eyes are warm and inviting. While the two typically get along, the majority of the inner-office fights actually come from Helena and Ida. Their personalities are just so different. Ivy has the pleasure of being good friends to both women, so she is usually hearing about their legendary arguments from both sides and doing her best to stay out of it.
"An elemental is basically a nature spirit," Ivy offers as an explanation. She happened to do a pretty thorough article on the odd little sprites about a year ago. "They're often depicted as playful but vicious if you harm their home. You would probably recognize their more famous brethren from the British Isles."
"Also known as the fey or fairies," Ashley contributes. Their attention swivels back to Helena as Ida chooses to stick around to hear the story. "So the locals think a vengeful spirit just, what? Made an entire village disappear? To where?"
Helena shrugs. "It's all just speculation. Some aren't convinced that it was an elemental at all. All they will say is that the village worshiped a trickster and that they probably angered it in some way. They won't even mention where they might have been taken to."
"Trickster?" Ivy questions. "What kind of trickster? Any creature or spirit can be called a trickster. You're basically stuck with a range from an angry ghost, to poltergeist, to a pagan god."
Helena simply shrugs, grinning slightly. Ivy watches her quietly for a moment, letting the sparse information sink in. For some reason, this story sounds all too familiar. However, she's positive she has never heard about a German village that just ups and disappears. Plenty of old stories and myths about those types of occurrences? Sure. But not anything modern. Maybe it was a fictional book she read once upon a time?
"You've certainly learned a lot since you started here, Ivy."
Ivy's eyes jump up from her lap to regard the man leaning over her cubicle wall. He's another writer of the magazine and the office heartthrob. "Hey, Michael," the other girls greet very warmly. They all have varying states of flirtatious smiles and Ivy can't help but roll her eyes at all of them. Ida and Ashley are both married. Helena is the only one out of them that can flirt with him so openly.
Not that any of their advances work on him anyway.
"Hi, Michael," Ivy greets, giving him a friendly smile. To say that the man isn't gorgeous would be a lie and something she noticed pretty much since her first day at the magazine two years ago. He's just an inch or two shorter than Helena but still manages to tower over herself. He has dark brown hair with caramel highlights that only show under the light. He has dark brown eyes with slightly tanned skin. It's clear he's at least athletic under his three-piece suit and he has a smile that could melt any girl's ovaries.
The girls all look over to Ivy in what they think is an inconspicuous way, but couldn't be more obvious. Michael has made it very much known that he fancies her and she agreed to go on a couple dates with him, only to get Ashley to stop nagging her. He's just as much of a nice guy outside of work as he is in the office. He's got a good sense of humor and can keep a conversation going when she seems to stall. He's also been a perfect gentleman each time they've gone out and seems to be genuinely interested in her skating. Any girl would be a fool not to want to date him.
He's just… missing something.
She wishes she could say it was just him. Unfortunately, he's not the first guy that she's dated in the past couple years and none of them have made it past the third date. Granted, Michael's only the fourth guy she's tried to create something with, but each one of them were just lacking… something. She still can't put it into words. Nor can she figure out what that something is. Every time she brings it up with Ashley, she simply tells her that she's not allowing herself to let go and have a good time. She's not allowing the connection to happen.
Ivy can't help but agree. And disagree. It's not like she's purposely keeping them at arm's length. Hell, an argument can be made that she isn't doing that at all. She knows she's attracted to Michael—anybody who says they aren't is a fool. And he's genuinely nice and interesting. However, she just doesn't feel much more than friendship towards him.
She sometimes wishes her grandma was still alive just so she could call her up and ask what the hell she should do. She has another date with Michael set up for the following Friday. Actually, it's supposed to be a double date with Ashley and Connor. Michael will be the first one to make it to the fifth date. She keeps thinking that she needs to break it off before he gets too invested in this, but she keeps putting it off. After all, he is a nice guy. And, well, let's face it. She's not getting any younger.
It's a constant source of aggravation for her friends that she seems so disinterested in all the guy's that she has tried to date in the past. Helena never says too much on the matter, other than to follow her heart and as long as Ivy is happy, she's happy. Ida usually follows the same vein, but she definitely wants Ivy to put herself out there more. Ashley is still bound and determined for her to "get laid," as her friend likes to eloquently put it. As much as Ivy hates to admit it, her curiosity about that particular topic has grown to almost unbearable levels. She's just very good and ignoring it and keeping the truth from her best friend lest she freak out on her.
'I just wish I could figure out what you're missing,' she thinks as she watches him greet Helena back from her month long travels. He also has a very charismatic nature and can get along with just about anyone. Helena isn't hard to get along with, but she can be intimidating and downright mean if the situation calls for it. Most of the people at the magazine avoid her and only talk about her in hushed tones when she's actually in. Michael, Ida, and Ashley are the only ones besides her that doesn't treat her like she's the scariest thing in the world.
Which is another winning point for him.
"So, when's this new article of yours due, Helena?" Michael asks, resuming his spot on the divider wall.
Helena shrugs a shoulder. "I know it's not the featured article for the Halloween issue. So, probably the November issue."
Ivy blinks. "Wait. If this one is for the issue none of us have even started, does that mean that you're going to be around for more than a day?"
Helena grins wide, bowing her head. Ivy squeals in delight, bounding up to hug her friend again. The tall ginger laughs, hugging the smaller woman back. "Yeah, I'm going to be sticking around for at least a week. Can we go skating during some point?"
"Duh," Ivy says, moving back. Ashley snorts lightly and Ida shakes her head.
"Count me out, then," Ida announces, waving her hand.
"Oh, come on, Ida!" Helena groans. "I want all of us girls to go out and just skate for a while! It'll be fun!"
"No."
"I promise I won't make fun of you."
"No."
"I'll help you!"
"Ivy's all the help I need. Besides, that's when you make fun of me the most!"
"No, I don't!"
Ivy sighs as the two descend into another familiar argument, Ashley mirroring the sentiment at her side. Michael watches the two with wide eyes, blinking occasionally at some of the things they are saying to each other. Ida, while normally reserved, can give just as good as she gets and Helena does not know how to let up. 'Here's hoping they don't delve into name-calling.'
"Well, I'm going to run before I get sucked into something or become their target," Michael stage whispers to Ivy and Ashley, eyes still on the bickering women.
Ivy smiles. "Probably a wise decision," she whispers back to him.
He gives her a bright smile, leaning over the divider to place a quick kiss on her cheek. Ashley "aww's" while Ivy blushes slightly at the obvious show of affection. He grins before giving Ida and Helena a hasty farewell and retreating back to his own space on the other side of the building. Ashley decides to spend that time grinning smugly at a glaring Ivy. "You even think about teasing me right now and I will make your next skating lesson an absolute hell," Ivy threatens lowly.
Helena and Ida stutter to a stop in the middle of their argument, glancing back over at the two with wide-eyes. Ivy blinks at their odd reactions as Ashley laughs. "What?"
Helena shakes her head quickly. "Oh, nothing," she responds. "I just don't think I've ever heard you threaten someone before."
Ashley snorts. "Then you haven't been hanging out with her enough," she tells her.
"How can she?" Ida asks. "Helena's always gone."
"You trying to start something?" Helena says, cracking her knuckles.
"Okay, I think we've all had enough fighting for one day," Ivy interrupts, preventing Ida from responding. She pins Helena with a stern glare to which she gets a funny face back. She rolls her eyes, shaking her head but chooses to move on. "Did you want to go skating tonight? Ashley and I are already planning on meeting up there."
"Yeah, sounds good!" Helena takes a step back, moving out of her cubicle. "When will you guys be there?"
"I was going to meet up with Ivy at seven," Ashley announces. "I already know that she's going to be there long before I will get there."
Ivy rolls her eyes, but doesn't contradict her friend. She was already planning on getting there early if only to try and work on her jumps. For some unfathomable reason, she hasn't been able to land a triple axel jump in… well, two years. It's starting to be a severe point of aggravation for her. There is absolutely no reason for why she shouldn't be able to land it perfectly, seeing how she isn't emotionally compromised. That's the only time her skating suffers—if her emotions are running amok or if she has too much on her mind, she just can't skate right. But, seeing as nothing has been going on in her life to that extent, there's no reason for her sudden difficulty with a move she was able to pull off fairly easily once upon a time.
Okay, not always easily, but well enough.
"I'll meet you all there, then!" Helena announces. "I have to go talk to Fred about this article, then start on it, then discuss what my next assignment is, blah blah." She rolls her eyes vaguely.
Ivy smiles. "Try not to give Fred too much of a hard time, okay?"
"But that's so much fun!" Helena whines, grinning wide. She turns her blue eyes onto Ida. "And I better see you at seven!" She doesn't give Ida a chance to respond more than some slight sputtering before turning her back and walking towards the head editor's office.
"She is something else," Ida mumbles, shaking her head at the woman's retreating back.
"I'm so excited that she'll be here for a week!" Ivy says.
"I know," Ashley agrees. "That never happens."
"I wonder what's up?" Ida asks.
"You think something's up?"
She shrugs. "Like you both said, she never stays for more than a couple days to work on the article before disappearing again. I wonder if something is keeping her here for once?"
"Bet it's a guy."
"Oh my god, Ashley," Ivy bemoans, tipping her head back to stare up at the ceiling in aggravation. "Not everything is about a guy."
"Just because it's never about guy's for you," Ashley points out, making a face at her.
Ida sighs. "I doubt it's about that, but you might be right, in a way."
Ivy shrugs. "She may just want to stick around for a while. It doesn't have to be for any particular reason. Besides, there's no point in speculating. If she wants to tell us, she will."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ashley agrees, stretching her arms above her head. "I should probably get back to my article."
"Are you done with it yet?" Ida asks, grinning crookedly.
"Do I have to answer that?"
Ivy shakes her head. "The articles are due today, Ash."
"I know!"
"Then get back to work!"
"Yes, Mother!"
OoO
Ivy sits on a park bench in Millennium Park, quietly reading a book she borrowed from the library earlier that week. She comes here at least once a week for one particular reason. Other than the sunset and the peace and the chance to unwind at the end of the day. She's just wondering when her friend is going to show up. He's late today.
She turns a page in the book, her eyes jumping up to stare at the trees around her as the branches sway gently in the breeze. One bad thing about living in the city is that there just aren't enough trees and wilderness around. While she's never been one for camping or roughing it or whatever it is that people do these days, she does love forests. She loves the smell. Possibly just a primal thing that most people have, but it's always something she's enjoyed. Maybe one day she'll be able to get out of the city and find some secluded area in the country, right by a forest full of evergreens, and just live there without all the hustle and bustle and noise of the city. Maybe she could write.
She could probably make a ton of money off of the weird dreams she's been having recently.
Before she can delve too deeply into recalling her odd dreams, she hears a familiar bark from behind her and she turns her body around, her arm draping over the back of the bench. She smiles wide when she sees her odd friend sitting patiently behind her, his head cocked to the side and his tail wagging. Her friend is a grey husky stray with pale blue eyes. He was one of the first things she found when she moved to the city. Well, more like he found her. She was walking back to her car late one evening after work and this guy just flew out of an alleyway and almost ran her over. She couldn't help but be scared at first, until she noticed that he was licking her face like crazy. Ever since, he's basically been her odd little companion. She's tried to take the husky home with her so he could actually have a home and not remain a stray, but he never sticks around long enough for her to get him into her apartment.
She holds out her hand to him, which he sniffs before licking her palm. She giggles lightly. "How are you, boy?" she asks, rubbing his face and scratching behind his ears. His tongue lolls out and his eyes close in bliss. She manages to giggle right before he bounds away from her hand, runs around the bench, and jumps up onto it at her side. He watches her expectantly, his paws fidgeting slightly under him.
She rolls her eyes playfully. "I see how it is," she tells him, pulling her messenger bag onto her lap and fishing out the Tupperware container inside. "You only use me for food."
His tail wags with more force as soon as she peels the lid off. She shakes her head in amusement, placing the bowl in front of him. He immediately digs in and she decides to spend her time petting him while he consumes his meal of chicken. She always just brings him whatever she has left over from her dinner rather than bothering to get regular dog food. She always hears that you shouldn't feed dogs human food, but she really doesn't buy into that too much.
She sighs, her eyes turning back to the sky as it starts to change colors in anticipation of the coming night. "What should I do about Michael, Fen?" she asks him quietly, knowing fully well that he can't really answer her. That's probably why she likes to talk to him as much as she does. A dog is the perfect listener.
Just not so great in the advice-giving aspect.
Fen lifts his head, licking his chops in the process. He huffs at her. A second later, he bounds off the seat and runs down to the fountain in the center of the park. She collects the used up Tupperware and puts it back in her bag so she can wash it later. It doesn't take him long before he's running back to her, almost fully sprinting in order to do so. He jumps back up onto the bench and proceeds to push his eighty pound body into her lap. She laughs, pushing against him slightly as he attempts to circle around her lap before he gives up and flops down on her. "Come on, Fen! You are not a lap dog!" she laughs. He doesn't listen, simply wiggling himself further onto her lap.
She shakes her head. "You are hopeless." She gives in and scratches behind his ears just as she knows he likes it. It only takes the large dog a few moments before he wiggles onto his back, legs hanging in the air and giving her a pathetic look with those pale blue eyes. She rolls her eyes in utter amusement, rubbing his offered belly in the process. "Can I just take you home with me?"
Her only response is his tail hitting her thigh and park bench. She shakes her head, her eyes returning to the sky. She's not going to have much more time before she has to make her way to the ice rink, but she needs her time with her favorite non-human companion in order to unwind and not think for a while. Well, think and talk about what's on her mind without one of her friends "helpful" advice.
Hell, if she was to call up Ashley about the dilemma going on inside her head about Michael, she would tell her to hush and worry about what dress she was going to wear for Friday's date. Helena and Ida aren't much help either. They both acknowledge that he's a nice guy and honestly a good fit for her, but they don't help her with making a decision.
"Maybe I'm being too hard on the guy," she mutters out loud. "I mean, I don't even know what it is I'm looking for. He's nice and respectful. What else do I need?"
Fen snuffs loudly, kind of sounding like a harrumph in Ivy's opinion. She cocks an eyebrow at him. "Well, if you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it."
Fen is really the only one who knows about Michael and all of the other guys and all of her honest thoughts about her dating situation. Which probably doesn't count considering he's a dog, but the fact remains. She would love to be able to sit down with her girlfriends and be completely honest with them, but they always try to steer her in the direction of staying with Michael. She knows that they mean well. She can even acknowledge that their points are all very valid. He is a nice guy who respects her. He has a good job, a great education, and a clear future for himself. It helps that he's also completely gorgeous. She's already twenty-five and she'll be twenty-six in October. Not saying she has to rush to get married, but the clock is really starting to tick for her and it's something Ashley keeps bringing up.
Her dreams really just don't help the matter either.
Ivy groans, her head flopping back to stare straight up at the rainbow colored sky. "Why can't I figure this out? I've been worrying myself gray over this for the past two months!"
Fen shifts in her lap and she doesn't pull her head down to look at him until she feels a warm, wet tongue on her chin. She grins sadly at him, rubbing his ears fondly. "Is it worth it to stay with a guy if you're not that into him even though he's a good fit?"
Fen whines slightly, shifting his weight in her lap. She winces slightly when his paw pushes into a tender part of her thigh. She sighs. "I sometimes really wish you could talk."
That makes him bark. She giggles. "Okay, talk like a human. That might make things a little easier."
Instead of responding, Fen simply leans forward and starts bathing the side of her face. She makes a face, groaning at the sudden slimy show of affection. "Fen! That's gross!" she protests, pushing against the heavy dog's shoulders to get him to go away. He jumps off her lap and onto the ground, his tongue lolling out. If she didn't know any better, she would say he's laughing at her. She makes an annoyed face at him, resisting the need to poke her tongue out at him.
Sighing yet again, she takes a quick glance at her phone and realizes she has to leave otherwise she'll never make it to the rink in time. She pulls the strap of her messenger bag over her head before digging through it and grabbing a treat for Fen. She stands, smiling when she sees his eyes are resting solidly on the chewy item in her hand. "Can't ever get anything by you, can I?" she asks, holding the treat out to him. He immediately chomps down on it, dragging it to the ground so he can use his paws to keep it steady while he chews on it. She crouches down in front of him to mess with his ears. "I got to go, boy. I'll see you next time."
She stands fully, turning around to head back to the parking lot. She only makes it maybe ten paces before something bumps into her leg. She looks down only to find Fen walking along beside her, his treat hanging out of his mouth as he keeps up with her pace. She grins. She should have known he wasn't about to let her walk back to her car alone. He never does.
OoO
"You know, one of these days you're going to have to drag your husband out so we can meet him," Ashley states drily to Ida, keeping her arm locked around the stiff woman's own arm.
Ida huffs in a parody of a laugh. "As if he ever would. He hates this more than I do."
"That I doubt," Helena chuckles, shaking her head and skating around the two in a continuous ellipse. Ivy's skating behind them all, noticing that Helena kind of looks like a waiting shark circling its prey as Ashley helps Ida around the rink. She can't help but shake her head at her friend. It's like this every time they come to the rink together. Ida blatantly refuses until Ivy convinces her to get on the ice, Ashley offers to help and is usually successful, while Helena heckles her the entire time.
She loves every second of it.
"You know, the same could be said about Connor," Ivy points out, looking around the rink idly at the few other people skating. "He never joins us when we come here."
Ashley waves her hand dismissively. "He's just a wuss."
"Or he hates it when you make fun of him."
Ashley tips her head back to stare up at the ceiling and the bright lights hanging from the rafters. "Okay, that might be it, yeah."
Helena laughs while Ivy just shakes her head. Honestly. The song changes and Helena lets out a loud woo at the change. Ivy grins with her. The woman is a huge pop fan, which is mildly surprising. She's very much aware of what's popular and should a song come on that she adores, she skates off to dance around the rink. At the moment, it seems her favorite of the moment is a Cee Lo Green song. Helena smirks at her in mild challenge before breaking the circle and skating off.
Ivy skates forward to squeeze Ida's arm. "You're doing good. Just keep following Ashley's lead."
The woman huffs, staring down at her feet. "I'll never get the hang of this."
Ivy giggles lightly before Ashley waves her off. Ivy nods and glides forward, picking up momentum to catch the woman who is now way ahead of her. She throws in a few bunny hops to the beat of the song once she makes it around the bend, trying to loosen up a little bit. While her practice before the rest of the girl's showed up was nice, it wasn't nearly long enough. And she still wasn't able to land an axel and she's starting to wonder if it's a move that she just isn't going to be able to do anymore.
She catches up to the far taller woman, linking her arm with hers and forcing the both of them a little faster before they both glide to a somewhat slower pace. "It never takes you long to catch up with me," Helena comments, grinning down at her.
"Psh," Ivy responds, waving her hand. "If I couldn't keep up with you, Helena, something is seriously wrong."
"Damn straight."
The two move around the rink, only breaking away when Helena feels the need to start bouncing from foot to foot in beat with the song. Ivy simply watches and laughs at the other woman's unrestrained glee. It's not often she gets to see her friend let loose and just be herself and have a good time.
"Why don't you ever dance with me, Ivy?" she asks suddenly, turning around and skating backwards in front of Ivy.
She shrugs. "I'm just not into this kind of music. If I'm skating, I prefer classical." Helena mimics gagging, sticking a finger into her mouth. Ivy rolls her eyes. "I can't help it, you know! It's what I had to use for my routines!"
"Yeah yeah, boring!"
Ivy gives her an unimpressed look, crossing her arms. "I'll have you know, I can do far more than just shake my butt and swing my arms across this ice."
"Like what?" Helena challenges. "And don't tell me your typical spins and jumps because I've already seen all of those. What dance moves can you do?"
Ivy grins. "I can do the can-can."
"You cannot."
Ivy smirks. "I once had to do a routine to that song and for a part of it, I did the dance all the way down the length of the rink. With the fluffy skirt and everything."
Helena blinks, her mouth slightly agape. "On ice?"
"No, on sand."
"Smartass."
"Better than a dumbass."
Helena descends into giggling, turning back around and slowing down to link their arms together again just as the song changes to something by Lady Gaga. "I love it when you get sarcastic and sassy," she tells her. "It doesn't happen nearly often enough."
Ivy shrugs. "It's just because I'm comfortable around you."
Helena hums happily and they simply skate side-by-side in silence. Ivy glances one more time around the rink, noticing that Ashley is holding onto Ida's hand now, the other woman remaining somewhat steady on her own two feet. She just needs to stop staring at them and trust herself more. The crowd seems to have diminished to only two other people on the ice. She never knows why, but the rink never stays busy when all four of them come here. She's not complaining: it offers far more room to maneuver and practice her own moves.
It's probably just a coincidence anyway.
"So," Helena starts, her blue eyes glancing down at her out of the corner of her eyes. "Are you still having those odd dreams?"
Ivy sighs. Helena is the only one of her friends that she has openly admitted these dreams to. Well, besides Fen, but a dog doesn't really count, does it? She refuses to tell Ashley because she will only make fun of her for them and it's not like she can control what her subconscious decides to show her and torture her with.
Okay, it's not really torture. But, they are disturbing enough.
She simply nods, answering her friend's question. "Have you dreamed anything different?" she continues.
Ivy shakes her head. "It's always the same. Snippets of things that don't make any lick of sense and the only thing that does is just a pair of bright green eyes. It's really the only thing I know I remember for sure."
Okay, that's a lie. She remembers a lot of details about these dreams. Enough so that she honestly feels like she could piece together a story, write it, then sell it to make some extra cash. She just refuses to do so. They feel far too personal to just allow anyone to know or see. The only detail she can never make out is anyone's face. She can remember in vivid detail a giant snake that often changes sizes between scenes, a wolf that does the same thing only with bright red eyes when it becomes taller than herself, sounds of battles and arguments and roars. She remembers conversations between the characters in her head. The problem is, she can never see what they look like. Or if she does, she can't remember what they look like.
She does mean it when she says the only thing she remembers with any clarity after waking up is the pair of bright green eyes. She's sure it's the last thing she sees before her alarm goes off almost every morning. And what's even more disconcerting? She knows that she knows those eyes. She just can't figure out from where. She knows that it's a fact that when people dream of other people, even when you don't know who they are, you met or came across that person at some point in your life. The human subconscious mind can't create faces, so it substitutes faces we have already seen. So, she knows that she has seen those familiar green eyes from somewhere.
Can she remember from where, though? Nope.
She can't shake the feeling that it's important somehow. The dreams are actually a fairly recent thing. They started up around July of last year and have grown increasingly more common. They used to only happen once a month. Now she's having them every night. She doesn't know why they happen so frequently or what the hell her subconscious is trying to tell her. I mean, what does a giant snake, a wolf, and a pair of green eyes even supposed to mean?
Helena snickers suddenly. "Maybe those are the eyes of your soul mate?" she suggests.
Ivy stares at her with an annoyed expression. "Oh, whatever, Helena."
"What? It could be true!"
"I don't believe in soul mates."
"Really?" Helena asks, sounding somewhat surprised. "I figured you would. You seem to be the type to believe in that stuff. Like love at first sight."
Ivy rolls her eyes. "I believe in lust at first sight. And if I believe in soul mates, then I would honestly be the most depressed girl in the world."
"Why's that?"
"What happens if you never find your other half? Or what happens if that other person dies? Does that mean you can never love again? At least, never love to that extent?" She shakes her head. "My Dad once thought my mother was his soul mate. That proved to be a lie and he never got the chance to try again. I don't believe in soul mates because it really leaves a dismal chance in the dating world if we're only meant to truly love one person in the world."
Helena hums quietly. "Awfully philosophical of you."
Ivy snorts. "Not really. But when you've been single for as long as I have, you think."
Helena suddenly lets go of Ivy's arm only to wrap it around her neck and bring her in for a noogie. Ivy shrieks, wiggling and trying to get away from Helena without forcing them both to tumble to the cold surface of the ice. Helena cackles evilly, letting her go and racing off down the ice. Ivy huffs in annoyance, fixing her hair and then pinning a glare onto her friend's retreating back. "You are so going to pay for that, Helena!" she shouts, pointing at her friend's back.
"Only if you can catch me, shorty!"
"Oh, you are so going down!"