I'm sitting alone in the rink staring out over the ice. My father moved back practice a couple hours to 5:30, so no-one should be here for awhile, I like that, I want to be by myself for a bit. There's a piece of plywood laying behind the bench in the home box that my dad leaves there for me to use as a ramp to get out onto the ice. I reach down and pick it up, resting it on my lap. It's sort of heavy and awkwardly shaped making it difficult to maneuver. I lean over to rest it on the edge of the step and just about fall out of my wheelchair.

"Easy, there kiddo." I feel a hand on my shoulder and I'm steadied. "You now Beck, if you're trying to kill yourself, you may want to jump off something a little higher then your chair."

I smile. "Oh shut up and push me out onto the ice, Conway."

"Anything you say kiddo."

"Don't call me kiddo."

Charlie pushes me out to the center of the rink and parks me in the middle. He starts to skate around me in a circle and I roll my eyes. He definitely is the older brother I never had, right down to annoying the heck out of me whenever we're in the same room as each other.

"Okay Charlie, you can stop you're making me dizzy." I mutter, feeling a bit sad. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The Duck's captain stops in front of me and replies. "Banksie wanted me to meet him here for some one on one before practice."

I groan and Charlie raises his eyebrows at me.

"What's up with you Beck?"

"Not a thing."

"Liar, come on kiddo, talk to me, what's up?"

"Ugh, kiddo. I just want to be alone Charlie, ok?"

"Yeah, I get that, but why?"

"I embarrassed the crap out of myself in front of Adam earlier." I sigh, putting my hand in my hands.

I hear skates on the ice and assume Charlie has started skating again. Suddenly my chair is jerked into motion and I feel myself being pushed. I glide over the ice, feeling like I'm flying. The cool air whizzing by my face as I soar from blue line to line. I feel free; in this one moment there's nothing wrong with the world. My parents don't hate each other, I'm not in love with someone that will never want me and most of all I'm not confined to this damned chair.

"So how did you embarrass yourself in front of Banks?" I feel the color drain out from my cheeks that were only seconds before rosy from chill, at the sound of his voice.

I jerk my head around and look at the boy behind me mortified. "Adam! What happened to Charlie?"

"He left when I when I started pushing you around. So what are you talking about being embarrassed in front of me?"

I sigh and shake my head. "Never mind, I'm not going into it."

He grins and drops to him knees on the ice so we're eye level with each other. Gosh, he's not such beautiful eyes, just looking into them makes me blush. He pushes a piece of my brown hair back behind my ear, as it broke loose from my ponytail during our spin and my face goes hot.

"You're a cutie Rebecca Orion." He pats my knee. "Come one, let's go a hot chocolate at the student lounge."

I nod and without a word I allow myself to be pushed out of the rink. Cocoa with Adam, it sounds like a great way to spend a few spare hours to me.