The rink is empty as Piper slips in, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail, skates in her hands, her duffle bag hanging off of her shoulder.
It's moments like this that she cherishes, the quiet as she makes her way down the hallway, into the change room to slip into her leotard and tights, before going out to the ice. The bench is cold against her ass, but as she ties her laces up, it's barely noticeable to her.
She stands up, sliding her guards off, zipping her hoodie up to her neck as she begins to drift. The air of the rink is freezing like always, and as she slides around, getting a feel of everything, she's never been more happy.
Without even thinking of it, she begins to practice her routine, shifting her weight, she does an upright spin, her heart hammering in her ears. She easily slides into the free skate, before doing a camel spin. As she pulls up and faces the front of the rink, she sees two boys.
A blonde and a shorter brunette, both of them wearing jerseys for the hockey team of their town- the New Rome Centurions.
The brunette grins at her, clapping slowly but loudly as she free skates towards the outer edge of the rink. "Nice camel spin!" He yells out and she resists the urge to roll her eyes.
"Thanks." She calls out, skidding to a stop. "Rink isn't open till 9. How did you guys get in here?"
The blonde answers, sitting on the bench and slipping his skates on, sliding the guards off, before standing and skating over to her. "Leo can pick locks, and you kind of left the door open."
Piper blushes. If Mitchell- her coach found out about that, he was going to kill her. The blonde smiles at her. "We won't tell if you don't?" Piper smiles back nodding. The brunette with curls- Leo skates over to her as well, his wild curls bouncing. "So, how long have you been skating? You seem pretty good at it."
Piper smirks. "Nearly 10 years. I just competed at Junior's. My coach Mitchell wants me to go to the Olympics. You?"
Leo shrugs. "Jason and I-" he pointed to the blonde, "We've been playing hockey together since grade two." Piper nods, her heart skipping as Jason grins at her. Without noticing, she fiddles with the fabric of her tights. "Anyways, is it ok if I have the rink for a little bit longer? I have a new routine that still needs some polishing up-"
"Yeah, it's fine. Want us to get you a hot chocolate from the Timmies down the street?" Jason's voice interrupts her and she stares at him before nodding. "I don't have any money on me though.."
Leo interrupts this time. "It's fine. You can pay us back next week. We can meet here at the same time? Besides, Timmies hot chocolate is like only $2.49 anyways." Piper laughs quietly, tightening her ponytail with one hand. "Ok fine. But I'm bringing you Timmies next time."
Leo grins at her, and she smiles back. The two boys wave bye, before leaving the ice and slipping their sneakers on, carrying their skates in their hands. "That was.. interesting," Piper mumbles as she watches them exit the rink.
Somehow, she had a feeling the three of them would be getting a lot closer.