Standing in the caged ice arena, standing upon sheets of the most hazardous element of this accursed season, Alice couldn't believe she was here. It was cold, dangerous, and hell if she knew how to keep her balance with knives attached to her shoes! What could possibly possess her to do such a thing?

Ah, right. The excited look upon Matthew's face when he had heard of the new arena opening was impossible to say no to. He had practically beamed when she suggested visiting.

She had meant visiting, not this! What made him think she was capable of skating?!

As soon as her skates had met the ice she'd immediately stumbled and clung to him for fear of losing balance. He'd been there then, trying to coach her patiently through it despite her stubborn attitude. She'd even thought it sweet when he allowed her to cling to him as he easily glided along the outside of the rink.

Where was he now? Oh, who knew at this point. The last she'd seen of him, he was staring off at a set of double Ds, darting across the ice.

It wasn't exactly his fault though. Alice sighed heavily as she remembered she'd started pushing away first. She was worse than a child attempting to stay upright, but it hadn't been bad with him there. That was, well until she happened to catch wind of the other skaters.

She heard them laugh and casually spit their venomous words about the two of them. Wasn't failure enough on her bruised pride? It was when they dragged Matthew down that she had had the final straw.

She didn't want him to hear what they said. The poor boy had enough of a low self-esteem as it was! And despite her embarrassing display, he still looked so happy to be with her.

It was then that she started to pull back on her efforts, in an attempt to not overly embarrass him. But then a familiar chest came bouncing by...

At first she didn't pay it any mind, since Ukraine often visited to enjoy a bit of the winter in Canada and escape her controlling boss. Well, that and it was free to skate today. But every time she happened to glide through, which was more than could be coincidental in Alice's opinion, she would catch the Canadian's head unconsciously turning to follow her movements.

That was when she had it. Sure Ukraine was rather attractive. She had quite the assets that was for sure, but what else did she have?! It wasn't as if Alice was completely flat... And it was rude to come with her and then stare at another woman right?

Her arms unconsciously covered her chest as she shuffled, and almost crawled as she nearly tripped over herself, to the nearest bench. She sat with a huff as she tried to nurse her shattered ego.

She felt like, well, Canada for a moment. He had completely forgotten her for an over developed Ukrainian. He was likely out there awkwardly greeting her with that cute stutter of his and a blush on his cheeks as he attempted not to linger his gaze too long on her chest. He'd fail of course but she wouldn't notice. She'd laugh and he'd smile... He'd mutter that little phrase of his he used to always say to her when he couldn't find the words to say. 'Oh Maple..'

She wished she could stop her spiraling thoughts. They were becoming a knife to twist deep into her chest and she hugged herself a bit tighter, hoping the pressure might dull the ache.

"Alice? Alice!" her head rose from the confines of her crossed arms in surprise. She could recognize that soft and concerned voice anywhere.

There he was, skating right up to her and coming to a stop a few inches from the foot of the bench. He looked relieved and judging from the uneven breathes that clouded the air, he was a little out of breath.

"What do you want?" she snapped, more than she had intended. She was still rather sore from her own self destructive imagination.

If he had been taken aback from her snapping, he hasn't shown it. "I've been looking for you everywhere! I lost you in the crowd and I thought... Can I sit down?"

He didn't wait for her answer as he sat beside her with a sigh of relief. He must have been tired from darting around all that time. She couldn't even remember when she had separated from him.

"Alice...?" he began tentatively. "are you alright?"

The concern in his voice was heartbreaking. What did he think could have happened? Her ice skating skills were horrid, but still...

"Fine," she said bluntly, her previous jealousy winning over her own guilt at worrying him.

"Oh, thats good. I was so worried when I couldn't find you that I asked almost everyone in the rink! Though...some of them didn't notice me at first." he rambled, giving a nervous laugh once again to hide his insecurity again.

"Why are you here..? Why dont you just go off and skate somewhere? Find Ukraine if you like..." she inwardly cursed herself. If that wasn't a cry of jealousy, she didn't know what was.

She didn't dare look at him, afraid of any accusations he might come up with. Instead though he smiled at her in understanding, a warm chuckle escaping him. The next thing she knew, she felt the light pressure of his arm against her side, and when she looked up, he rested his head gently on top of hers.

"Because I came to spend time with you." he answered, in such an unfair way as to make her icy heart melt.

She leaned into him, allowing him to warm her up after her unnecessarily cold adventures out on the rink. It was fine just like this. And she didn't fail to notice that as a particular Ukrainian happened to skate by, this time he was only focused on her.