Hello, and welcome! I started writing this years ago, but then I got major writer's block and didn't finish it, then just forgot about it. Well, I'm finally getting around to posting it in time for the movie's 20th anniversary! You could also consider this a late Valentine's Day post!
The basic summary behind how this came about was developing an appreciation for Hayden Panettiere thanks to Kingdom Hearts, re-watching Ice Princess, and getting some ideas. From Panettiere's first scene as Gennifer Harwood, I immediately got the impression that Casey was crushing on her hard. I mean, why else would you introduce an important character by making them walk towards the protagonist in a sexy slow-mo strut if not to establish them as a possible love interest? Yeah, this was 2000s Disney, after all, who was too afraid to let their characters be gay and open about it (and for the most part still are, tbh...)
I also got further inspired by a YouTube video called "Casey & Gennifer ~ She Likes Girls {Ice Princess}" by For_The_Horde. It's literally the only Casey x Gen AMV on YouTube, so if you haven't seen it, check it out! A reply to a comment I left there actually reminded me to post this!
But anyway, enough rambling. You're here for a gayer version of Ice Princess, so here it is! And if you can believe it, I almost put all of this into one giant one shot because I didn't want to bother doing multiple chapters this time. But I forced myself to split it into two chapters because I understand that not everyone enjoys giant one shots. I only fully cover scenes that feature both Casey and Gen or scenes where one of them is thinking about the other, switching back and forth between their perspectives. The dialogue starts out as it did in the original film with a few changes or additions, but by the next chapter it shifts gears - as well as adheres to the M rating, but there's nothing too explicit.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Princess or any of the music/music artists mentioned.
Enjoy!
"I am moving through the crowd, trying to find myself..."
Casey Carlyle softly sang her favorite Aly & AJ song as she skated on the pond near her house one cold morning before school.
She loved to ice skate. Anyone who knew her personally could see that, including her mother. But Joan Carlyle also knew that if her daughter had any chance of getting into Harvard like they planned, she'd have to put away her skates and get back to the books. She caught her attention through the window and held up one of her textbooks to tell her that it was time to go to school now. But Casey skated for five extra minutes before she finally rode her bike to school.
Today proved to be an interesting day when her physics teacher Mr. Bast called her back after class to talk to her about her future concerning college. He told her she had a calling for a scholarship in physics, what with her brilliant mind and eleven A's on her exams. He suggested she think about a "personal physics project" during her summer break in order to earn a letter from him for that scholarship. It certainly was a lot to think about, and she told her best friend Ann Stewart about it as they walked through the school halls.
"He says it's my calling," she was saying.
"QED," Ann agreed with their teacher. They were both gifted when it came to their studies, but where she shined in math, Casey beamed in physics.
"How is this 'quite easily demonstrated'?" scoffed Casey. "I mean, you're as good in physics as I am."
Ann laughed. "Not even close! I grind, you glide." Then she slowed them down. "Event horizon."
Kyle Dayton passed by them without a glance, but Ann stared after him with a dreamy look.
"One day, that guy is gonna wake up and realize he needs a math tutor," she promised giddily as they turned a corner. "And that tutor will be me." They stopped when they saw Gennifer Harwood, one of the popular girls, cheerfully handing out party invitations to the students around her. Ann shook her head and added, "Figure out how to get us invited to even one party, and you win the Nobel."
But Casey hardly listened to her, as her eyes were glued on Gennifer.
Ann could ramble all she wanted about her daydreams of being Kyle Dayton's tutor, but Casey couldn't care less about cute boys – or boys in general. No, for her, her heart was set on Gennifer Harwood, the most beautiful girl and one of the best ice skaters in school, even though she knew she had absolutely zero chance. Gennifer had a boyfriend, after all. And besides, even if she wasn't working hard to get into Harvard, she knew her mother wouldn't exactly be thrilled about her being in love with a girl, especially not one as pretty and stuck-up as Gennifer. She'd probably be afraid that she'd be a bad influence on her or something. Plus, she was a feminist, and she believed her daughter didn't need a partner when she had a dream to accomplish. Casey just didn't have the courage to come out to her mother, so she tried her best to ignore her feelings for Gennifer, though that was a bit hard when she was smiling directly at her.
Wait, what?
She blinked and looked behind her and back. Sure enough, Gennifer was smiling at her, and was heading her way, purple rose box in hand, strutting like a radiant princess with her perfectly straight blonde hair swaying. Was she dreaming? She felt her face heat up as Gennifer approached her.
"Hey, you're Casey, right?" she asked.
Casey nodded and squeaked, "Uh-huh."
Gennifer pulled out another invitation from her box and held it out towards her. "Here's an invite to my boyfriend's party."
Casey stared, her heart racing. Was Gennifer Harwood really talking to her, and inviting her to the popular kids' party?
"Wow," she stammered, taking the envelope from her well-manicured hand.
Gennifer was still smiling. "You're in chem lab with Julian Wilson, right?" When Casey nodded again, she asked sweetly, "Can you give that to him? Thanks."
And she walked off, leaving Casey feeling like a complete idiot. What was she thinking? Of course Gennifer Harwood wouldn't notice her. She was just a science geek who happened to share classes with other popular and more interesting students.
"That was way inconsiderate," Ann remarked in disbelief.
Casey just stared after her, not registering what Ann said at all. It may have been pointless, but she still had the tiniest bit of hope that one day, Gennifer Harwood would notice her. Not just notice her, but appreciate her as a fellow student, at the very least.
When Gen walked away from Casey and Ann, she felt her smile slide right off. Why did she do that? She had plenty more invitations in her box; she could have given Julian Wilson his in person. And she really did want to invite Casey Carlyle to the party. She was the cutest girl in school, and she greatly admired her intelligence. Okay, maybe she was also a little jealous of how smart she was, but that was just because she was lousy at math. If she could, she'd have gone up to the brainy brunette for help on her piling math homework. She was just as good at math as she was at science, right?
Unfortunately, she had a reputation to uphold; her mother basically convinced her to act like she was above everyone else, what with her pretty looks and talents on the ice rink. Thus, she had no time to make small talk with the adorable science geek when she needed to perfect her image as the best ice skater in school.
And she still had her boyfriend, after all, even if her mother didn't let her see him much.
Casey had the perfect idea for her project – figuring out the aerodynamic formulas of figure skating. She had thought of it when she watched an ice skating competition on TV with Ann the night before, and couldn't stop thinking about it during school. She rode her bike to the Harwood Skating Club rink, owned by former skating champion Tina Harwood.
And Tina's daughter Gennifer would no doubt be practicing there today. But she wasn't going there to ogle and admire. She was going there for physics.
When she got to the rink, it was empty. Casey took a moment to admire how spacious and spotless it was. She was suddenly itching to skate on it. She did bring her skates with her just in case...
A few minutes later, Gennifer showed up with her fellow skaters Nikki Fletcher and Tiffany Lai, all in their practice costumes, and immediately began practicing. Gennifer looked so pretty in her purple outfit, with that fluttering skirt, and with her hair in a ponytail to show off her gorgeous face –
Stop it, Casey! she scolded herself. You're here for your project!
She set her backpack down on a bench and pulled out her camera. She turned it on and recorded the girls as they spun and leapt. Of course, she recorded Gennifer first.
Suddenly, she felt a hand grip her shoulder and she gasped loudly.
"What do you think you're doing?" the blonde woman asked sharply. "Why are you filming my skaters?"
Casey scrambled to her feet, her heart pounding. This woman's icy stare was incredibly frightening, and somehow much colder than the rink itself.
"It-It-It's for my physics project," she stammered.
The woman gestured towards Gennifer. "You're scoping her triple loop. Why?"
"No!" Casey exclaimed. "I'm analyzing her movement!"
But Casey could tell the woman didn't believe her. "Who are you working for?" she asked suspiciously.
"Nobody," Casey assured her, her eyes still full of fear.
"Teddy, will you come over here?" the woman called to the young man by the food stand. "I'm going to call the cops."
Casey's eyes widened further. The cops?!
"No, I didn't think it would be a problem!" she hastily apologized. "I thought this was a public rink – !"
She let out a shriek when she backed into Teddy, the young man who had been called over. He stood at attention like a security guard, though he looked a bit confused.
"Private practice only from six to ten," the woman informed her sternly. "These girls are training for the regional championships, which I think you perfectly well know."
Casey looked between her and Teddy.
"No! I'm a student," she insisted. "I have an ID." She hurriedly retrieved her school ID from her backpack and showed it to the woman. "I have a notebook!" She also pulled out her notebook and showed it to Teddy.
He opened it and looked through some of the pages. His eyes widened at the number of complicated formulas penciled all over each page.
"Whoa, yeah," he said in mild awe. "Definitely spy code," he quipped to the woman.
Then they were joined by Gennifer. Great, as if Casey needed another reason to be embarrassed.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Casey.
"You know her?" the woman questioned her, surprised.
Was she Gennifer's mother? There was a bit of a resemblance... Holy crap, she was, which meant she's Tina Harwood! Now Casey felt even more stupid.
Gennifer rolled her eyes slightly. "She's a science geek." She looked back at Casey, who stared back.
Neither girl seemed to know what else to say. Then Gennifer just went back to skating while Casey shrunk under Tina's resumed glare. But then she softened her glare as she finally accepted that Casey wasn't a threat.
"Look, I'm sorry," she apologized as she led her further up the bleachers, "but when the CIA wants to learn new dirty tricks, they observe figure skaters and their moms." She brushed off a man that approached them and kept walking.
Casey ran to catch up with her. "I just want to digitize some images into my computer to see if any kind of unified theory emerges." She stood in front of Tina, who nodded shortly.
"Okay, if Gen knows you and you wanna press your nose up against the glass and take a few notes, I don't really care." When Casey looked hopeful, she warned, "But you're gonna have a hard sell with the parents."
Casey sighed in relief as Tina walked away. She can handle that.
As Casey went to ask the parents, Gen put on her sweater and lazily skated around the rink, thinking over what just happened. Casey Carlyle, the cute science geek, wanted to watch her skate. Oh, who was she kidding? She's not that special, she's here to watch all of them skate. Perhaps if Casey showed up while she was skating here alone, she'd let herself be a lot nicer. She'd have let her record her no problem once she explained what she was doing. But of course, her mother and her brother were there, as well as her skating friends, and she couldn't let them know she was secretly soft for the dorky girl.
Yeah, add that to Tina Harwood's never-ending list of things she shouldn't be distracted by.
"Let's keep it moving, girls," her mother called, interrupting her thoughts.
She looked over to see where Casey was and saw her friends' parents leave her. She looked giddy about something, and she thought she looked absolutely adorable. She really wanted to talk to her. But again, she couldn't let her reputation crumble under her mother's gaze, so if she wanted to talk to her here, she had to keep it short and simple with a hint of that clichéd stuck-up popular girl attitude she'd managed to perfect. She had watched Mean Girls, after all.
"Look," she said, "I don't care if you're here." Liar, her heart mocked her, but she ignored it. "But if you post me on the school website falling on my butt, you'd better transfer to another school."
With Gennifer's threat in mind, Casey went about recording the skaters. She had stammered her promise that she wouldn't tell anyone about this, but the blonde just scoffed and skated off. Well, she was here for her project, so it was time to work. She ended up putting on her own ice skates so she could go in the rink herself to get better shots. She was inwardly ecstatic to use this as an excuse to get closer to Gennifer, spinning like the graceful Ice Princess she was.
"Gen!"
She, Gennifer, and Tina looked over to see a jock holding a fast-food takeout bag. Gennifer smiled and skated over to him and kissed him. Casey, forgetting that she was still recording, felt a pang of jealousy mixed with lament as she watched them.
"Gen!" This time, Tina had called her name. She marched over to the couple. "Brian, she's training. You know the rules."
"I just brought her a burger, Mrs. H.," Brian showed her the bag.
"Gen can't eat that stuff."
"Come on, Mom, I'm burning tons of calories," Gennifer protested.
But Tina shook her head. "Not enough."
"Just a half-hour break?" she begged.
"Not if you wanna win." Her mother wasn't having it.
Casey, interested in the sudden drama, kept recording without thinking. She focused on Gennifer the whole time without registering what Brian and Tina were saying. Her crush didn't look annoyed or irritated; she actually looked a bit desperate and sad. Casey knew that Gennifer spent most of her free time skating, but she hadn't realized that it was possible that it wasn't her choice.
When Brian finally left, Tina gestured for Gen to come to her. She reluctantly skated to her.
"I do not want him coming here during practice," she said firmly in a low voice. "Do you hear me?"
"But I never get to see him!" whined Gen. "Every other girl I know –"
"You're not like the other girls, Gennifer," her mother reminded her. "Winners make sacrifices."
Gen shook her head. "Or maybe they just cheat."
She hated that she couldn't have a life outside of skating. She didn't know why her mother was so competitive, but it made skating harder for her to enjoy. Even for just one day, she'd love a break from skating. Just once, she wanted to just be a normal teenager who could see her boyfriend, go to the movies, eat a burger every once in a while, and get better at math.
And maybe also get closer to a certain cute science geek...did she tutor?
"Turn that off!"
Gen jumped when her mother yelled. She turned to see Casey hurriedly closing her camera and apologizing. At first, she worried that Casey could use that footage as blackmail, but she reminded herself that Casey Carlyle was not that type of person. She was too meek to be mean-spirited. And she believed the brunette's promise to keep this a secret was completely genuine; she'd only scoffed because she thought she was acting cute, as usual.
"Take it from the layback," Tina instructed her.
Gen sighed and went back to her spinning.
Casey had used her footage of Gennifer performing her triple loop to figure out the aerodynamic formula later that evening. It had taken her nearly all night, but she had eventually solved it. She went to bed dreaming about Gennifer skating before thunderous applause while wearing a sparkling princess-themed costume, looking like Barbie on ice. And when she was finished, she saved her biggest smile for her, prompting her to join her out on the rink...
She met up with Ann the next morning at their favorite coffee shop to tell her all about it – her hypothesis, not her dream. Her best friend had suggested that she should try adding more of herself to the project. Casey thought it over during school. Mr. Bast did say that she had to make it personal. And if she was going to add herself to the project, there was one thing she needed to do. So after school, she went back to the skating club.
"Oh, excuse me, Tina," she said as she caught the woman leaving the building. "Is there any way that I could take a few lessons? I just think I might be able to write a little better about some of the physics principles if I'm the one actually applying them. So, if there's any way I could –"
"Fine," Tina cut her off, sounding the slightest bit annoyed. She had loaded her bags into her car. "We're just starting a novice class for the summer session, booked three afternoons a week. $800."
Casey had been on board until she heard the price. "$800?!"
Other skaters had arrived at the rink to practice, so Gen and her friends decided to watch. They went up to the food stand, and Gen nearly froze when she came face to face with Casey, who was holding a hot dog. Putting up her cold front, she asked, "You're here again?"
Casey's mouth fell open and she blushed. Gen frowned slightly; this image of her looking flustered while holding a hot dog close to her face seemed dirty to her, and she wasn't sure she liked it. This girl just looked way too innocent for that kind of thing.
"Um... I'm working," she said, clearly nervous. "It's for my science project."
Gen blinked. "Aren't you going a little overboard with this project?" She may have sounded condescending, but she was genuinely curious – and a bit concerned.
"No, I-I'm totally committed to it," Casey insisted, "just like you guys are committed to your skating."
"Whatever, I'm starving," said Nikki impatiently. "BLT here. Hold the B, heavy on the L."
"Um, sure," Casey nodded, putting the hot dog down to write down their orders.
"Beef patty," Tiffany ordered next. "Squish it till it's dry, no bun."
As she and Nikki turned to watch the skaters, Gen ordered, "Salad for me."
"Coming up," said Casey a little too eagerly.
"Just iceberg lettuce, half a cup of garbanzos and a lemon wedge," she clarified. She went to join her friends, then changed her mind and added, "Oh, and a quarter cup of cheese."
"Ooh, cheese!" Nikki teased when she joined them.
"It's Saturday, I can pig out if I want to," Gen glared at her. Then she sighed. "I don't know that's wrong, I'm popping my Lutz."
"It's all that cheese," the shorter girl mocked.
"Would you shut up?" Gen snapped. She'd already gone through a phase of believing she could never be thin enough two years ago. She moved to stand on Tiffany's other side, away from Nikki.
"I've gotta focus," Tiffany spoke up tiredly. "I heard Zoey Bloch's been sticking a quad."
Gen laughed. "That is a rumor. Which she probably started herself." She applied some lip gloss.
"Kinda early in the season for stupid head games," Nikki pointed out.
"Not for Zoey," said Gen, shaking her head. She wouldn't put it past the obnoxiously cocky girl to try something like that after so many wins.
"Food's ready!"
They went back to Casey, though Gen frowned at her plate.
"That is way more than a quarter cup," she told her, though she felt bad when Casey looked embarrassed. Still, it was more cheese than she wanted, so she picked it off of her plate.
"Um..." she shook her head. "It's $1.65, $2.35, and $3.35. That's $7.30 total." Then she started rambling. "Or if you want to split it the other way, it-it's $1.75 and-and $5.55."
"Whoa!" Nikki exclaimed, holding the money. "You can keep it all if you just stop doing that."
She and Tiffany laughed as they took their food, though Gen smiled at Casey. It was complicated to follow since she was bad at math, but she was still impressed. The fact that she figured that out off the top of her head... She had wanted to let her know that, but she didn't want her friends getting suspicious.
"You're welcome," she heard Casey say softly as they walked away, and she felt bad again. She clearly thought her genuine smile was a mocking one, like her friends' laughter.
When would she find the time – and the courage – to talk to Casey the way she wanted to?
"All right, everybody," said Tina as she approached her students. "Welcome to our Snowplow Sam class, let's line up."
She clapped her hands twice, and the skaters lined up. Among the younger kids, Casey was the only teenager in the group; Tina did say this was a novice class.
"Lookin' good," Tina praised.
Then Gennifer skidded to a halt next her, out of breath. Tina looked mildly annoyed again. Casey blinked. Did this woman not know how to smile, even to her own daughter?
"Class," she raised her voice, "can you tell our teacher's assistant the most important rule for this class?"
"Mom..." Gennifer groaned, her face burning in clear embarrassment.
"Never be late," the children chorused smugly.
Casey looked sympathetically at Gennifer. She knew what it was like to be humiliated in front of even a small crowd.
"Right," Tina nodded. "We have a lot to do if we are going to be ready for our recital in August. We are going to work on our toe loop, and our Lutz."
As she spoke, Gennifer provided a demonstration for each move to the children's amazement. Casey watched her closely, completely entranced. She always looked beautiful when she skated, even if she was only doing a couple moves.
"But first," Tina went on, "all of you have to get comfortable with throwing your bodies into the air. Casey," she walked up to her, "you're the physics whiz. What's that rule about what goes up?"
At the word physics, Casey automatically slipped into what most students called her "science geek mode". "Um, well, technically, it's that every particle attracts –"
"Casey," Tina stopped her, looking at her expectantly.
Casey blushed. "Must come down."
Tina smirked, then turned away.
Gen sat on the sidelines once the students began practicing after they put on their butt pads – a pair of padded shorts designed to get new skaters used to falling on the ice. Of course, she mostly watched Casey, and maybe she watched a little too closely when she adjusted her pad. Blushing slightly, she focused instead on how she skated. Compared to some of the kids, she didn't appear to be a complete novice. Did she also skate in her free time?
She giggled softly when Casey bumped into a girl, Lily, who yelled at her. Her mother then advised her to pull her arms in tighter. Gen watched her carefully. She could tell she was really serious about this because she was very eager to accept every instruction. She wondered if she was really doing this for some science project.
The students all slowly improved their moves the longer they practiced. Gen watched Casey skate most of all, watched as she became more confident. She was beginning to admire her determination, especially when she didn't stop skating when everyone else packed up to leave. There were even moments she silently cheered when she did a particular move. Gen smiled at her as she left with her mother, though it went unnoticed.
The next day, Casey returned to the skating rink with Ann so she could make a video presentation for her project. After about ten failed attempts, during one of which she forgot her last name, she settled on this:
"Hi, I'm Casey Carlyle. I decided to see if I could make myself prove my own hypothesis on the application of physics to the required elements of competitive figure skating. Now, I am going to increase the centripetal force by tucking in my arms. This will increase my moment of inertia, so I will spin..." She spun once with her arms tucked in. "...faster. I will increase the height of my jump by applying more force to my toe pick."
Ann pointed the camera down as Casey pressing the toe pick of her skate against the ice. As she skated, Ann noted, "You know, you look kinda hot."
"Shut up," Casey shot back.
"I'm serious," Ann teased. "Maybe this will make Gennifer Harwood finally notice you for real." Despite not be Gennifer's biggest fan, she occasionally found opportunities to tease her best friend about her crush, much to her dismay.
"Shut up!" she shrieked before composing herself. She already couldn't wait to cut that part out of the footage. "I'm gonna start off with a bad one. For the before shot." She tried to purposely fall on a spin, but she somehow managed to mess that up – she only barely lost balance.
"Yeah, that pretty much blew," the math geek noted very bluntly.
Casey stood before her, unamused. "Okay, now you're making me mad."
"Good."
Once that was settled, Casey then did a perfect Lutz. She stood before Ann again, in complete shock that she did it. Ann looked amazed, too.
"When you sign with Nike," she joked, "remember I wear size six and a half."
"Casey's doing the recital?" Gen asked her mother in mild shock as they drove to the skating club.
"She is," nodded Tina. "She kept insisting that it's for science, but I'm not buying it. If that were the case, she wouldn't be getting so excited. Even she should know how serious figure skating really is."
Gen sat back to think about that. She had a point; she herself had been thinking that Casey seemed too eager to learn skating just for some science project. She definitely had some talent, so if she did well in this recital, she could start practicing with her. That made her smile.
"You think that's funny?" Tina asked, having seen her smile when she glanced at her.
Snapping back to reality, Gen quickly shook her head. "No, I think it's great!" she said earnestly.
Her mother frowned at her, then shrugged and focused on the road.
Gen closed her eyes and sighed quietly. She still wasn't ready to talk to her about her confusing feelings.
"Physics rocks!" said a student, whose name tag read Penelope Goode. "In sophomore year, you can join the Quantum Club, and that rocks because we compete against Cal Tech, MIT, and Stanford. Last year, our ion particle accelerator took first place, it rocked!"
Casey was beginning to sense the theme here.
"Sounds really, um...rockin'," she said awkwardly.
"It is! It really is," Penelope nodded proudly.
"Do you know what I think is great?" Joan spoke up happily. "If everything works out with Casey's scholarship, I'm sensing that you two will be spending scads of time together."
Penelope smiled at that, but Casey cringed as they accepted bruschetta samples. Not that Penelope didn't seem nice, it's just that maybe she was a little too nice, and rather boastful – even her surname seemed a bit on the nose. And while she was pretty, she was no Gennifer to her.
Speaking of Gennifer, she was already getting anxious about the upcoming recital, which she knew Gennifer would be at. She nearly revealed one sleeve of the bright red costume Tina lent her underneath the admittedly boring uniform her mother picked out for her.
"Well, if you have some time right now, I can take you through the entire physical sciences syllabus," Penelope offered excitedly.
Casey tried to decline, but Joan hugged them both and said, "We have got nothing but time! Don't we, Case?"
"Great!"
Casey kept her fixed grin on. Hopefully she can persuade Penelope to go through it quickly.
The recital was nearly about to start, but Gen didn't see Casey show up in the locker room yet. All the kids were in their costumes. Did she change her mind at the last minute? Her face fell in disappointment at the thought. She decided to leave the locker room to watch the rink. Several minutes later, she saw her mother and the kids move out to stand at the rink entrance. And Casey was with them! She couldn't help the big smile on her face, but she toned it down when Tina joined her. It was about to begin.
Lucy Woodward's "It's Oh So Quiet" began playing, and Casey led the line of kids in their performance. As the light shined down on her, Gen noticed something.
"Mom," she said quietly, "is she wearing your old costume?"
She didn't answer. Now Gen was a bit peeved. Not once during high school did her mother loan her old costumes to her. So why did she give one to Casey? She kept watching, and her irritation slowly transitioned into awe. Casey had great form as she skated; she skated as though she'd been doing it her whole life. And the costume fit her perfectly. It hugged her in the right places and fluttered beautifully as she spun.
Whoa, where did that come from? She blushed and her heart began racing just as Lucy sang the lyric, "You never been so nuts about a guy". She'd heard this song a thousand times as she watched a thousand recitals, but this one lyric suddenly had her thinking... When was the last time she was "nuts" about Brian? Lately, she'd only been nuts about never getting to spend time with him outside of school, but that was it. When she thought about him, she didn't get that giddy feeling she used to.
"You broke the spell!"
Gen briefly locked eyes with Casey as she waited for her cue, and her heart skipped a beat. Maybe Casey did break a spell, the spell she was under from Brian.
"So, what's the use? Whoo! Whoo! Of falling in love?"
Casey skated around the rink and performed a perfect Lutz. Gen was struck dumb watching her. She could hardly believe the feeling in her heart right now.
Was...was she falling in love? With Casey? Was this why she was so fond of her?
As Tina and the audience applauded, Gen left for the locker room. She knew Casey and the kids would soon go there too, but she needed to be alone right now. She was overwhelmed by her revelation.
She, Gennifer Harwood the Ice Princess, was in love with Casey Carlyle the science geek.
Casey relaxed in the locker room as the other kids looked at their results.
"Novice pass, yes!" Lily cheered. Then she turned to Casey. "Casey, how did you do?"
Casey shrugged. "Um, fine, I guess." She looked at her results. "It says 'Junior Pass'." All the girls gasped. "What?"
"You skipped two levels!" said Lily.
They were all amazed, and Casey saw that Gennifer looked shocked as well.
"Tina, why didn't I skip two levels?" Lily demanded.
"Because you're six, Lily," Tina answered, amused.
"Junior level is where Gen and Nikki and Tiff are at," another girl explained to Casey.
She was now at the same level as Gennifer? Elated, she stood up and asked, "Is that true, Tina? That I'm on a junior level?" While she waited for an answer, she glanced at Gennifer again, who still looked shocked.
Was she upset by this?
"Yes, it's true," said Tina with a small smile. Then she addressed the other girls. "Okay, everybody. Let's get changed."
Casey stayed rooted to her spot as Gennifer led the girls out. She tried to smile at her, but Gennifer didn't look at her. Not wanting to think about the possibility that she now hated her, she walked up to Tina.
"So, if I...if I wanted to compete?" she started.
"You can't," Tina said shortly.
Thrown off by this, Casey asked, "Why not?"
Tina sighed. She looked serious. "All that happened tonight was, the judges saw the same thing I've been seeing all summer. You got some raw talent. But that's not enough for a shot at the Regionals. You need a coach, a valet, a choreographer, private ice time. Nikki's parents took out a second mortgage to put her through this. And Tiffany's dad works two jobs."
"Oh," was all Casey could say. Maybe she didn't think this through...
"Where'd you get those skates?" Tina then asked.
"Garage sale," she answered.
"They're falling off your feet," Tina observed. "You need custom boots, $600 minimum, and the blades need to be sharpened every six weeks. Okay, you get it? I'm sorry. It is what it is." She stared at her. "You have to want it. You have to want it more than anything else. It's not something you do on a whim."
She left Casey to her thoughts. Did she want this? Did she want to commit to a life of skating? Especially if it was with Gennifer?
The elation she felt during the recital seemed to have completely melted away. Did she want to skate, or go to Harvard? She never thought she'd find another passion instead of Harvard, her dream.
Gen did not want to go back to school so soon, but senior year had begun. Another year for her to flunk math because she just didn't have time to actually study it.
"Can you believe summer's over?" Nikki complained. "We're wasting our lives here."
Gen only nodded. Then she frowned when Nikki and Tiffany slowly clapped. She turned to see Casey staring at them, just as confused. Great. Now that she'd realized exactly how she felt for the geek, she wasn't sure if she could actually talk to her. Especially with how pretty she looked with her wavy hair down...
"Heard you landed a double," Tiffany praised her.
"Tiff!" Gen snapped out of nowhere. She really was handling this poorly, wasn't she?
Tiffany just shrugged. "Well? That took me two years."
"Really?" asked Casey with an embarrassed smile.
Damn, that was a cute smile...
"So," said Nikki, walking up to her, "I guess we'll see you then?"
To Gen's surprise, Casey shook her head. "No, you won't," she said softly. "Not at the rink. I can't train with you guys."
Now Tiffany walked up. "Why not?"
Casey cleared her throat. "Um, I can't afford it."
"Oh," said Gen, joining them. She was really backing out?
"Yeah. But, um, it's been fun." She gave them an awkward wave, then turned and left.
Gen sighed. She could tell how much Casey really wanted to skate with them. And she wanted it too, though maybe she just wanted an excuse to become her friend. And maybe something more...? No, it was too soon. Right now, skating was the issue at hand.
"Look, Casey," she said as she walked with her, Nikki and Tiffany following. "I'll tell you something, all right? You don't know how lucky you are."
Casey frowned. "For what?"
"To have a life!" Gen told her.
"You think I have a life?" The brunette sounded skeptical.
"I know you do!" Gen insisted. "You have TV time, and friend time..."
"But you get to skate all you want," Casey pointed out, sounding slightly envious.
Gen scoffed. "More than I want. I'd love to be you! Have a Saturday night, to see your boyfriend..." A boyfriend she didn't even love...
"Yeah..." Casey rolled her eyes.
Tiffany placed a hand on her shoulder and added, "Eat what you want. Like bread. Buckets and buckets of bread." She and Gen shared a laugh, which seemed to make Casey smile a little.
"Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!" snapped Nikki, stopping them. "Who cares? Who cares about all that stuff? Don't you just wanna skate all the time?"
Casey didn't answer, but Gen and Tiffany both said, "No."
Nikki stared at them like they each grew several heads. "What's the matter with you people?" she practically shouted. "Are you insane? The Jumping Shrimp is a skating machine!"
"The Jumping Shrimp?" Casey repeated.
"My mom copyrighted it," the redhead explained. She shrugged as the bell rang. "See ya." She left them.
"Scary," Gen noted.
"We must learn from her," Tiffany mocked. They laughed again as they went to class.
The next time Gen saw Casey was the next day at the rink, when she gave her the light lemonade she ordered with an offer to help her land her double Axel clean. It was an opportunity she couldn't pass up, and not just because she wanted to improve her Axel.
Casey was so embarrassed to have been caught by her mother at the rink. Especially because she could tell that she thought there was something between her and Teddy the Zamboni driver just because she acted a little awkward. Well, at least she wasn't caught spending time with Gennifer. And besides, what was with her and Tina? They acted like they knew each other, but there was clear animosity underneath their tones as they spoke to each other. She decided not to worry too much about it, as she was planning on helping her new fellow skaters.
The next day after school, she showed Nikki how to stop traveling on her sit spin and helped Tiffany improve her spread eagle. When they went home, she helped Gennifer last. She found it a bit hard to follow the computer as she skated, but she was just so beautiful...
She smiled proudly when Gennifer landed her double Axel. She helped her. She, Casey Carlyle, helped Gennifer Harwood with her skating! Even Gennifer looked ecstatic.
"It worked!" said Casey with a big smile.
"Just like you said it would!" Gennifer giggled, a bit red in the face.
Casey assumed it was from the skating.
"The computer doesn't make the jumps," she said confidently. "That was all you."
They smiled at each other, then giggled some more.
"Thank you, Casey," said Gennifer gratefully. "Really. I don't think I could have done it that good without you and your..." She waved her hand. "...brains."
Casey blushed. She couldn't believe she and Gennifer were talking like they'd been friends forever.
"No problem, Gennifer," she said as she began packing up her stuff.
"You can call me Gen," said Gennifer quickly. When Casey stared at her, she shrugged and said, "My friends call me Gen."
Casey's mouth fell open and her heart pounded. Then she snapped back to reality. They were friends now?!
"Right...Gen..." she nodded a bit erratically. Did the ice rink get hot all of a sudden?
Gen was done. Casey was too freaking adorable when she was all flustered. And now they were officially friends, so she had to celebrate their double achievement.
"Come on, Mom! Just this one time," she begged her mother. "I'll be back by eleven."
"You have a 5:30 am practice tomorrow," Tina reminded her sternly. "You think you're gonna be all sparkly for that if I let you stay out all hours?" She stood by the window of her office.
Gen sighed. "Mom, I landed my Axel! Can't I just have one Saturday night, please?"
Tina sighed also as she turned to look at her. At her daughter's pleading look, she caved in.
"Who are you going with?"
Gen smiled confidently.
Casey's heart leapt when Gen approached her at the food stand, but she tried to stay professional. They may be friends now, but she was working.
"Hi, um..."
"D'you wanna hang out tonight?" Gen blurted out.
"With you?" This all had to be a dream. Gen becoming her friend, then wanting to hang out with her... And was it her imagination, but was Gen blushing like she was?
"Yeah, you know," said Gen nonchalantly while playing with her ponytail. "Get something to eat, maybe do a movie, or something."
Was she asking her out on a date?!
"Um...yeah," she smiled nervously, yet excitedly.
Gen pulled up to a house, where tons of students were mingling outside and music was blasting.
"Here we are," she smiled.
"But..." Casey looked worried. "This doesn't look like a movie."
Gen almost laughed. She was too cute. She exited her car and strutted up to the house.
"Gen!" Casey called after her, catching up. "Gen!"
Once she caught up, Gen finally stopped to look at her.
"I, um," Casey stammered. "I-I'm not dressed for a party."
You still look beautiful, Gen thought, fighting the urge to sigh. The brunette really didn't know how attractive she was, did she? Even in jeans and a sweater? Though, she supposed there was one way to put her at ease.
"Shake it," she said. When Casey had that adorably confused look on her face, she reached up and unclasped her hair. "Your hair."
Casey shook her hair once, and Gen nearly swooned when her gorgeous, wavy brown locks rested on her shoulders. This wasn't even the first time she saw her hair like this, yet it was somehow different when it actually bounced and swayed.
"Now, no one will notice," she smiled encouragingly. "Work the hair."
She led her inside the house and looked around, hoping to find her boyfriend. She kept smiling, but she had accepted that Brian was no longer exciting. She was gonna have to break up with him soon. But for now, she'd put up with the act just a little bit longer. She greeted other popular girls as Casey looked at the partying crowd, frightened.
"I don't know any of these people," Casey hissed as they walked through the house.
"Sure you do, they're all in your class," said Gen. She tried to find familiar faces. "There's...Jason, football. And Luke, soccer."
"Well, yes, I know them, but I..." Casey hastily corrected herself, "I don't actually talk to them. I don't talk to guys, or...people."
This poor girl, Gen thought. She was such a beautiful and friendly girl, and yet no one else in school ever approached her even for a chat. Did they really find her passion for physics that unappealing? Well, that was their loss and her gain. Still, she should try to get out of her comfort zone for the night. She was almost eighteen, after all (which she had found out when Casey had mentioned in passing that her birthday was the same day as the Homecoming dance).
"Well, now would be the perfect time to start," she said. She walked up to Kyle Dayton and gestured for Casey to come over. "Casey, Kyle. Kyle plays hockey, Casey skates."
"Hey," Kyle greeted her. Casey didn't say anything.
"You guys have a lot in common. Have fun."
Gen left them to go kiss Brian. No matter how much she tried, she just wasn't as thrilled to finally be with her boyfriend. He really was a sweet guy, and she didn't want to break his heart. What would he say if she told him she fell in love with their resident science geek?
She was momentarily distracted by the crowd cheering on a couple of guys preparing to zip-line across the living room. She laughed when one of them crashed through the window. What an idiot. She looked over at Casey and Kyle, but Kyle appeared to leave Casey rather abruptly. What was his problem? Then some girls she couldn't stand approached Casey and appeared to chew her out as she spluttered. She had half a mind to go over and give the girls a piece of her mind, but her brother showed up and led her away from them instead. Well, at least Casey was now with someone she trusted.
Then Jesse McCartney's "Get Your Shine On" played on the stereo, and she decided to dance some more.
Casey was actually relieved to go with Teddy to get a soda. Aside from Gen, he was the only person at this party she felt remotely comfortable with. She wasn't that disappointed to have messed up her interaction with Kyle – most guys like him didn't go for brainy girls. Ann was better off without him.
"So, you're Gen's cover tonight, huh?" Teddy teased as they leaned against one of the food tables. "It's usually my job."
"She could've warned me we were going to a party," said Casey, wanting to be annoyed but just wasn't. She could tell Gen did mean well by letting her tag along.
"You know, my sister has her own problems."
Casey nearly choked on her soda. She stared at him. "Your sister?"
"Yeah."
He was Gen's brother?! Suddenly she felt nervous about being her friend. Did he approve of her? They'd only had one real conversation before tonight, but she still didn't know a lot about him. Though she supposed she shouldn't let him know about how she felt about his sister, at least for now.
"You're Tina's son?" she chose to emphasize instead.
Teddy laughed a little. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"No, no, wow, I just, um..." She was feeling more stupid the more she talked. "I just thought –"
"I was the help?" he finished for her. When she looked away, he said, "I mean, I kinda am. Gen skates and I fix stuff." As he said that, he tried to open his can of soda, but he accidentally pulled the tab right off. "Well, most stuff."
He chuckled, but Casey took the can from him and used a plastic drink mixer to open it for him.
"An object is only as strong as its weakest point," she told him. She shrugged slightly. "Physics."
"Thanks," said Teddy as he took the can back, looking mildly impressed.
Casey suddenly felt embarrassed again, so she took a couple steps away.
"Right, so," she started, "tell me about, um...fixing stuff."
Might as well get into his good graces if she's gonna be Gen's friend.
The next couple of weeks were some of the best weeks of Gen's life. She actually started to enjoy skating again, and that was thanks to Casey's schedule training with her and the others. Since she had helped all three of them improve their forms, they each felt more confident about Regionals. But most importantly, they had fun.
Outside of skating, Gen starting asking Casey to hang out a bit more often. After the party situation, she made up for lying by planning actual dinner and movie dates. Sure, she didn't outright call them dates, but that's what they were to her. And Casey certainly didn't complain. The brunette was growing more and more confident with each date, and Gen thoroughly enjoyed when she started going on about complex formulas over a plate of pasta salad. Sure, she didn't understand half of them, but it was worth it to see her so comfortable in her element. She was on the verge of asking her to help her with her homework.
Her own eighteenth birthday had passed too, and all she got from her mother was another gift card to her favorite place to shop. It was something she definitely appreciated, but she couldn't deny that she wished she got something more meaningful. Casey, on the other hand, spent some of the money she'd earned at the food stand to get her a really pretty necklace with a diamond snowflake pendant. It didn't appear to be something terribly expensive; more like something you'd find at a Claire's. But she loved it all the same, and promised to wear it only on special occasions to prevent it from rusting. Now she wanted to think about a perfect birthday present for her, since it was getting closer. Maybe she'd ask her to the Homecoming dance...
Gen had eventually broken up with Brian, too. She didn't tell him the full reason; all she said was that she had feelings for someone else. To her relief, he was completely understanding, and was happy to stay friends. Of course, her mother was happy she had ended things with him, because that meant she could put her full focus on skating.
If only she knew why she was putting so much of her focus on skating...
When Casey walked in through the front door, she was a little curious as to why her mother was sitting there, like she'd been waiting for her.
"Hi," she greeted awkwardly.
"Well, where have you been?" Joan asked right away.
Casey shrugged. "Stayed late at school."
Joan shook her head. "No, where have you been all week?" she clarified.
Oh dear. Was she getting suspicious?
"Well, just this tutoring thing has got me totally stretched out," Casey tried to explain. She had come up with a cover story about tutoring a ninth grade student for her application so she could have time to practice skating, as well as time for Gen.
"Why are you doing this?" Joan questioned her. "I mean, this kid is obviously the dumbest ninth grader on the planet."
"Mom, it looks good on my application," said Casey, desperately wanting to go to her room. "Ann's doing it, too."
But her mother didn't seem to believe her. "Ann was with you just now?"
Casey felt a bit cold, but she nodded. "Yeah. Five minutes ago." She'd never realize lying felt this awful.
Joan stared at her. "Ann just phoned for you."
Shoot. Did she just completely blow her cover? Well, she knew she couldn't keep up the charade forever.
And here come the questions...
"What's going on?"
"Nothing," she rolled her eyes, though she was panicking on the inside. She was in big trouble now.
"And since when do you get a C on a test?" Joan asked next.
Casey's mouth fell open. How did she – ?!
"I saw it in your room- I was not snooping," Joan told her. She was sounding angry now. "I mean, you and A's are like peanut butter and jelly. Is it belated rebellion?"
"What?" Casey couldn't believe this was happening.
"Is it..." Joan looked a bit uncomfortable, "...a boy?"
"Mom, no! It's –" Casey quickly stopped herself from accidentally spilling her other secret. If her mother was this upset about her grades dropping, she dreaded to know how she'd react to her being a lesbian.
She never even told her that she was spending extra time with Gen, let alone that she was in love with her. And she certainly didn't tell her that she'd spent a generous amount of money on a necklace for her birthday; she didn't even wrap it, because she didn't want to risk her mother finding out if she'd brought it home, so she'd given it to Gen right away.
"I'm sorry," said Joan, not sounding very sorry and slightly raising her voice. "You do realize what is at stake with your grades right now?"
"I know! I know, I'm sorry!" Casey exclaimed desperately. Then she snapped. "I feel bad about the C, okay? Can you just give it a rest!" She slammed her notebook down and tried to storm off.
"Sweetie!" Joan stood up and grabbed hold of her backpack, hard enough to pull it off her shoulder.
Casey gasped, but the damage had been done. Her backpack was completely unzipped, and her mother could see her skates and her skating costume sticking out. Joan slowly picked up the dress and stared at it in utter disbelief. Casey said nothing.
In fact, neither of them spoke until dinnertime that evening. And it only got worse. Joan just didn't seem to want to understand why Casey wanted to skate when she had Harvard to look forward to. To her mother, life as an athlete could only last for so long, but using her brains for something worthwhile would lead to better, lifelong careers. But Casey just couldn't see it that way anymore. At the end of the conversation, Joan appeared to have given up as she abruptly left the room; both their plates of food had gone cold by then.
But Casey did not give up. If her mother believed she was rebelling, then that's what she'll do. She was almost eighteen, she could start making her own decisions. And she would not let her mother stop her from skating.
And there's Chapter One!
Yeah, so far the only deviation from canon is that Gen breaks up with Brian. And because we only see Brian talk once, we're not given much of a character. But because this is Disney, I thought that he should at least be a supportive friend to Gen; if this movie can portray the popular girl as anything but a stereotypical mean girl, than I can write Brian (as little as I did) as a nice guy rather than a typical popular guy/jock/bully.
Also, I realize I didn't really do too much with Ann's character, either. Honestly, I kind of also blame the movie for not doing too much with her, too – she shows up for the first part of the movie to establish herself as Casey's best friend, even showing up for Casey's recital, but then she's barely seen again until Sectionals at the very end of the movie. We get one brief mention of her calling for Casey, but that's it. I tried, guys. I also gave her her actress's last name because I found it a bit odd that she's the one character in this movie credited without a last name (even on Wikipedia and the Disney wiki she's credited as just "Ann").
One more thing I realized while re-watching this movie was just how colorful Gen's wardrobe is. I'm pretty sure she wore the colors of a handful of the pride flags, particularly the lesbian and trans flags. This movie really did say LGBTQ rights! I'm amazed it slipped under Disney's radar.
But anyway, that's Chapter One done! I'll upload Chapter Two once I get around to finishing it – all I have to do is write out the final skate scene and the end of the movie! I hope you enjoyed this so far!