Downhill || 𝘥𝘯𝘧

XIX

𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓇

"Here you go," the lady said, pushing two sets of skates forward. Dream and George took the boots, wearing smiles of gratitude.

"Thank you," George said as they took the heavy white skates to the locker room to put them on.

They were visiting an outdoor ice-skating rink in the city. There were over a dozen people already there, skating around on the ice; some with skill, some not.

To be honest; George didn't really know how to skate. He was better than Dream, at least. Obviously. He lives in Florida, for crying out loud.

This was gonna be quite the experience.

"These things are heavy," George complained as he slid the boots over his socks and began lacing them.

"I've never skated before in my life," Dream said with a chuckle. "This is gonna be interesting."

"Why do you think I suggested we come here?" George asked with a smirk. "I wanted to finally be better than you at something."

"You're better than me at a lot of things," Dream scoffed as he gripped a white string in his hand and pulled it tight over his foot.

"Mhm," George said.

They got their boots on and shuffled their way towards the ice. They were both wearing black coats, gloves and hats, along with masks and scarves. It was cold out, after all.

As soon as George stepped out into the ice, a cold breeze cut through hi, somehow finding a way through his thick jackets and chilling him to the bone. The sky was covered with a thick blanket of fluffy gray clouds. He could detect a slight tang of that nostalgic smell in the wind; the smell of a storm coming.

He instantly turned back to leave. "Nope. Cold."

"Oh, come on," Dream said, pushing him forward.

"Dream!" George exclaimed indignantly as he was pushed onto the ice and started sliding backwards against his will. "What the heck!"

Dream burst out laughing as George lost his balance and flopped onto his back, hitting his shoulder painfully on the rock-hard ice. "Ow," he muttered while Dream exclaimed "oh shit!"

Dream made his way to his side as quickly as he could - which wasn't very quick, mind you - and kneeled beside him. They were both laughing, but Dream's eyes were apologetic.

"Sorry," he choked out through the laughter. "But I didn't even push you that hard! I thought you knew how to skate," he snickered as George sat up.

"I went once, like, seven years ago! You really expect me to remember how?" George retorted, rubbing his shoulder painfully. He acted indignant, but he was laughing. Dream's little declaration of 'oh shit' after pushing him over was enough to tickle his laugh box.

"Here, lemme help you up," Dream said, standing straight up and offering his hand. "Only a minute in, and you've already fallen once," he mused.

George reluctantly took Dream's hand and allowed him to pull him to his feet. He was surprised by Dream's strength. He didn't look particularly muscular; but make no mistake. This guy could probably chuck you across the room if he wanted to.

"Thanks," George breathed as he rolled his shoulder sorely. "That's gonna leave a mark."

"You good?" Dream asked.

"Yeah. Just fine. I totally didn't just fall on my back and embarrass myself in front of all these people," George rolled his eyes.

"Well, geez, maybe you shouldn't have fallen, then."