Ice queen

Chapter Two

I'm stretching my legs while getting ready for my nationals competition later today, I know exactly which routine I'm going to use, the only problem is, it's the hardest one that I've learnt yet, and I still haven't managed to land my triple axel jump. It looks like I'm going to have to wing it on the ice.

Slowly I lean down to stretch my calves, I place my hands on a nearby chair and swing my leg over the chair next to it, as I lean forward, I feel the slight tug on my muscles, the indicator that the stretch is working. I grunt, pushing onto my leg.

God I'm so nervous.

I haven't competed in two years. Basically since mom died. It was tough without her and I kind of lost the motivation to do anything.

If I'm being fully honest, I didn't want to go back to skating, I didn't want to go back to living my life, but it's what my mom wanted. Her biggest dream was for me to be a champion figure skater, and for a while, it was mine too. I loved it. I loved the spotlights and roses, the crowds and the fame, I loved it and so did she. But when she died, nothing mattered anymore, she's my light in a world of darkness, no, she's my world.

I bite my lip and blink back a tear.

She was my world. 

But now she's gone.

I slowly straighten up, brushing the thoughts of mom from my mind, and move on to stretching my hamstrings. I'm just getting into position when I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I spin around, brushing the loose bits of hair that had fallen out of my messy bun from my eyes and come face to face with, 

"Aaron?"

Aaron is standing in front of me holding a bunch of flowers, are they...roses? Yea roses. My eyes dart down to a note perched between two of the flowers on the bouquet,

'Good luck, (not that you need it.) I'm rooting for you to win. -A'

He looks nervous and wipes his left hand on his grey joggers.

Flowers? God this man is perfection.

He's wearing a white t shirt and Nike joggers.

Omigosh I can see his biceps. Omigosh they're huge. 

Omigod I'm staring...

I abruptly look away and feel my face begin to heat up with embarrassment. Stupid stupid stupid embarrasment.

"Um these are for um-"  Aaron begins speaking, but I cut him off.

"If you're looking for Olivia, she's getting changed with the other girls." I snap.

"I was actually um-"

"The changing room is just down the hall and to the left, you can't miss it. Though I wouldn't recommend going in." I joke. 

I look up at him slightly, and take in the way he's looking at me.

My feelings for this boy are so confusing.

Everyone knows that he has his heart set on Olivia Kent. She is the perfect example of a supermodel. She's tall with straight blonde hair and perfect shiny skin, I don't think that I've ever seen her with a pimple on her face, she has a gorgeous figure and full rosy lips, and her eyes, god they're like something out of a disney movie. She's perfect for Aaron, and he for her. He's not just perfect for Olivia though, he's perfect in general.

I mean, firstly, he's British. 

So of course all the girls in school are constantly fawning over him, practically throwing themselves at his feet, begging him to say their names in his 'hot British accent.' 

(Okay, there was no need for quote marks, it is hot.)

But he's also not horrible to look at either, with his perfectly messy brown hair and piercing blue eyes, his sharp jawline and toned abs (which I have seen by the way), and don't even get me started on his height, 6ft 4 and every centimetre is perfection.

Aaron and I used to be close friends, sometimes I even deluded myself into thinking he used to like me back, but we drifted after the accident. I drifted away from everyone if I'm being honest, well everyone except Allie, she didn't leave my side for 3 months after the accident, she would constantly bring ice cream and cookies and would cry with me. Allie isn't my sister, but she's the closest thing I have to one, her mom, Emilia, feels almost like a second mother to me, I mean, I can see why. Emilia and my mom were best friends since they were 8, so our families were super tight. I think mom's death hurt Allie and Emilia almost as much as it hurt me. I think that-

A light shuffling noise pulls me from my thoughts.

Sugar puffs, I zoned out again.

I look up at Aaron, only to find that he's still looking at me.

"Is there anything else you need? Because if not I'd like to get back to my stretching." I wince at how harsh my words sound, but before I can voice my apology Aaron nods slightly and points down the hallway.

"This way, right?" He asks. I choose not to speak and nod stiffly instead, it feels like the safer option, I don't really trust my words around him.

I remember one time I was walking past him in the school hallway and he accidentally let a door close on me, he looked so shocked and apologised profusely over and over again, and without thinking I just replied, "You're welcome." And walked off, it was only after about a minute that I realised what I said, I spun around to express my own string of apologies, when I noticed he was already gone. I was so embarrassed.

When I finally look up Aaron is walking away, I sigh, and begin to continue stretching, when I notice the roses sitting gracefully on the bench.

"Aaron, you left your-" I'm cut off by the sound of the exit door closing.

Maybe Aaron went that way?

No that can't be right, Olivia and the girls were in the changing rooms in the completely opposite direction, and he came here to deliver flowers to her, flowers that he forgot, but that's besides the point.

I smile down at the roses, they're my favourite flower, not that Aaron could have known that.

A lot of people like so assume that I love them so much because we share the same name, but really I like how deceiving they are, how they protect their inner beauty with thorns, they remind me of people really. How we hide who we really are to please others, we're all just a bunch of roses really, waiting for our thorns to be clipped.