august; ethan edwards

chapter ix. late night skates

Spencer had no idea why she was currently pacing back and forth in her bedroom at 1 in the morning. Actually, she did have an idea. She was awoken to her phone blowing up, countless messages from Ethan Edwards rolling in telling her to be ready in twenty minutes and to wear something warm.

She hoped to be stronger, to not reply and go about her night. It was clear he didn't want her, and continuing the late night adventures to god knows where with him was not putting her mind at ease. However, in true Spencer Estapa fashion, she had given him the okay and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a thick jumper.

She felt stupid. Completely and utterly dumb. But she just couldn't help herself.

So, when her phone rang approximately seventeen minutes later, she grabbed it and headed out the door.

Ethan was parked in the same spot he was last time, and when Spencer climbed into the car she was slapped with an odd feeling of déjà vu as he started the car and drove off without a word.

"Where are we going?" Spencer asked.

"You'll see." Ethan replied bluntly, his tone humorous and a small smirk tugging at his lips.

"You said that last time." Spencer huffed. The boy chuckled but didn't respond until a few moments later.

"Where'd you go the other night? I tried looking for you but Dylan said you left." Ethan asked, momentarily taking his eyes off the road to look at the girl beside him. Spencer avoided his eye as she looked out her window at the passing buildings.

He was referring to the party, and Spencer didn't know whether to feel giddy or angry that he had followed through with his promise of finding her after his time had been occupied by a random blonde girl he didn't know the name of.

"Me, Cami and the guys went back to our dorm. We got bored." She shrugged nonchalantly. It was a lie, they all had a lot of fun. Ethan didn't respond, just merely nodding his head as he listened.

A few moments had passed before the two were pulling up at the Children of Yost centre. Confusion overtook Spencer's face as she glanced up at the building in front of her.

"Why are we here?" She asked Ethan, who had already hooper out of the car. "You ask too many questions." He laughed before grabbing a bag from the back seat. "Maybe cause you don't answer any of them." Spencer rolled her eyes before jumping out of the car also.

She trailed behind Ethan, halting in her footsteps when he stopped at the front door and fished a pair of keys out of his pocket.

"Are we even allowed here?" She asked the boy, watching carefully as he unlocked the door. "Coach lets me come here to practice sometimes." He shrugged before opening the door and holding it open for Spencer to slip through.

The arena was far quieter than Spencer had ever heard it, and all the lights being turned off gave it an eerie feel. Goosebumps arose on her skin and she was glad Ethan told her to dress in something warm or she was sure she'd be shivering.

"Can you tell me what we're doing here now?" She turned to face the Edwards boy, but was met with nothing. Her face dropped along with her heart at the realisation that he had ditched her in here.

"Ethan?" She called out, inching backwards slightly. This was straight out of a horror movie. Soon enough, something was going to pop out of the shadows and murder her and leave her for the cleaners to find in the morning.

She could picture the news stories now.

'College student killed on campus while breaking into sporting arena.'

God, she should've stayed asleep.

The lights behind her suddenly flickered on, causing her to jump to face the ice. Her breathing sped up and her hands trembled. The lights of the arena slowly turned on one by one, lighting up the entire building.

"Nope, screw this." Spencer whispered to herself. before spinning on her heel and preparing to head to the exit. What she didn't expect was for Ethan to be standing right behind her with a shit eating grin. Releasing a small yelp, Spencer pushed the boy back on instinct.

"You cant just do that!" Spencer exclaimed as she shuffled backwards, putting space in between her and the Edwards boy. "Do what?" He feigned innocence.

"Disappear and leave me stranded in here alone. I thought I was about to be murdered!"

"Murdered? In Michigan?" His eyebrows raised and Spencer countered it with a scoff as she walked around him and towards the exit. Ethan chuckled lightly before grabbing the girls hand and dragging her over to the bench. Spencer tried to voice her complaints but was shut up as the boy forced her to sit down.

"Give me your foot." He ordered as he rummaged through the contents of his bag. "I'm not giving you my foot, weirdo." Spencer retorted, earning herself an eye roll from the boy. A few seconds later, the boy retrieved a pair of skates that seemed to be far too small for him from his bag. Spencer's eyebrows raised at the sight.

"We're going skating?"

The boy hummed in confirmation, "I'm gonna teach you since you don't know how." He recalled the information that Spencer had told him at the party a few short nights ago.

"You remembered that?"

"Of course I remembered. I remember everything you tell me." He had said it as if it was the most casual thing in the world, as if the words alone didn't made Spencer's heart leap out of her chest and her world stop spinning. 

Biting back a smile, Spencer tried to ignore the heat of his gaze that she could feel on her face as she slid her own shoes off and grabbed the skates from his hand.

"Are you blushing?" Ethan teased, reaching over to tug at a strand of her loose hair. "No, that's just the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"So, you're blushing?" He reaffirmed cockily. Spencer rolled her eyes before tying the last lace of her skates and standing up. Her legs wobbled at the sudden imbalance of her feet, but Ethan was quick to grab her waist to steady her. Her face wasn't the only one to heat up as Ethan realised his actions and his hand placement.

"Now, are you gonna teach me how to skate or am I going to have to teach myself?" She asked sarcastically before hobbling over to the entrance of the rink before stopping. The brunette turned to face the boy, who was struggling to tie his laces as quick as he wanted to, a small grin plastered on his face.

authors note
i didn't edit this
so ignore any mistakes