When the Ice Breaks

V

Isabel

It had been about two weeks since I last spoke to Stella. I saw her in the halls and at the ice rink but we didn't speak. After she shoved me up against her car and whined like a child I was done. Her attitude was insane. Yet, the way it felt when she was that close was so weird, almost as if my entire body was on fire. It was weird not hearing her stupid jokes or the way she was so tender when helping me skate. It was almost as if there were two Stellas: One, who was kind and funny, and another who was dark and cruel. I tried not to think about her much and it worked great because, by day 6 of no contact, I had almost forgotten about her. 

I was sitting in calculus with Chloe as she was twirling her hair. "We should go to the hockey game tonight," she said nonchalantly. "Boys or girls," I replied not paying attention. "girls, because I wanna see Stella Bowers play," she responded. As soon as the name hit my ears I looked at her as if she had two heads. "Why, Stella is an asshole," I replied. She shrugged, "I heard they're good and Stella is pretty funny," she quipped back. I snorted and shook my head, "yeah, whatever sure let's go," I responded. She smiled widely and gave me a side hug. I had only just realized what I had agreed to and I had no idea what I was gonna do.

After school ended Chloe wanted to go shopping but I wanted extra practice. She went to the mall but I stayed at school. I changed into my workout clothes and laced up my skates. When I got onto the ice I put my headphones in and skated for what seemed like hours. When I saw the other team's bus pull up I stepped off the ie and went to the locker room. It was dark and quiet which meant no one was there. I took off my skates and put my shoes back on when I had a weird feeling. I turned around and standing right behind me was Stella. 

I yelped and her eyes widened. "Shit! Did I scare you, fuck I'm sorry," she said looking like a deer in headlights. I rolled my eyes, "I'm fine Stella," I responded. She nodded and just stood there looking at me. She looked like she had something to say but wouldn't say it. I crossed my arms and looked at her with a "spit it out look". as if the words came tumbling out of her like a full bucket, "Fuck I'm so sorry Iz for the way I treated you. I was such an asshole and you didn't deserve that. You're actually really cool and really talented at skating I saw you today and you looked amazing like It was unbelievable." I started at her shocked and whispered, "You think I looked good?" She blushed and scratched behind her neck, "yeah I mean I wasn't watching like a stalker but yeah you're pretty good," she said looking at the floor. I don't know what it was but I rushed up to her and wrapped my arms around her torso. It took her a second to recognize what was happening but she quickly returned the hug. I could feel her heart beating rapidly and her hands were stiff on my back. I stepped back letting go. "Good luck tonight," I said. She smiled and walked out of the locker room. I stood there baffled at what just happened. I smiled widely and walked out to watch her hockey game.