You & The Ice: A One Direction Story

Chapter Three: Accounts recommended for you.. @louist91

Louis and I stand in silence for a few moments. "Well, I guess I'm going to stay hiding here for awhile. At least until someone can come get me discreetly" He sighs deeply and sits back down on the ground against the brick wall. Next to that giant trash can, he doesn't look much like a psycho killer on the run, he just looks like someone tired. He looks younger than me."Are you sure you don't wanna find a... Nicer hiding spot? Like a cafe or library or something?"

Snowbell waits patiently at my feet, even she knows we've been out too long. I need to get to the rink, I can't break my routine. "Nah, you know, lots of people there I'll bet" Louis replies, not looking at me. Guilt and something like pity swirls around in my head and makes my heart hurt a bit.

"You don't have to, of course," I mumble, "But you can come with me to my ice rink. No one comes there in the morning but me." I don't even think the owners get there before I do. He takes a minute to ponder this and then his face rises and he's smiling again. The one where it reaches his eyes, makes them shimmer. "I would like that, thank you."

And so we leave that dark alleyway together, looking out for any young girls hollering, or people taking pictures.

The same 16 year-old-looking worker is sitting at the front desk, face down in some magazine with large lettering & intense colors. We walk by silently. Louis doesn't take his eyes off the kid until we make it into the lobby. So paranoid. Snowbell races in and makes laps around the benches, I have only taken her here once and we got kicked out. No dogs allowed on the ice apparently. But the faint snoring coming from behind us, makes me sure Snowbell can enjoy herself for as long as she wants. Louis's eyebrows un-scrunch as he investigates down by the rink for any skaters.

Bringing him here was kind of me and I'm glad I did, but having to come straight here without any of my stuff, like my skates or my jacket, I almost regret it. Almost. As I skate around another loop, I feel every inch of the rental skates dig into my feet. It's as if they are too big and too small.

Louis watches from the rustic seats facing the rink, Snowbell is sleeping as close as she can to the door, waiting for me to come out again. I should be embarrassed about me skating around in my pajamas, but I'm not. He's the one who was hiding behind a dumpster, I remark in my head.

Without any break, I stop my warm up laps to begin practicing my jumps and spins. I land some small ones, pop a few here and there due to my baggy pajama joggers getting tangled up with my skates. Reaching down, my warm, sweaty hands roll up my pant legs. The cold almost burns my exposed skin, but I'm confident this will make this practice actually worth doing.

I spin around and around, unable to see Louis or Snowbell, or anyone or anything. This is the part that makes it all worth it. This is what it feels like to be snow. I push away my dizziness when I stop spinning, focusing on making bigger jumps. I don't pop a single one. Maybe all those Instagram comments were right, maybe I am good. But then I pop the last grand jump, which causes me to fall for the first time this entire practice week.

Sweating and almost choking on my fatigue, I coast back to the door, mildly slamming my aching body against it. I didn't notice on the ice, but Louis is no longer sitting at his spot. He's at the glass looking in, eyes a bit wide, with his hand resting on the glass wall gently, as if he's going to talk to someone in the rink. I step out, and wobble on the blades of my skates, facing him. Snowbell licks the shaved ice off my legs. "All right?" I ask, reaching down to fiddle off my cheap laces. He's silent and by the time I look up, the previous expression on his face disappears and he's normal,"You're quite good at that aren't you?" A shrug is all I can muster. "That one trick you did was sick," he starts, his phone ringing cuts wherever else he was going to add off.

Still standing beside Louis, I yank the evil rental skates off me and scoop them up in one hand. "That's my ride outside" he says hanging up his phone. I nod and walk toward the lobby, ice melts down my leg and into my sock.

It doesn't take me long to put my shoes back on and corral Snowbell into getting her leash hooked on her harness. Louis stands in the door frame between the front door and the lobby, watching me as I prepare to leave. I only lose sight of him long enough to take a drink out of the groaning water fountain. When I turn to wish him well, he is gone. I never even told him my name.