𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Althea

The game had been intense and I had been on the edge of my seat when Blake stormed up to Jonesy and grabbed her jersey. I didn't have to wonder what they were arguing about or what had led Bela and Daria to foul out like that.
  There had been a collective gasp throughout the stadium when they sandwiched Blake. They didn't hold any remorse for their actions, they didn't even help her to her feet.
  I knew they had done it for me and I didn't even try to hide my smile.
  Aiden found me during the last half of the game. I was surprised to see him, I had never taken him for a hockey fan.
  "Do you think the scouts are going to overlook that?" He wondered aloud.
  I snorted and shook my head. "Not only was it very unprofessional, it was probably illegal. But it was their first foul of the game."
  "What's their deal with that player anyway?"
  That player. Blake Kensington. The girl who tried, and failed, to ruin my life and relationship. I mean, for a moment there she had won, but now Jonesy and I were stronger than before.
  "I heard she's a bitch," I replied sarcastically, not necessarily wanting to get into the gory details of why my friends had ganged up on her.
  Aiden cocked his head. "Who is she? She can't be that bad. You know who is a bitch? Daria Michaels and your spicy tempered blonde friend, Stella."
  "Daria is not a bitch, she just has a very strong personality." I never knew there would be a day where I was actively defending Daria's attitude, yet here we were. "Weaker personalities don't stand a chance against her, and Stella just doesn't want to hook up with you." I laughed and grabbed a small handful of peanuts from his cup before answering his original question.
  "That's Blake Kensington."
  Aiden's eyes widened as he nodded. He kept his eyes on her, watching her like a hawk.
  I bumped his elbow with mine. "I don't think she swings that way, man."
  A blush crept across his face and he shook his head. "I wasn't looking at her like that. You are still dating the captain of the Serpents, right? Claypoole?"
  I looked at him with skepticism. '"Yeah, why?"
  "How does she feel about playing against your ex?"
  I almost choked on my peanuts. "What did you say?" Aiden shrugged. "I mean, you used to hookup with Blake Kensington, right? And now you're dating Claypoole, and they're playing against each other. That's probably why there's so much tension on the ice."
  My body went still. "How-how do you know that?"
  He lazily turned his eyes to me. "You told me, remember?"
  I shook my head. "I've only told one person about Blake. My girlfriend." I would've remembered if I had told him something like that. But there was that time we had gotten super drunk over Christmas break, had it slipped out then and I just forgot about it?
  Aiden gave me a strange look. "No, I'm positive you told me about her. I wouldn't lie to you, Thea."
  I looked away, confusion flooding me. Before I could answer, the crowd stood and cheered as Jonesy's team scored the winning goal. They had officially won the championship, despite Bela and Daria's foul.
  I rose with them and cheered at the top of my lungs. I didn't hide my smile at Blake's temper tantrum, or when she stormed off the ice with several of her teammates on her heels.
  I still considered confronting her about going to Matteo; even three months after finding out it had been her, I still couldn't wrap my head around why she would do such a thing. There was also the matter of who had told her in the first place. I was so sure she had completely forgotten about me.
  "Hey, you should come out with us to Mel's for ice cream." I turned to Aiden only to find his place beside me empty. "Aiden?"
  It was as if he had completely vanished into thin air, one second he was here and gone the next. This was the second time he had left without warning, the first being the night of our first Nutcracker performance. Both times he had disappeared without an explanation, like a ghost.
  I made my way down the stairs and towards the locker room where Jonesy and her teammates were busy congratulating each other. Bela was actually tearing up.
  "Hey, that was such a great game." I stood on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around Jonesy who gave me a lopsided grin.
  "You think so? The look on Blake's face was absolutely priceless." She shook her, her smile spreading across her face.
  "Yeah, remember when you said you wouldn't do any "unsportsmanlike behavior" earlier today?" I cocked a brow at her and laughed as the tips of her ears turned bright red.
  "Yeah, about that. I'm so-"
  I cut her off with a kiss. I didn't care anymore. We had won and Blake had gotten her ass handed to her.
  "I take it you're not mad?"
  I shook my head and smiled up at my girl. "No, not mad. Not mad at all." A look of relief washed over her face and I laughed. I turned to Bela and Daria who were busy rehashing their iconic moment.
  "Thank you, guys. I know what you did was risky and unprofessional, but it means a lot to me."
  Bela smiled and tackled me with a ferocious hug, almost suffocating me. "Of course, Thea. I'd do it again for you any day."
  Daria gave me a half smile, which was half a smile more than usual. "You're part of our group and we don't allow bitches to come at us like that and get away with it. Besides, it was Blake fucking Kensington; I've been waiting to do something like that for years."
  I was pretty sure that was the most amount of words she had ever directly said to me. We were getting somewhere, finally.
  Jonesy cleared her throat. "Well, this suddenly got very emotional. I could go for some ice cream, what do you think?"
  I nodded in agreement. "I was going to invite Aiden but he disappeared before I could." I frowned. "It was strange, he's been acting weird lately."
  Jonesy's eyes narrowed. "Weird how?"
  I pushed open the doors leading out into the hallway. "He was asking me all these weird questions; he knew about my past with Blake, saying I had told him about her, but I don't ever remember telling anyone other than you. He asked if that was the reason there was so much tension on the ice."
  Her face paled and she stopped walking. I turned to her, puzzled. "There's something I need to tell you about him and you really, really won't like it."
  I froze, anxiety building in my gut. "What is it? Tell me." She went on to tell me about how after Bela and Daria had sandwiched Blake, she called it the Panama Canal. Blake had started yelling at her. I nodded, remembering that heated moment.
  I had been on the edge of my seat, my nails digging into my palms. I couldn't hear what they had been saying but I knew it was about me.
  She went on to explain how Blake had slipped up and told her the name of her informant. She hadn't explicitly said it was Aiden as in my Aiden. Just Aiden.
  I shook my head, refusing to believe that he of all people would do such a thing. He was my friend. He was my skating partner. He wouldn't lie to me.
  "No, no. It's not him, okay? It can't be him. I know him, he wouldn't do something like that." I felt sick to my stomach. "There has to be someone else, there must be a different Aiden. How would he even know Blake?"
  It couldn't be him. It couldn't, it couldn't. I felt tears brimming in my eyes and my head began to spin. Even though I didn't want to admit it, my brain was slowly putting together the pieces. Remembering things I had chosen to forget.
  Aiden had always been there, always listening and watching. I had told him about my parents and how I was worried and scared of disappointing them. He was the closest thing I had to a brother.
  I didn't really consider him my ex since we had only dated for a month, and I had spent the entire time we were together hiding my feelings for Jonesy. We never really connected until after we broke up.
  Had that all been part of his plan? Had this been some sort of revenge ploy?
  A familiar voice caught my attention and I bolted around the corner, leaving a confused Jonesy behind me. Aiden was standing at the end of the hall by the exit doors, talking to a dark haired girl. His face paled when we saw me and the dark haired girl turned around.
  Blake Kensington.