On Thin Ice (editing again)

Chapter- Secret Locker Notes Can Only Mean One Thing

Blaze

Austin answered his door soon after I knocked with his shirt off and his eight week old puppy cradled in his arms. He greeted me with a smile, and it still amazed me how he has such perfect teeth for a hockey player.

"Hey, Blaze! Come on in." He invited, stepping aside so I could walk in. It was nice and warm in his house, and he was always cooking something.

"Want a grilled cheese?" He asked. I couldn't decline.

It wasn't long before I was laying on the couch with him, his dog on my stomach, and I was a grilled cheese sandwich. We didn't talk, we just sat there in comfortable silence.

The hurt was just now starting to go away and I hadn't felt the need to cry whenever I saw Razor. I was starting to get a grip on this whole situation, which was good. I needed to get back some control of my life, and I hoped it started with this, being able to accept the situation and move on. It still hurt, the pain was going to be there, I knew that for sure, but it really wasn't that bad anymore.

Austin had his free hand around my waist and petting his dog, who was starting to fall asleep. I knew I wasn't allowed to move once the puppy fell asleep, which was alright with me. I could stay here for a long, long time.

Then, Austin's phone buzzed in his pocket. He put his sandwich in his mouth, wiped his fingers on his jeans, and then took out his phone. He read the text message and responded with one hand, but I noticed that he was holding a slip of paper between his fingers and his phone.

"Hey, Austin, what's this?" I asked curiously. I tugged at the slip of paper and his cheeks immediately flushed.

"It's nothing. I swear." He responded.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me!" I said, giggling.

"Seriously, it's not that big of a deal."

"It so is! Let me see!" I said, taking the slip of paper from his hand. He sighed and smiled.

The note was written on a scrap of paper torn from a corner of a math worksheet, and in messy, smudged handwriting it read

Meet me at the football stadium after school on Friday. -M

"Oh, my God! You have a secret admirer!!" I yelled, punching him in the arm.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Do you have any idea who it is?"

"Not a clue."

"Well, I can tell you they're a leftie. See how it's all smudged? I'm stuck on the M, though."

"Yeah, me too. I get what you're saying about the leftie thing. It doesn't narrow it down, I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

"Austin, how long have these been going on?" I asked. He was still blushing. I put my grilled cheese sandwich aside and picked up the dog in my arms before sitting up and facing Austin. My interest was piqued at this point.

"A couple weeks. Every note has been shoved through the slots at the top of my locker, and they're usually pretty consistent. It's not you, is it? Your last name is Morgan, after all."

"No, it's not me. I'm a righty, and that's not my handwriting. Besides, it would be way too much trouble to have someone write them out for me. You really have no clue who it is? Not even one person?"

"No, and it's making me so anxious not knowing. I'm so nervous for tomorrow, though."

"This is so exciting!"

"For you. Would you mind hanging around after school for a few minutes in case things go wrong?"

"Sure, I'll be your wingman." I joked.

"No, seriously. I want you close by so I can have a timely escape from whatever I'm getting myself into."

"Of course I'll be there." I assured.

I was mostly okay with this since Austin and I never declared ourselves a thing, and I was cool with that. Mainly, we just liked hanging out with each other and cuddling. I was also excited to find out who his secret admirer was.

After school the next day, I hung out in my car that I parked by the stadium and cracked the window. I was scrolling through Twitter while listening to the radio, looking up at Austin every once in a while. From where I was parked, I got a good visual of Austin, but not of his secret admirer.

Austin nervously walked up to the track and field, today's note in his hand. He looked nervous and awkward as he was looking around, but his expression changed when he saw who his secret admirer was.

Austin was taken aback, he raised his eyebrows and looked down at his note before looking at the person that was writing him notes. His admirer gently waved, and I shifted in my seat to try to see who it was but unless I stood out the sunroof, I couldn't see their face.

Austin pointed to himself, asked "me?" And looked around questioningly.

"Yes, you!" His admirer answered before walking towards him. He had a hint of a smile pulling at his lips as he lifted up his SnapBack to run his hand through his blonde hair. His expression was unreadable.

"Are you disappointed?" His admirer asked. His hands were shoved in his pockets and I knew they were nervous out of their mind too.

"A little surprised, but no. I'm not disappointed at all." He smiled. Austin opened his arms wide and walked towards his admirer. They hugged for a long time before turning towards the parking lot.

At this point I was leaning out the car window, and when I saw who the hell his admirer was, I shrieked and literally fell out my car window onto the pavement. It was Owen Matthews, captain of the swim team and State Champion in the 100 butterfly.

I didn't want them to see me, so quickly jumped around to the other side of my car so I could listen to their conversation.

"Honestly, I had no idea who it was. I was pretty much prepared for anything," Austin started. "But I'm confused as why you didn't just come talk to me."

"Well, I didn't come talk to you for a few reasons. I thought you were way too cool for me and I could never get up the courage to talk to you in person. I knew that I would mess it up somehow, and it was easier for me to just write notes. And, I wanted you to like me before you met me, but I was still afraid that you'd hate me."

"Oh, come on. That's absurd."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that? Anyway, I almost didn't come in fear of being ridiculed or rejected. I know you're going to say you'd never do that, but what if you did? I was just all around nervous." He explained with a quiet laugh at the end.

Meanwhile, I was so excited and happy for them I was about to explode. I was jumping up and down, silently screaming, since it really couldn't get any better than this.

"Well, how about we hang out tonight. Come on over and we can do whatever, do homework, play video games, you know."

"Maybe a movie?" Owen suggested.

"Sounds great. What time?"

"Just come on over. My door is open." Austin invited welcomingly.

A part of me wished that I was hanging out with Austin tonight, but maybe this was a cosmic sign that it just wasn't meant to be for Austin and me. We would just have to see where Razor and I ended up, but tonight I was hanging out with Jared.