Learning To Fall

twenty two

"I didn't even know they had an ice rink," I admit as we walk into the chilly arena. Rachel scrunches her eyebrows at me and holds out her arms.

"Where do you think View Point's hockey team practices?" She asks, and I simply shrug in reply.

"I hadn't given it much thought," I answer. She pays for our skates, and I open my mouth to object before she interrupts.

"This is my treat to you, so I'm paying for everything." I go to object again, but she glares daggers at me. I throw up my hands in surrender. Rachel smiles contentedly and then orders our sizes.

After we're situated, Rachel and I put our shoes in random lockers in the women's lockeroom. Then, about five minutes later, I'm across from Rachel on the ice.

"So I may or may not have forgotten how to actually skate," I sheepishly admit. She gives me an are you kidding me look before sighing.

"Why are you so difficult Andy?" She groans, and I shrug sarcastically. "Sometimes I really hate you."

"Deal with it." I answer, but it's less menacing when I teater in my skates.

Soon enough, I'm re-taught how to skate. Surprisingly, once I got the hang of it, I remembered everything I learned when I was eight. Rachel and I end up skating away from each other, and when I look up next she's talking to some older guy. They seem to be hitting it off, so I just skate aimlessly around the rink, looking at the indentations the blades of my skates make in the ice below. When I collide with a broader, taller body, I make a sound of shock before hitting the ice.

"I'm so sorry," A soft and deep voice apologizes from above as the mystery guy helps me up. As soon as we make eye contact I recognize him. "Andy?"

"Hey, Tyler," I greet awkwardly, brushing the small ice particles off of my hoodie. From freshman to sophomore year, I had the biggest crush on him. But, I ended up convincing myself to get over it. Still, he was a sight. Light brown hair and kind eyes, nothing like his older brother (who was caught kissing his ex on the night of his and Rachel's date.)

"Sorry about the whole bumping into you thing," Tyler continues to apologize. I laugh it off.

"It's fine," I insist, starting back at a slow pace. He skates next to me and we're silent for a while, but I disturb it. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty okay, and you?" The taller boy asks, and I shrug.

"It's nice to get away." Is my answer. Tyler nods in agreement, and seems to stop and think before saying his next words.

"I heard about you and Luke," He states. Of course he did, everyone knows. "What him and Cecily did is really shitty, and if you would've told me I could've dropped him in a second." His next words blindside me. Usually people would say "oh, sorry" or look at me with pity. To them I would always be the girl who got her heart broken by her first love who wasn't content with just one girl and her best friend who was never really a best friend at all. So, I laugh.

"Really?" I question, and he nods vigorously.

"Totally. I had the biggest crush on you," Tyler laughs, and even though I was surely over him now, my stomach does flips.

"Now you tell me." I joke, and he raises a dark eyebrow. "I was super into you," I continue to admit. His pale face visibly flushes and it takes everything in me to not laugh at his dumbfounded expression.

"Hey, Donohue." Rachel greets to Tyler as she skates up with the guy I saw her talking to earlier. Then, she turns to me. "This is Thomas, and he wants to take me to dinner. Is that okay?" She asks, and it takes me by surprise.

"Yeah, it's fine Rae," I answer, and she nonchalantly flashes a huge grin. Soon enough, all four of us are outside the ice rink and on the way back to the lodge.

>>

"She finally moved on from Riley?" Calum asks from his side of the screen. We were currently Skyping, because evidently texting wasn't enough for him.

"I guess so," I laugh back, placing my head on my knee. After Rachel left with Thomas, Tyler and I walked around the lodge for a while until he dropped me off at Rachel and I's shared room. And here I am, an hour of Calum insisting that we Skype later. I decide to change the subject. "Guess who I bumped into,"

"Who?" The maori boy on my screen asks, causing me to laugh. At times he was so impatient, almost like a little kid. The chubby cheeks didn't help, either.

"I said guess." I insist, and he sighs. Finally, I sigh back. "I ran into, quite literally may I add, Tyler Donohue."

"You mean Donodouche?" Calum asks, and I snort.

"Shut up, he's actually very sweet. Unlike Riley, he actually has a heart." Riley, his older brother, was a tool. He used girls for sex, money, you name it, and when he was done with them he deleted their numbers and acted like he never knew them. It happened to Mali during Calum and I's freshman year. So, needless to say, Calum wasn't very fond of the Donohues.

"Didn't you have this huge crush on him?" Is Calum's next question. I nod, and he nods in reply. "So, continue your story."

"Anyways, I was skating and wasn't really paying attention and we ran into each other. We started talking, and he actually walked me back here. Turns out that he also had a crush on me. So, if I didn't get in my head freshman year, I could've dated him and completely avoided Luke."

"But then we never would've became friends." Calum frowns, and I look down at my laptop keyboard.

"True." I state, and don't have to look at the screen to know Calum is nodding in agreement. I look up at the screen. "So, how's your girlfriend?" At that, he tenses up.

"We broke up." Calum answers, and my eyes widen.

"Why?"

"She flipped at the pictures of us," He sighs. Guilt immediately runs through me. In Calum's room, there were multiple pictures of us on his walls.

"You're kidding. Did you tell her that we're just friends?" I ask.

"Yeah." Cal replies sharply, and I draw back.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You'll be back by New Years, right?" Calum asks, causing me to nod.

"New Years Eve. Which, is tomorrow," I respond.

"I can read," He insists, I laugh. "You're coming to- nevermind." I raise an eyebrow. "I was gonna ask if you're coming to the New Year's party in Lockwood." Immediately, I tense up. The last time Cal and I were in Lockwood, he came home beaten to a pulp.

"Depends," I sigh, and it's his turn to raise a dark eyebrow.

"On?" He asks.

"If you'll be with me the whole night." At that, Calum smiles.

"Then it's set, we're going to another Lockwood party."