Sam: Imprisoned (Book 3)

Say Cheese

  The taller man in front of me seemed to know just where to go. It was like he had a map of the place burned into his eyelids. Since it was a Sunday, the place was pretty crowded and families clogged the building. Luckily, the two of us managed to squirm through groups to a door that led outside. We didn't stop there as the view of the ice skating rink came into view. It was filled to the brim with people that were smiling and laughing in a good time. 
  "Shoe size," a high pitch, perky voice broke our thoughts as we shifted our gaze. It was a young woman that obviously worked here. Her coffee colored curly hair bounced against her shoulders as she turned her head to us.
  Before the quiet could continue, I answered, "Size nine, please."
  Which snapped Tony into the conversation as well while he told the lady what size he wanted. So the woman nodded then told the two orders to a guy that worked behind her as she glanced back at us to give Stark the price. While Tony pulled out his wallet to pay, I let my eyes scan the environment around us. Everyone was having a good time - even the little kids that weren't so experienced and kept falling down. Although, I noticed a few wandering gazes flick to Tony. They latched onto him and I watched as they leaned over to someone to whisper to them.
  Most of the time, I forgot about how popular and even famous Stark was. I had hung out with him so much that he was a normal person to me. Except he was a very influential and wealthy person to others but he was out here like any regular guy. My thoughts deepened as I wondered if he did this often. Most likely not, since he had so much money that he could go anywhere in the world that he pleased. 
  "Hey," the deep voice pulled me from my reveries. So I turned my gaze back to Tony holding two pairs of ice skates. He held the smaller, black pair out to me, "You ready?"
  My mind went back to the present as I thought about ice skating. I hadn't gone ice skating since I was little but I didn't hesitate to reply, "As ready as I'll ever be."
  The two of us found a bench to sit on while we pulled our shoes off to change into skates. Tony finally commenting, "You're not going to break anything, are you? Because I'm going to need a heads up."
  Which made me huff a laugh, "I guess we'll find out."
  The latches on the side of the skates clicked into place after I tightened them to my feet. Tony did the same thing so we both took our regular shoes and stumbled to the area to store away our shoes. The two of us were ready for the actual skating part so Tony took the lead to the ice rink. A sudden chill hit my skin and created goosebumps. The area in and around the rink was freezing cold because of the ice under us. Although, I ignored it as my eyes drifted up to the groups of people skating. Some skated like pros and others mostly kept their butt on the ice like they didn't know how to skate. 
  The first step onto the ice was challenging but I gripped onto the wall until I got my balance. I didn't want to hug the wall the whole time so I pushed away. Luckily, I kept my balance as I moved inches away from the wall, although, the further away the rim was, the more my heart started racing. A small smile spread on my face at the familiarity of ice skating. It didn't take me long at all to get it down.
  "Haha!" I exclaimed in glee.
  There was a familiar chuckle behind me so I flickered my gaze back to see Tony right behind me. He acted more confident in his balance and looked - practically - like a professional compared to me. Although, a smile spread onto my face. It was fun to hang out with him and I was thankful that he dedicated the entire day to me. He was a different person when he was being relaxed and having fun. 
  The two of us skated beside each other and he - luckily - went slow for me. So, as I began to feel more comfortable, I let my eyes wander the rink. There were kids giggling and falling, couples holding hands while they skated, and expert skaters doing tricks. Even though the air was cold, the atmosphere was warm with people. It made skating even more comfortable and fun.
  Eventually, I got faster on my feet so Tony kept at my heels. We skated around the rink over and over until the skates dug into my ankles. The skates rubbed against my skin so much it felt like it was sawed to the bone. 
  Tony and I began to slow down a lot because we were getting tired. Which meant that it was about time to stop. However, before I could even mention anything, a kid in front of us slipped on the ice. It wouldn't have been such a big deal but there were too many people that I couldn't scoot out of the way so I had to stop, abruptly, with my skates. My immediate halt took Tony by surprise so he didn't have enough time to stop. His skates clashed into mine which made the man lose his balance and fall backward.
  Instinctively, I gasped and reached forward to grab him. Luckily, I latched my hand onto his wrist to catch him. Except I wasn't so strong that I could hold up a grown man's weight. Which meant that I went tumbling down with him. Tony fell onto his back with a grunt and I fell forward. I expected it to hurt because the ice was hard but the landing was quite soft. So, I glanced up and realized that I had fallen face-first into Tony.
  My eyes flicked up to look at Stark and he did the same. Worried that he had hurt himself, my eyes filled with concern, "Are you okay?"
  Although, his chest started vibrating from his laughter. The situation cracked him up which put a smile on my face to know that he was okay. The shock of the event quickly passed, so I pulled myself off of his chest and got back on my feet then I balanced myself out before I helped the man back up.
  Tony brushed the snow off of his pants and I noticed he still had a smirk on his face but I still needed to ask, "Are you sure you're okay?"
  In reply, he nodded his head to confirm, then he added, "Yeah but I think we should get off of the ice before I break something."
  "Old man," I teased, giving him a cocky grin.
  Alas, Tony still wasn't balanced on his feet because he gasped and started to lean back. Worried that he was going to fall again, I lurched forward to grab onto his hand. However, he leaned forward with a smirk on his face to show that he was just joking and that he actually wasn't about to fall. Then he pointed out, "You never learn, do you?"
  I shot him a quick glare that was colder than the ice from under us, but I didn't argue. It wasn't my fault that I didn't want him to dislocate a hip or something. So, the two of us made our way to exit the ice skating rink. When we were off, we made our way toward a bench - after finding our shoes - and began to take the skates off. It felt amazing to be relieved of the skin rubbing contraptions and put on my actual shoes.
  When we were finished switching out our shoes, Tony motioned with his head to follow him so I stood off of the bench. Walking with regular shoes felt weird but I eventually got used to them as Tony made his way back to the desk. The two of us put our skates up then Stark took the lead away from the ice rink.
  It seemed like Tony was about to say something - probably about where we were going next - however, a guy, most likely in his twenties, stopped in front of my uncle.
  "Hey, are you Tony Stark?" the man questioned, his eyes filling with excitement.
  First, Tony glanced down at me, probably wondering if I would be mad or not if Tony told him the truth. Although, of course, I wasn't going to be mad. Tony got a lot of fans and who was I to break people's hearts and ruin their day?
  As if he picked up on this, Stark turned back to the man and smiled patiently, "Yeah, I am."
  "Aw, sweet! Can I have your autograph?" the guy pleaded.
  "Sure," Tony nodded then the scrawny guy pulled out a receipt or something and Tony signed the paper with a pen that my uncle - oddly enough - carried around with him. "There ya go," he handed the paper back so the dude turned to his friend to show him. However, this started to draw a crowd. A few more people began to ask for Tony's signature until a crowd formed around Stark.
  As the crowd became bigger, people started prying me away from my uncle. Until, eventually, it felt like I was completely out of the circle. I huffed and crossed my arms now frustrated that Tony was so wildly known. I could've yelled out that I was Titanium or something but I didn't. Not that anyone knew who that was.
  Alas, when the crowd started drawing attention, another group of people joined the crowd. However, instead of some screaming fans, they were people with cameras. Reporters. Lights started flashing here and there in the huddle of people.
  Finally, Tony stopped and began to scan the crowd. Eventually, his eyes stopped on me as he mouthed the words 'let's go'. So, I followed him until we met up at the edge of the group of people. His hand latched onto mine and he began to tug me away from the horde. Although, that didn't stop people from trying to ask Tony a few more things and cameras were still flashing at us. Until we were far enough away then he let go of my hand.
  "Sorry about that," Stark muttered, noticing how irritated I was at the scene.
  Except I gave a small shrug, "It's fine... So are we going back home now?"
  "Actually, I was hoping to take you to dinner first," Tony suggested. "How does that sound?"
  A smile twitched onto my face as I nodded, "I will never say no to food."
  After giving a small chuckle, Tony concluded, "Good." So that was it. We were going to get food. He still wasn't telling me anything so I didn't know where we were going but I was still pretty excited. Besides, Tony never disappointed when it came to food - when he didn't cook. That or I wasn't very picky. Either way, nothing could go wrong with food. 

(Oooooor could it?! Haha, I crack myself up with these. I hope y'all enjoyed it! There needs to be another alien invasion so Sam can save the day and be just as popular as Tony... although I don't think she'd like the attention as much as Tony does, lol. Thanks everyone for reading :)
~~~~~ LL2z)