when the ice melts // jack hughes

part seven

New message from 'Cam'

Meet me at 870 Denman Street at 3.
Wear warm clothes.

"'Wear warm clothes'?" I muttered, confused with what Cam had told me. I was wearing my oversized Hockey Canada t-shirt, black leggings and my Old Skool Vans. There was no way I was wearing warm clothes in July. The directions he had given me sounded familiar, so I had an idea of where I was going. "Denman street, Denman street.. " I muttered to myself, turning onto the street Cameron had instructed me to meet him on. This was it. The ice rink. I pulled into the parking lot. I got out and there was Cameron.
Laughing.
"I could've bet with someone that you'd be stubborn enough to go without warm clothes" Cameron laughed, his hockey skates were in his hands. He was wearing his Vancouver Giants team jacket, along with some black jeans and his trainers. His hair looked good today, even though it literally looked the same as any other day. "I'll be fine," I rolled my eyes, "if you had only told me where I was going, I would've brought my skates." "Would've ruined the fun." Cameron grinned. "So, how'd you get here anyway?" I asked, remembering he didn't have his license. "I may have taken the bus." He grabbed my hand and we went inside.

"One pair of size eight hockey skates please." Cameron went to the skate rentals while I sat on a bench, waiting. He had already put on his skates, it was just me who needed some now. I watched the people skate on the rink. The ice looked so pretty today, I couldn't wait to skate on it. There were at least a dozen couples on the ice, making me wish I could come here with someone like that. "Here," Cameron passed me some rented skates, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Uh, yeah. About that.. " I smiled sheepishly, "Usually when I tie my laces, they're not tight enough and I trip on the ice. Could.. could you tie them for me?" Cam grinned and knelt down on one knee. "Sure."

"Sorry, usually my teammates help me or something." I blushed, feeling a little embarrassed that I played hockey and I could barely even tie my own laces. "No sweat. " Cam finished my laces and helped me up. "Good?" He pointed to my laces and smiled. I nodded, moving my feet around inside. "Good." We got onto the ice and I took a deep breath. "My favorite place," I whispered, taking everything. Cam and I started to glide on the ice. Soon we had a slow skating pace going on. "I thought that the cafe was your favourite place." Cameron raised an eyebrow, I smiled. "Well, yeah. But here, I can be me on the ice. I have freedom, I have.." I was so deep into the thought that suddenly, my skates hit an uneven ice patch and they tripped. "Woah-! " I grabbed onto Cameron's arm and I pulled him down as well. Cameron and I landed on the ice with a loud thud. "Sorry.. " I laughed nervously, Cameron smiled and got up. I could usually skate just fine, but today I was nervous. He helped me back up in my feet, even though I didn't need it. "C'mon," Cameron grinned and grabbed my hand. His hand was twice as big and mine, I felt safe with him.
We picked up speed and suddenly we were soaring. I let go of Cameron's hand and put my arms out while keeping my eyes shut. My hair blew with the air as I glided on the ice.
It felt nice.
Suddenly Cameron said something that I couldn't quite make out and someone grabbed my hand. I opened my eyes and I was about to hit someone, just then Cameron pulled me into him, saving me and the poor kid who wouldn't have known what hit her. I sighed of relief and smiled into his hoodie, which was warm. "You gotta keep your eyes open, Via." Cameron laughed and let go of me. I grabbed his hand again and put my other arm around myself. "I regret not bringing something warm." I shivered, feeling guilty. I just should've trusted him and brought a sweater. "Here," Cameron took off his hoodie and handed it to me. "But what about you?" I asked, feeling bad for saying anything. "I'll be fine, take it." He put it over my head, I pulled it over my shirt and sighed. "Not gonna lie, that's much better. Thanks." I pushed my fingers through my dark, wavy hair. The scent of cologne came from the hoodie. Sadly, it was fading fast. I took a deep breath and continued to skate.

We glided a bit more before starting up another conversation. "I still can't believe it, we graduated this year. School is over and we can go to university. It feels.. weird. " Cameron looked down at me. "Of course, I can't go to Uni because I have hockey taking over my life." He smiled. I felt my cheeks turn pink, it was probably from the cold. I never noticed how sweet it was when his lips curled upwards and-

oh gosh.

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A / N :

School is actually going v well, I'm surprised.

Also, my apologies if I have any spelling errors in my work :(( please comment if you see any so I can get them fixed!!! :)) Thanks!!

★彡