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A REFRESHING CHILL CONSUMES the stadium sized building, bringing a light pink tingle to Viola's cheeks and a frosty numbness to the tips of her fingers. She wraps her arms around herself, her knit jumper bunching tightly around her petite figure in an attempt to insulate the heat within. She sits on a bench just outside the large ice rink, watching Ben from afar as he makes conversation with the twenty-something-year-old man who clearly struggles to find the correct size of skates.
She observes her surroundings, a giggle falling from her lips as she watches children cling to adults and teenagers strewn across the floor, laughing wildly. She smiles to herself, tilting her head slightly as she continues watch each person radiate nothing less than pure joy, relishing in the warmth of a stranger's happiness. Viola folds her arms over her chest and turns around when she feels Ben sit down beside her, a giddy smile deepening the dimples in the sides of his cheeks.
"Your skates, milady." Ben speaks in an awful British accent, wiggling his eyebrows at Viola as he hands her a pair of dusty white shoes over. Viola laughs, a heartiness to the melodic sound as she pulls off her canvas shoes and takes the skates from his large hands.
"Why thank you, kind sir." Viola slips on the skates and ties the laces tightly, leaning back on the bench as she watches Ben follow suit.
Ben slaps his thighs, "I really hope you know how to skate, because my coordination only stretches so far." He struggles to stand, his legs shaking slightly as he fights to hold himself upright. Viola purses her lips, chewing the inside of her cheek as she laughs nervously.
"This would be my first time." Viola seems to struggle less, standing upright effortlessly and tall with a balance not every soul harbour. Ben eyes her with high brows, rolling his eyes with a scoff. His envious expression quickly softens and he chuckles, grabbing onto her shoulder's for support and leaning his weight against her petite frame.
"I guess we'll just have to figure it out together then." Ben whispers in Viola's ear as his hands slowly snake to the indents of her waist, a tight squeeze sending a familiar shiver down her spine. No matter how hard she tries, Viola doesn't think she could ever get used to the simple intimacy of Ben's grasp, a quick squeeze or kiss jolting Viola with an unimaginable heat in her chest.
"You look like you're about to fall on your ass." She grabs Ben's hand and slowly but surely guides him onto the rink, his tight grip numbing her already frozen hands. "If grandma over there can do it, we sure can." They watch an elderly lady from afar, whisking past kids with a bright smile on her face, holding a man close to her.
Ben steps onto the ice cautiously, almost immediately losing his footing and quickly grabbing onto Viola for support. She grabs his waist and coughs under the heavy weight of the teenage boy, a burn in her thin legs radiating through her cold body.
"Holy shit boy, what do you eat?" Viola manages to get a comfortable grip on Ben, holding him up as he rolls his eyes down at her.
"Hey, I'm growing." He grunts.
Together they slowly make their way around the rink, Ben shrieking every time a small child skates swiftly past him and Viola can't help the hearty cackle that falls from her lips any time he panics. They had barely completed a full lap when Ben loses his footing a second time, not preparing Viola for the fall of his weight onto her body, ultimately sending the both of them crashing down onto the ice. Viola groans and rubs the back of her head from the light impact it had against the barrier during her slip. She chuckles at Ben, who was lying haphazardly across the ice like a star sigh, groaning profanities under his breath.
His grimace quickly turns into a smile and a loud, angelic cackle falls from his lips. He crawls back over to Viola and they burst out laughing, leaning against each other as they fall back onto the barricade, noticing the few bystanders who attempt to hide their giggles at their fall.
"I think I just broke my fucking ass." Ben cries out and Viola laughs, leaning her head against his shoulder.
An older lady suddenly skids to a halt in front of the two, smiling lovingly at the pair on the floor. "It's so nice to see such a lovely young couple." A twinge of a European accent curls her words as she speaks.
"Oh, we're not—"
"She's the best girlfriend in the world." Viola turns to find Ben already gazing down at her as the lady lets out a final giggle, skating off.
"Girlfriend, huh?" The corners of Viola's lips quirk up and she raises a brow at Ben.
He blushes, wringing his hands nervously. "Well you know, titles and all. They're not that big of a deal—like, spur of the moment—I get it if you don't—"
Viola cuts his blabbering off by pressing her lips to his, placing a light hand against his cheek. "I like it." She grins, chewing on her lower lip.
Ben smiles, "and I like you." Viola giggles girlishly before Ben connects their lips once more, not caring about the strangers skating past of the fact that their butts were slowly numbing. In that moment, everything was perfect and they all but hoped that that moment wouldn't end.
