From Zero to Her Hero

Chapter 8: She's Got a Haught Date pt. 2

"Ice skating?" Waverly asked staring out the passenger seat window at the outdoor skating rink. "You're taking me ice skating?"

"Too cliché?" Nicole asked, her voice rising in pitch, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Way too cliché," Waverly turned to face Nicole. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Nicole smiled and quickly got out of the car. She made her way over to Waverly's door and opened it for her, holding a hand out for the smaller girl to take. Waverly smiled brightly at her and Nicole swore she felt the temperature warm around her.

Waverly Earp was extraordinary.

"This was the original plan. The arcade just seemed too fun to pass up," Nicole smiled. "Plus, I wanted it to get dark before we came out here. The view of the city from here is breathtaking."

"It really is beautiful," Waverly agreed looking around. "I used to come here with daddy before he, well you know..."

Nicole squeezed Waverly's hand and moved so she was standing in front of Waverly, blocking her view of the rink. "Hey, I know. Don't talk about it if it hurts," she whispered and reached up to wipe away a stray tear that fell from Waverly's eye. "We can go if you want? Go back to my house?"

"No," Waverly shook her head and gripped the front of Nicole's jacket. "No. I want to be here. I want to be right here, at this ice rink, with you."

Nicole stayed silent for a beat, carefully considering her words. "You know what the easiest way to purge bad memories is?"

"What?" Waverly asked, playing with the zipper of Nicole's jacket.

"You make new, better memories doing the things that caused the bad ones in the first place," Nicole hooked her finger under Waverly's chin and tilted her head up.

"Amazing at acting and always knows the right things to say," Waverly said in awe. "How did I manage to snag that? How did I get so lucky?"

"I think we both know I should be asking that question," Nicole chuckled lightly and brushed her knuckles against Waverly's cheek. "Let's go get our skates."

"I didn't peg you as the ice skating type," Waverly said as they walked, hand in hand, to the kiosk to grab their skates. "You really know how to skate? Or are you just trying to impress me?"

"Both?" Nicole bit her lip and handed Waverly her skates after grabbing her own. "No, but I do know how to skate. I used to play hockey in grade school, actually."

"Hockey?" Waverly grinned as she sat down and laced up her skates. "So you've always been a jock, yeah?"

"Ah, yeah. My dad," Nicole shrugged. "He kind of...forced us all, I guess."

"Your brothers too, then?" Waverly asked as she stood up, offering her hand out to Nicole.

"They mostly played baseball and basketball. I was forced to play soccer. He said it would help build character or something," Nicole took Waverly's hand and stood. They made their way to the rink and stepped onto the ice. "Hockey was my choice, though."

"What made you want to start playing?"

"My dad, actually," Nicole shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. "He loves the sport. When I was younger, my parents never really paid attention to me. It was always all eyes on my brothers. I got sick of it one day and joined my middle school's team. And I was pretty damn good at it, too."

"Did that get his attention?" Waverly linked her arm with Nicole's as they skated around.

"For the first year, yeah. He came to every game, filmed them so I could go back and fix what I was doing wrong. He was my number one fan."