Losing the Light [h.s.]

01

Harry would be on his way soon and Marlee had just woken up in a panic to get ready. He was coming over at ten o'clock to take her to the ice rink in town. It was nine--hardly enough time to get ready, Marlee had thought.
Marlee had known of Harry for years, though neither of them had made any move to become friends before. The thought of being near him made her heart race. It made her laugh a little to think of how nervous he made her, and how he would probably never want to go out again after that day.

Marlee dragged herself out of bed to look in the mirror. She sighed at the sight. Her brown hair stuck up on one side, and the gray sweatpants she'd worn to bed did not do her justice. The tired girl goes into the bathroom to shower and get ready, trying to hurry so that she wouldn't be late.

Of course, she had wanted to get up early and look nice, but her alarm hadn't gone off when it was supposed to, and now she'd overslept. Harry was definitely an attractive boy, and Marlee wanted to impress him. When Harry had come up to her on Friday after the final bell rang at school, Marlee's immediate reaction was to think that it was a joke. Harry didn't want to go out with her, did he? He had waited for her to say yes, but instead she'd blurted, "Are you kidding?"

Harry had been taken aback. Usually the girls he asked out said yes without another thought. Getting that answer from Marlee made him believe that she was different from the other girls he'd taken a liking to, and Marlee's answer had made it clear to him that she hadn't thought he could like her. He was going to prove her wrong.

When Marlee emerged from the shower, she threw on a pair of loose jeans and a red zip-up sweatshirt sporting their country's trademark maple leaf and 'Vancouver' in white block letters. She applied the little makeup she always used with a quick hand. When she was finished, she stepped away from the mirror a little to admire her work.

Well, she thought. This works.

Harry turned onto Marlee's corner at approximately 9:50am. He'd been awake since four that morning because today was one of his training days. His trainer was sick that week, so he had seen the perfect opportunity to take Marlee skating. Harry was nearly a professional, so skating was his passion. He'd been ecstatic the moment he had heard that Marlee was also a good skater, and he had been thinking about the day ahead for a long time.

He really liked Marlee, and he figured, if she didn't like him that way he'd be perfectly fine being her friend. He thought she was perfect. The first time he saw her, he doubted she could be any prettier. That was when she smiled at him and he discovered her eyes. They were blue like the sky, and they shone like diamonds when she smiled. All Harry wanted to do was make her smile, just so he could know that he was making her happy for once. Not someone else.

At 9:56, Harry decided it was a good time to knock on her door. He was greeted by a tired-looking woman who must have been her mother. She brightened up a little when she saw Harry and she said, "Oh! You must be here for Marlee. Come on inside." 

Harry thanked her and followed her inside the house. The front room had a vintage-looking couch and a china closet. There was a piano against the wall, and through the doorway at the edge of the room Harry could see the kitchen. Marlee's mother told him to wait for a moment, and she headed down the hall to find her daughter.

He waited for awhile, ambling into the kitchen to peek around into the living room. He jumped when he heard footsteps coming down the hall, and he hurried back into the front room. "Good morning," Harry said to Marlee. She had a bag on her shoulder that was more than likely a skate bag doubling as a purse for the day. Harry offered to carry it for her. 

"You look lovely," Harry told her truthfully. Marlee blushed. Her mother called a goodbye from down the hall, and Marlee rolled her eyes playfully. "Let's get out of here."

-

Harry pulled his car into the public lot and put it into park. The two of them got out of the car and headed across the pavement to the huge oval of ice. Marlee's heart sank a little when she saw the small amount of people who were there. They'd all hear how loud her heart was beating. If there had been more people, the hum of conversations could have mixed together to hide the noise inside her chest, but there were only about twenty other skaters there.

She followed Harry to the benches to lace up their skates and she let him help her onto the ice, though she could manage it by herself. Harry was a perfect gentleman, which only made the butterflies in Marlee's stomach fly around like crazy. She was afraid to slip and fall, even though she hadn't done such a thing in years. Harry wasn't all grace, though. He tried to be funny by doing a cartwheel on the ice, but he couldn't get his legs to come down right and he landed on his back, laughing.

Harry was a funny guy... sometimes. He made corny skating jokes that were really not funny at all, but Marlee felt more relaxed with each one. 

"How is music like skating?" Harry asked, a goofy grin on his face.

Marlee shrugged. "I don't know, how?"

"If you don't C sharp you'll B flat!" Harry said, laughing a little. "Get it? See sharp? Be flat?" 

"I got it," she said, smiling. "That was probably the best one today."

-

Afterward, when Harry dropped Marlee back at home, he still hadn't figured out if she liked him back. Sure, it was a date, but maybe she wouldn't want to go on another one. 

"Thanks for that," Marlee said. "I had a lot of fun."

"It was super fun," Harry smiled. "You know where to find me if you want to do it again."