Challenge | Adam Banks

FIFTEEN

"Where are we going, Adam?" Delanie asked, her eyes scanning their surroundings. Adam was three steps ahead of her, his long strides difficult to keep up with. They were currently in the middle of Eden Hall's campus, the sun setting behind them. When Adam didn't answer, Delanie got frustrated and planted her feet. "Adam!" she shouted, causing the boy to jump. Alarmed, he turned to look at her. She crossed her arms over her chest. "So? What the hell are we doing?"

Adam broke out into a grin, "If I told you, it wouldn't be half as fun!" The childlike excitement on his face made Delanie smile. Was she frustrated with him? Absolutely. But was she also comforted by the fact that he seemed this excited to hang out with her? Extremely. When she didn't move, Adam rolled his eyes, reaching out and grabbing her hand. Before she could object, he was dragging her along behind him. To save herself from the embarrassment of trailing behind, she jogged to fall into step next to him.

"You can let go of my hand now. I'm not a child," she grumbled, tugging at Adam's hand lightly. Adam seemed to consider it for a moment, but instead laced his fingers with hers, giving her hand a squeeze. He didn't say anything, but Delanie could clearly see the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. She let out an exasperated breath, "You're ridiculous."

Adam smirked smugly. "Don't pretend like you don't like it," he shot back, eyeing her with his peripheral vision. She just huffed in response, but left her hand tucked securely in his. He gently rubbed his thumb along the outside of her hand as she quietly simmered, allowing the boy to lead her across campus and into the very dark ice rink. He let go of her hand and flipped a few switches as soon as they entered, and a couple of old lights flickered on.

Delanie hummed, "For such an expensive school, you'd think they'd take care of their campus more." Adam glanced over his shoulder to see her gazing around the empty arena as though it were her first time seeing it. He followed her eyes and saw a lot of what she meant. The lights were old, the stands were dirty, and the signs over the locker rooms were peeling. It really didn't seem like something you'd find on a prestigious campus.

He frowned, but quickly shook the thought from his mind. "Come on," he said softly, gently grabbing Delanie by her elbow.

"Hey!" she jumped, more out of surprise than anything. Adam didn't slow down, let alone stop. "What are we even doing?" Delanie asked as she jogged to keep up with the grinning boy.

He didn't answer. Instead he just made a b-line for the home bench. He opened the side door and motioned for her to step through first. She eyed him suspiciously before going along with it. She hadn't been this close to the ice in years, and it was almost startling. She gazed around for a moment before her eyes settled on two pairs of skates leaning against the boards. She turned to look up at Adam, who was smiling proudly. She raised her eyebrows, "Where'd you get this idea?"

He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged, his face reddening just a bit. "I, uh... An anonymous source may have told me that you haven't been skating since you were nine."

Delanie's eyes widened. "Adam Banks, please tell me you did not talk to my brother about this," she pleaded, fear filling her stomach.

Adam gave her a tired look, as if he couldn't believe that she would ask him such a thing. "Do you think I have a death wish? Of course I didn't ask Jett. I don't even talk to Jett!"

Delanie let out a sigh of relief before her curiosity returned. "Who did you ask then?" she asked.

"Zander," he said quietly, a bashful smile on his lips.

Delanie smiled softly. "Of course," she said quietly, shaking her head with a laugh. How fitting. Zander was more of an older brother than her actual older brother was. When she considered the boys' personalities, it made sense that Zander and Adam would get along. It seemed probable that Zander would be the only one to really look out for the younger boy. The concept made her smile.