the holiday- mileven

chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN : bambi on ice

eleanors face lit up as she walked through winter wonderland at hyde park, completely captivated by its busyness, beauty and vibrancy. there was a sea of people, making it rather difficult to navigate the area. she was trying to find the ice rink which mike had marked on her map.

people everywhere were smiling and taking photos, drinking various hot drinks or trying food from the different stalls which were covered in fairy lights and garlands. the amount of christmas trees was like nothing eleanor had ever seen before, there was two large ones at each entrance and there was smaller ones between each stall, all covered in warm yellow lights and red decorations.

the air was full of laughter, music and the occasional scream from the funfair rides in the distance. the air was so cold, eleanor pulled her scarf over her nose as she walked down on of the many lanes of stalls which were selling things from mulled wine, cheese and chocolate to christmas decorations and jewellery.

eventually eleanor came to a clearing and spotted the ice rink that was lit up purple and had a rather large queue forming at the front. regardless, she made her way towards the entrance but stopped when someone tapped her on her right shoulder.

el spun round and her heart fluttered and her entire body froze when she saw a familiar mop of raven curls, those big brown eyes and gorgeous smile behind her. though in shock, she smiled and pulled him into a tight squeeze.

"hey." she said breathlessly.

"hey."

"what are you doing here?" she asked, completely baffled.

"well, i wanted to surprise you and i know how much you said you wanted to go ice skating." he smiled down at her, gently pushing a curl away from her face before whipping out two purple wristbands from his pocket which had 'winter wonderland ice rink' written on them.

el felt like crying. no one had ever done anything like this for her before.

"what's wrong?" mike asked, his expression turned worrisome.

el shook her head and looked up at him, "nothing. i'm fine. perfect actually."

before mike could react, she had reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling her body against his in a warm embrace, squeezing her eyes shut to prevent the tears from spilling.

when she pulled back and met his gaze, she felt nothing but warmth. the way he made her feel was something completely new, something she'd never felt before, not with troy not with anyone. it was entirely new territory for her and she was terrified.

"so, wanna go ice skating?" mike smirked, gesturing to the large, festive rink behind them.

"you bet." she grinned, pulling his hand and guiding him towards the entrance.

"now, i have to warn you. i don't know how to do this." mike announced, putting on his skates.

"i don't either." el shrugged, reassuring him. "but that's what makes it fun."

before she knew it, her and mike were skating. well, she was, he was clutching the side for dear life while el skated beside him.