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imessage & real life.

that weekend...

valerie
when are we planning on going to
the rink?

kali 💋
i don't know...
when do you guys wanna go?

valerie
well i have to pick up char real quick
so ig just lmk when you're ready

kali 💋
i've gotta clean a bit before i go, so if
you guys just wanna meet up there, that's fine too

valerie
okay!

IT WAS NOW A FEW HOURS LATER, and the three of them were, for the most part, exhausted from the skating session they've been doing. their feet hurt from all the skating and their stomach hurt from laughing. but it was so much fun, nonetheless.

they haven't had a day at the ice rink between the three of them in a while. it was always hard to find a day they were all able to go. it was usually char and valerie verses kali because there was always something going on in her calendar.

kali wasn't as knowledgeable with figure skating like valerie and char were. which was, of course, her own choice. though, this usually lead to her needing to leave early from all the blisters on her feet and the tiredness in her legs that the others were just used to at this point. despite that, she just loved to come and watch her best friends do the most beautiful, yet terrifying, tricks.

surprisingly, char also wanted to leave earlier than she normally did. apparently she got less than four hours of sleep that night and it was all catching up to her right now. how convenient.

"well, would you be able to go home with kali then?" valerie asked char, suggesting that she wasn't going to be leaving soon. she wanted to practice a little bit more before she decided to go home.

"yeah, i can take her. why?"

"i just wanna stay a little longer, you know? empty rink all to myself," she answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"alrighty then, have fun, just text us if anything happens. you know the drill." char sounded like a mother, which was a weird thing she has always done. everything she says is definitely something that would otherwise come out of their mothers' mouths.

"i will."

"see ya' later!" kali said as she and char walked out of the rink towards the bleachers to take off their skates.

once they leave, valerie realizes the silence is immensely loud. she's been in rinks by herself many times before. so why did it sound off? was it because her head was clouded? there was so much going on in her head these past couple of days and it messed with a lot of things, but she never would have guessed skating. it was like every sound she made with her blades were far too loud. skating was supposed to be relaxing to her and it just wasn't doing that for her. it made her almost want to leave.

that's when she heard the door to the rink open.

she turned towards it and looked at the person who was taking off their guards. the brown hair was somehow familiar, but not too familiar. and there is this sense of remembrance about them even though she can't think of where it was from.

as they lifted their head, hockey gear in hand, valerie finally realized who and why all of this felt familiar. maybe not exactly who, but at least down to three possibilities... at the same time she also realized that she had been staring since he walked in. now he was just awkwardly looking back at her.

out of embarrassment, she looked back away from him and began working on some of her skills. she paid no attention to him or the annoying loud clashing of his stick and puck. though every time she tried to attempt a spin or a jump, the sound would rattle her brain perfectly at the wrong time. it was impossible for her to do anything effective with all of the noise.

she tried one last time to do a fairly easy jump. starting with her skating backwards, there were surprisingly no distractions. the thing is, there was just one problem. already so focused on listening for the clashing of the stick and puck, she forgot what should have been an instinct, to look behind her.

before she knew it, there was a totally different type of clash. the type that valerie can't try to ignore this time. she tripped on a hockey stick and collided with the user, he clearly wasn't looking where he was going either. in matters of seconds she was on the floor.

the impact was quick and unexpected. not only did she have the wind knocked out of her, but she somehow fell backward onto the ice. there was now this quick sharpness passing through her leg.

valerie sat up and instantly found him on the ice a few feet away from her. he was rubbing his elbow in pain. when he stood up, he looked at her with a lot of mixed emotions showing. despite most of them he only said, "are you okay?"

"i'm—"

that's when the rest of the pain started to kick in.

"oh my fuc— ow! no, no, no!" valerie kept repeating the word, hoping that it could possibly change the outcome of it all.

"can you not stand?"

she moved into a position where it'd be easy for her to get up, except when she tried to maneuver her ankle, it wouldn't move. well, it did, but it hurt like hell.

"are you fucking kidding me?!" she yelled in pain and frustration, a couple tears falling down her cheek. it felt like her ankle was broken, and that was probably the worst thing she could have done today.

she had a competition coming up in the next two weeks that she was supposed to be a part of. but how was she supposed to compete if she can't hardly stand on her damn foot? it usually wasn't a big deal to her because things like this happened to her multiple times before. this time felt like it would be different for some reason. she couldn't quite pinpoint why. it just was.

"here," he says, reaching down to help pull her up.

"no, no, no, no." stubbornly, she pulls away her arm, not wanting to be helped by a hockey player no matter how much she needed it. and not just any hockey player, he was that hockey kid. what were the odds?

"what do you mean 'no'? you can't just sit here."

"i don't even know who you are."

"does that matter? i'm just trying to help."

valerie stared at him with nothing else to say because that's what he was doing, trying to help. it was her that was the problem, but she didn't want to admit that.

he reached out his hand for the second time, she really didn't want to take it. at this point she just wanted him to get one of the random workers to deal with her instead. that was probably the best option for the both of them.

after a few seconds though, she decided to take it.

she was regretting her decision the whole time he was pulling her up, which wasn't that long. even when he wrapped her arm around his shoulder and skated over to the door of the rink, valerie was still regretting it.

it wasn't until she saw the new shift of workers that she was grateful someone... more her age was helping her.

"these workers are so old now." she said as he sat her down on the metal bleachers. they were freezing as usual.

"and was that really who you wanted to help you? over me?" he looked up at her as he untied the skate on her normal foot. the look almost made her sick.

"your ego is quite literally through the roof right now. i'd rather have," she paused to think of a stupid name for the old man that had just passed them, "hairy henry than you." hairy henry was pretty stupid.

"fine... i'll go get him for you," he said in a very cocky manner, knowing she couldn't possibly want that.

as he was standing up to retrieve the henry guy she spoke her truth, "no! i was kidding."

"i figured." sitting back down, he finished getting the first skate off. and pretty fast might she add. it took him about half the time it usually takes her to get them off.

for the next foot though, he tried to take his time. not wanting to hurt her ankle any further. gently, he pulled on the strings of the perfectly tied bow at the top of the skate.

"just let me know if it hurts."

"it hurts," valerie said bluntly, because it's been hurting since she fucked it up. it hasn't stopped.

"well, that's gonna suck."

"ya' think?" the sarcasm in her voice was now the thing going through the roof.

he shook his head in disbelief, as he finished loosening the laces on her skate. trying to pull out her foot was a whole other challenge. each time it moved even the slightest out of the skate, she winced. she would honestly be very surprised if it wasn't becoming swollen already.

once they got it off, she was gently examining it while he gathered all her things. yep, it looked like it was starting to swell.

"thanks," she muttered. then started wiping the ice and water off of her blades, putting the guards on each of her skates, and putting them back in the bag. valerie thought about how long she would have to wait to put them back on again. the answer was far too long.

౨ৎ
nat's notes !

oops...  they're lowkey so cute tho!!
first conversation off to a bad start 💪

i'm sorry kali's part was so short 😞
if i did my original plan it would have been
boring and 3,000 words for no reason