Frost and Ice

Emery

"Can I call you Ry?" Simon asks me as we walk out to the cars.

"Absolutely not," I tell him quickly. I don't even like Isaac calling me Ry. He just never listens," Either call me Em or Emery. Or if you find another nickname go for that one."

"She doesn't like the nickname Ry, do you, grumpy?" Jason says from behind me.

I roll my eyes," You know I don't. Isaac just doesn't listen when I tell him to stop."

"Dick," Aaron mutters from behind me.

He's not a dick but I don't dispute it. It's always made me upset when I tell him to stop but he doesn't listen. I haven't been a fan of that nickname in a long time," Who am I riding with?"

"Who do you want to ride with?" Jason asks me," We all came in our own cars for once."

I shrug," I'll go with Aaron."

"Fuck yeah," Aaron celebrates and I laugh," Suck my dick, losers!"

I push him forward and he wraps an arm around me," Come on, you idiot."

"Is that an endearment for you?"

I raise an eyebrow at him," I guess."

"I mean you call Briggs an idiot all the time and he never seems to care," Aaron opens the passenger door for me," so if you just call people idiots as a way of showing them love then I will happily be an idiot for you."

I giggle slightly," You can be my idiot all you want. I call Jason an idiot because he is one. I think he just as a degradation kink."

Aaron laughs so loud and I laugh with him as he pulls out of the parking lot," I can see why Jason likes you so much."

I snort," He's my best friend, he better like me."

"That's not what I mean," Aaron smirks at me and I quirk my head to the side," Dude has so many girls trying to get with him all the time and he never seems to care. I thought he was gay for a while until Ace confirmed he wasn't. Then we meet you and he looks at you like you hang the stars and hold the world in your hands."

"How did Ace confirm that he wasn't gay?"

Aaron snorts, he definitely noticed the change in the subject," He made a move and Jason immediately shut it down."

"I didn't even know Ace was gay," I laugh a little at the thought of Ace making a move on Jason.

Aaron shrugs," He's trans too. The kid was afraid we would give him a hard time about it when he finally got permission to join our team. We would never though. And it helps that Jason kept everyone in check."

"I never would have guessed Ace was trans," I can hear the shock in my voice," I guess that's the point though."

Aaron snorts," Yeah. His parents are stupid rich so he got all the surgeries and medicinal things pretty fast. It's why Coach let him on the team. He got paid big bucks for it. Sucks that it's why he's on the team but all of us are lucky to have him."

I nod," He's a great guy."

We lapse into silence and my thoughts trail to what Aaron said earlier. Jason doesn't look at me the way Aaron described. He's also been with other girls. He's described some of the encounters to me in disgustingly graphic details. He does it to make fun of the way I react.

We finally arrive at the mall and I push the thoughts away. I got paid a few days ago so I have some extra money to spend. We were the last to arrive and it's not hard to find our group. They all look a little annoyed or amused.

"What took you two so god damn long?" Jason asked when we arrived," You left first."

Aaron smirks next to me," We were talking."

Jason glared," Were you?"

I flick his forehead," Jesus Christ, I'm not three. I can take care of myself."

"I didn't say you couldn't."

"You're acting like I can't," I roll my eyes," Who cares what we were doing? We're here now so let's go."

"I feel like I'm watching my divorced parents fight," Simon whispers to someone.

They agreed and I rolled my eyes," Don't be so dramatic, Simon," I stick my tongue out at him," Now, momma needs some new clothes, and one of you is carrying my bags."

Aaron opens the door for me," Lead the way, Momma."

I ruffle his hair as I walk through the door. Aaron and Simon follow me around the most and they carry my bags. Jason is quieter than normal and everyone else does their own thing. We group up again when we get hungry and explore the options of the food court. I get in line for Chinese with Ace.

"We have a game coming up next week."

I nod," Yeah, Jason told me. His mom always brings me."

"So you are going," Ace asked me and I nod," would you like to piss Jason off just a little?"

I smirk," Always."

"Talk to Aaron," He tells me," He knows what to do."

"Okay?" I say slowly as I grab my food.

We make our way back to the table and I sit next to Jason. He leans back and rests his arm on my chair. I ignore it and eat my food while listening to my friends talk. I never thought I would be friends with them or hanging out with Jason outside of what our families do. I lean back in my chair and Jason's thumb rubs against my shoulder. I may love being here but my social battery is slowly dying and I know he can tell.

"Do you want to leave," He whispers," You look exhausted."

"Ever the flatterer," I joke," Not yet."

"Are you sure," I look up at him and nod," Alright."

"What are you two whispering about," Simon asks in a teasing voice.

I laugh," Which one of you is the most attractive," I lie," I say Ace, he says Xavier."

"Wrong," Aaron looks offended," it's me."

"Okay, Ron Weasley," I tease and he flips me off.

Ace speaks up and I can see a small blush," Why me?"

I shrug," I like brunettes."

"Such a disappointing fact," Aaron pouts," red heads are better."