On Thin Ice

8. A Part Of The Family

4 years ago

Houston, Texas

Third Person POV

It had been two months, and Minnow was shocked that Søren hadn't gotten sick of her yet.

It's not like she made it easy for him either. Any way Minnow could think of to possibly make his cheeks turn red or get underneath his skin...she tried. And he kept showing up again and again.

He'd sit next to her things as she skated, his notebook in hand as he wrote. She had asked to read one of his poems and he gave her the one titled, Home. He had translated it just for her. It was all about his life on the farm, the beautiful scenery of Norway, and how homesick he was.

And she was determined to get him out of his homesickness.

Their friendship had started like a weird dance, where neither of them was sure what to make of each other. They spoke about everything under the sun. Søren told her about his family back home, the farm he'd grown up on, and sometimes he'd mentioned his dad.

And because Søren didn't speak much, she soaked up everything he had to say when he did speak, wanting to unravel more and more of him.

Minnow told him about the close relationship with her Dad, and the friends she had back in Colorado, and briefly mentioned the strange relationship with her mother.

They'd go to the Plazas together and spend the entire time window-shopping before eating half the food court. Well...Minnow window-shopped, Søren mainly followed her and complained about how hungry he was. The guy could eat a horse.

And because Søren had known how much Minnow practiced and worked out, she didn't feel self-conscious when she pigged out in front of him, eating half her weight in pasta and ice cream. It was freeing really, to find someone who you could be yourself with.

They'd been to the fair, concerts, even gone swimming together. Every day there was something to do.

They went on runs together...something Søren loved and Minnow absolutely hated. She would whine and complain while he pushed her on, dragging her through the park.

The more Søren knew about Minnow
, the more he fell into a deeper hole of feelings. A wide mix of complicated feelings. Having her as a friend had pulled him out of the slump he'd been stuck in ever since he came to the States.

She called him "Norway" and it made his feelings even worse.

She'd drag him everywhere and he went along wherever. The movies, the mall, bookstores---something he actually didn't mind---even grocery shopping.

And when she came over to his apartment, he was a bit worried that she'd make fun of it, the way it lacked personality. He had been here for a while and hadn't put anything up for decoration. Instead, she plopped down on the couch and told him he was so lucky that he had his own place. She loved her dad and living with him but sleeping in the same bed from her teen years made her feel like life wasn't moving.

Tuesday nights she'd sit on the couch watching some slasher film while Søren sat elsewhere reading a book completely unfazed. After the movie would end, they'd sit in the darkness of his small living room and they'd play would you rather, coming up with the dumbest shit they could think of.

"Would you rather drink a smoothie that had your toenail clippings in it or wear the same underwear for a week without washing it?"

Soren's face would pale and he'd wonder how she would even come up with this stuff. "Am I taking a shower every day?"