Thin Ice

𝟒𝟑

JULES POV

There's something that Lukas Romero does to me and I don't like it.

It's like he knows how to get me all flustered and I hate it, I hate him.

No I don't..

He's just so... something. There's a word that could describe him easily but my brain can't wrap itself around it.

I mean, there's no one else that would do what he did to me earlier today.

No one would even think about trying to kiss me whenever I'm yelling at them and telling them how much they suck.

But Lukas Romero would.

He's really trying his hardest to win this bet.

Ugh I just need to focus on Rowan, he's the only thing that matters right now.

He invited me to watch one of his practices about a month ago. I've been wanting to sit in on one but I've been so busy and haven't had time to.

I've heard nothing but good things about Rowan.

Apparently everyone begs to be his partner and people keep telling me how lucky I am to be skating with him and that I didn't even have to bribe him.

Little do they know.. his mom is my coach so it's really not the biggest deal.

"Ma'am, the rink for figure skaters is over here," an unfamiliar worker shouts out to me. I turn around and glance in the direction she's pointing.

"Thanks," I greet as I walk past her.

"Good luck next week!" she shouts as the door shuts behind me. I try to look back at her to see what she meant by that but instead see a flier hanging on the back of the door.

UCO Winter Competition, come see the top figure skaters in the state !

Hmm, I guess she thought I looked like one of the figure skaters I guess. Maybe I should consider applying here..

I take one last look at the flier and then move towards where I'm supposed to be.

I travel up the cold, metal bleachers and place myself down in the center so I can get the best view of the rink.

This place is massive. They have four different rinks, all in one building and each one is dedicated to different people. Rink 1, public skate. Rink 2, learn to skate / private ice. Rink 3, figure skaters. Rink 4, hockey. Our rink only has different places for hockey and figure skaters but they don't even compare in size to what UCO is like.

Rink 3 alone is as big as our entire building back home. The ice is big enough so that if there were forty something people doing tricks all at once, none of them would run into each other, they wouldn't even get close. I can only imagine performing on this ice, you'd get so much space to do whatever you wanted.

I begin to focus on Rowan and his partner. I think her name is Lydia, if I remember it correctly. Apparently Lydia didn't have to bribe him or beg to be his partner, he just chose her, and in the world of UCO figure skaters, apparently that's a huge deal.

I watch as the two of them move in perfect harmony across the ice, staying close to one another.

He lifts her gracefully as she spins through the air.

They spin and jump together as if their lives were depending on it.

If people thought Rowan and I were a great pair, well they're amazing. If I had to compete against them, I'd drop out.

If they don't win this upcoming competition, they would've been robbed.

*Buzz Buzz*

I take my phone out of my pocket and look down.

Lukas: Don't have too much fun watching Rowan ;)

Me: Don't get too jealous knowing I'm here just for him ;)

Lukas: Fuck you

Me: You would

I place my phone down with a smirk, knowing I accordingly pissed him off.

Apparently something happened in the small span of me being on my phone because the amazing pair, I was just complimenting in my head, are now screaming at each other on the ice. It's more of Lydia screaming at Rowan and him just taking it but he still seems upset.

I watch as she stomps her skate on the ice and then angrily glides off, leaving Rowan no chance to catch up with her.

I rise off of the bleachers and begin the lengthy walk over to Rowan.

Fuck this place is huge

After a couple minutes, I spot him about to walk into the locker room before he spots me and stops walking.

"Oh, I didn't know you were coming today," he says in a rather blunt tone. He crosses his arms and leans on the wall.

"Was I not supposed to?" I question, not knowing what the right answer is here. His eyes meet mine and he looks really tired, and stressed. He lets out a deep sigh before he speaks.

"Sorry you had to see all of that," he begins as he takes a seat on a nearby bench. I follow his movement and place myself next to him.

"I thought you two were amazing. You guys were so in sync with each other, it was crazy," I begin to compliment but he doesn't react in any way.

"Amazing until she almost slapped me because she was so mad that she bumped into me," he adds with a frown. He lays back on the bench so his back is against the wall.

"Yeah.. but even then you guys were still really good," I mention to try and lighten the mood. What I've learned from the time I've spent with Rowan is that he takes figure skating really seriously so I know what happened just now threw him off.

"Thanks," he spits out, forcing a smile.

"I mean it," I state as I give him a genuine smile which he reacts with a real one back. I lean back on the wall for a moment to try and think of something else to say. "Why'd you choose her and not one of the other thirty girls who were practically on their knees trying to be your partner?" I question, genuinely wanting to know. He takes a deep breath and looks forward, at the wall.

"Lydia is amazing, and I hate admitting that. All of the other girls are average at skating and don't take it as seriously as I do, Lydia does. She wants to win just as much as I do and that's why we work so well together. Well why we look like we work so well together," he pauses as he chuckles. "We're a terrible pair besides our sport. We're both strong minded and too difficult to admit the other person might be right. It just gets a little hard to work with her sometimes but we both know we need each other to win," he finishes explaining with a sigh.

"I understand," is all I say. I would start talking about how Theo and I were the exact same way but it was only me who was the difficult one. What can I say? I'm the one who knows exactly what she wants and exactly what it should look like. Theo is an amazing skater but he never took initiative when he should have. We're still good friends but it's probably for the better that Coach Campbell didn't pair us up again and I just now realized why.

"Thanks for coming, Juliana," he says with a smile. Our eyes meet and I know that Campbell did something right by pairing us together.

"Thanks for inviting me," I reply with a grin. I begin to rise but stop once I feel a hand pulling me back down.

"I almost forgot to say.." he pauses. "If you ever decide to come here for college, just know I'd be lucky to have you as my partner," he states with a smirk. I look down at him with a smile. Rowan is an amazing skater so now I'll for sure have to add UCO to my list.

"I'll think about it," I reply before turning and walking away.

Applying for college is going to get a little expensive..

~

Hehe

:)