As Cold As Ice // Charlie Gillespie

Chapter 19

"Oh hey there Mia." It takes all my energy to not roll my eyes. I force a smile on my face. "Hey Lukas." I dropped Sarah off at the bus stop after our little shopping spree before I head over to practice. I can see Charlie approaching behind Lukas and within the blink of eye my smile isn't the slightest bit forced anymore. "Mia!" Charlie's smile is just as bright as mine. I take a step to the side so Lukas isn't between us anymore. "Hey you. How was practice?" - "Good. How was your free period?" I remember the shirt Sarah and I bought earlier and my smile grows even wider. "Sarah dragged me to the mall to grab something for tomorrow."

I'm not sure if I imagined it but I think I saw the slightest flash of excitement in Charlie's eyes at the mention of tomorrow. I must say I kind of forgot Lukas is still standing next to us but now he's clearing his throat which gains him mine and Charlie's attention. "Right, about the party... care to go with me?" I takes all of my strength not to rip my eyes wide open. I was so not expecting that. In the corner of my eye I can see Charlie looking a bit uncomfortable. I try my hardest to not make my smile slip an inch as I say "Sorry but I already have a date." I'm sure he can guess who it is but I make sure to not look at Charlie because I know my expression would give away just how deeply I've fallen for him by now.

"Mia?" I hear Coach Lewis call. How did everyone manage to slip past us without me noticing? "Sorry, I'm late." I'm really glad about this intervention because this situation could have turned really awkward really quickly after this. I just hope Lukas doesn't say anything to Charlie in the locker rooms. I quickly slip on my skates and step on the ice. Immediately I can feel the tension leaving my body. We do a few rounds as warm up before Coach Lewis calls us over to her. "Mia, would you mind doing your last program? Show our new girls what they can expect to learn here?" For a second I can feel myself blush. I know that that program was really good but it still warms my heart that Coach Lewis chose it as an example.

At the same time I know the other girls aren't too happy about it. I quickly nod and turn around to skate back to the center of the rink. As I turn around I can see someone looking at me especially unhappy - Kaylie. I try to ignore her and make my way to the center. When I turn around this time I can feel someone looking at me. The only difference is that that look sends shivers down my spine. It takes me a moment to locate where the person looking at me is. After seconds I can find Charlie sitting on the bleachers, a bright smile on his lips. I can see him showing a thumbs up with makes the smallest laughter leave my lips. Luckily, no one seems to have noticed.

When the music starts playing I close my eyes for a moment, getting into my element. Like a small boat on the ocean I start skating. Just like always it takes only seconds for me to not need to think about what I'm doing anymore. I don't think I've ever felt this amazing before. I do my final toe loop softly transforming it into a pirouette before I stop right at the end of the beat. My eyes are closed but I can hear someone clap and cheer. I don't need to open them to know who it is. When I do open my eyes though I can see no one is looking at me anymore, they're all looking at the cheering Charlie. Coach Lewis is the first to turn back to me.

"Thanks Mia. As we all heard loud and clear you did very well. Probably even better than at the competition and I didn't think that was possible." She says that with so much warmth in her voice. By now everyone else has turned back around to me too. The new girls are smiling brightly. Everyone else just seems normal, maybe because this is what's normal for them. Kaylie however still looks very annoyed. For a moment I wonder how I would feel if I were always the second place. I'm not trying to take the spotlight from anyone and I know Coach Lewis is trying to not favor me but she usually chooses me to show something or try out something new first. For the rest of practice I can't stop thinking about how it must feel for the others to be in my shadow.

Once we're done I change into my normal shoes but instead of heading to the locker rooms and fully change I take my skates and make my way up the bleachers to Charlie. "Mia, that was amazing!" I flash him a small, weak smile. Tilting his head he says "Hey, what's wrong?" Shrugging I let myself fall onto the seat next to him. "Am I being favored?" I know he can't answer that question because he's never been at practice before but I still had to say it. "What?" - "I feel like the other girls might think I'm being favored. I'm always the one to be chosen to show or try something." Charlie softly brushes a strand of hair out of my face. Resting his hand on my cheek he says "Mia, you're just really talented and that's nothing to hide. I'm sure it's not as bad as it feels to you." For a moment I close my eyes, resting my head against Charlie's hand. I hope he's right. When I open my eyes again I whisper "Thank you."