Cherry Lips // s. black

-DECEMBER. 3.-

"Have you ever been ice skating?" Charlie asked the two girls.

The three of them were sitting on a small patch of grass beneath a large tree, that wasn't covered in snow, thankfully. They were sipping hot chocolate and being very peaceful as students absolutely destroyed each other with snowballs on the frozen over black lake.

There were a few hours until it was an acceptable time to start getting ready for the Christmas Party, which was an event in itself, so they were enjoying the watery sunlight.

Ace nodded, froth on the tip of her nose. "Yeah, we've got a lake at the back of our property. It's great. Kevin fell underneath the ice once and lost three of his toes to hyperthermia, but it's great fun!"

Carmilla was still adjusting to how incredibly wealthy some of her friends were. She hadn't realised people could have whole lakes in their backyards. She shook it off and opened the charms book in her bag, making Charlie hold her hot chocolate. "What charm turned your shoes to ice skates?"

"Nix calceamenta works, I think..." Charlie mused, looking over her shoulder at the page and eating the marshmallow she had been saving the whole time.

Ace ordered her shoes to turn, but they did nothing.

Carmilla frowned. "Wait... shouldn't we wait till we're actually on the ice?"

They left the snowless spot to sit on the large rocks on the edge of the lake that Heather wanted to use as moons. They were halfway through paper mache-ing the quaffle. No one had noticed its disappearance yet. Snowflakes fell onto Carmilla, sticking to the fly aways of her dark hair and settling on her shoulders.

The powdery snow spilled onto the frozen black lake, and they all wobbled through it once they'd charmed their shoes.

Charlie was a natural, of course. He spun around the girls and teased them for looking like baby deer learning to walk, until Ace collected a snowball and shoved it down the back of his stripey sweater.

Screams erupted when she slipped and dragged him down by his sleeve. The two fell onto their butts and then they were giggling and breathing like dragons in the cold air. Carmilla rolled her eyes with a smile and stood very still, as to not fall over.

"Oi, Milla!" Ace called, her nose pink. She struggled to her feet and clomped over, walking rather than skating. "Come on, it's fun."

She looked down at the blades on the bottom of her shoes, and then inched forwards the slightest bit. Her right foot shot out from underneath her and then she was on her back before she could do anything.

"Oh shit."

Carmilla just glared at the sky. It was clear but cold and a faint grey blue. It reminded her of Mistress Theeny's Sunday dress she always wore for Christmas. She missed the woman. She sighed deeply, and then sat, directing her glare towards Ace, who was giggling. "Stop laughing at me!"

"I can't help it," she muttered, and reached out to help Carmilla up from the ice. "Come on, we'll help you."

Ace grabbed one of her hands and Charlie skated in a perfect circle then drifted over and took her other. He smiled. "It's not that bad."

"Actually it-"

Then as just as she decided she would much rather sit on the rocks and watch them show off, the pair pushed forwards and dragged her with them. She screwed her eyes shut. "I'm gonna fall over."

"No you won't, just move one leg forwards and then the other," Charlie coached gently while Ace wheezed from her other side. How supportive. He shrugged. "Maybe you should've tried roller skating first."