Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t h i r t y - e i g h t

a/n : super duper short final chapter. all my babies are happy. we love it here.

x--

Though things seemed to never be easy for the students of Eden Hall, the world continued to turn, and life went on. The week after Homecoming was a train wreck, though it was immediately followed by seven-days of blossoming growth. The new normal became sitting at the Ducks' lunch table, Peter and Zara included. The Latina had found herself quite at home with her soon-to-be teammate's friends, and everyone fell in love with her relatively quickly -- even Elle. There was just one tanned face missing, the room noticeably dimmer without his dimpled smile. Every day he told Peter "tomorrow," yet every tomorrow rolled by without Roland Riley. 

The first week of November, almost exactly a month from the week of Homecoming, brought two things to Aspen's plate: an English exam, and an awful headache. The second only worsened after she failed the first.

Sitting at the lunch table, Aspen rested her chin on her hand, her eyes squeeze shut as Charlie gently rubbed her temples. Across from her, Zara and Averman cooed soft reassurances that her grade would be just fine. She knew they were right, of course, but all she could think about was going home and burying herself beneath her blankets.

"You're being dramatic," Peter chimed in, his mouth full of food. He swallowed before continuing. "We all fail a test here or there. You're a genius. It'll be fine," he declared with finality. Aspen opened her eyes to stare blankly back at him, causing him to narrow his eyes. He pointed at her with his fork, "You know what you need?" 

Aspen breathed a heavy sigh, "What do I need, Peter?"

His childish grin immediately filled his face. "Pumpkin pie."

The girl's eyebrows perked, and she lifted her head. "Please tell me you're about to pull a slice of pumpkin pie out of your backpack." 

Peter immediately grew sheepish, his gaze falling to his folded hands. "Well... no. I don't have any with me," he confessed sadly. When he watched how his friend's face fell, he rambled, "but my mom made like 3 pies last night! And she keeps bothering me to have the five of you over, so you should come over after school." 

Aspen immediately nodded, getting an energy boost just from the prospect of relaxing with her friends after class. After a moment of contemplating what the boy had said, she paused mid-nod, her brows knitting. "The five of us?"

Peter just nodded, doing nothing to mend the girl's confusion. When she just stared blankly at him, he caught on. "Oh, I probably should've specified. You and Jay and Elle, of course. And Delanie and Roland. The old gang. She keeps saying she wants to see you guys all grown up, or whatever." 

Delanie, who was sitting just to Averman's right, peeked her head around the boy to grin at her two friends. "Count me in! I love your mom." 

Peter rolled his eyes. "Not us, just my mom." Delanie stuck her tongue out at him in return.

Ignoring the pair's exchange, Aspen glanced around Charlie at Jay, who was far too busy talking to Kenny to pay a lick of attention to the conversation his friends were having. Aspen almost didn't want to interrupt the pair -- it was rare that Jay was able to be so composed when talking to the cheerful boy. His anxious fidgeting had gotten a lot better -- surprising, seeing as how his crush had gotten exponentially worse. 

However, she tugged on Charlie's sleeve anyway, asking him to prod the boy beside him. He did as he was asked, and Jay turned immediately, his warm gaze briefly scanning Charlie's face before falling to Aspen. He made a soft "hmm?" noise, to which Aspen responded by asking if he'd be at Peter's after school. Without much thought, Jay waved his hand dismissively in the air. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Wherever. Whatever." Aspen pursed her lips at him, but he had already turned back to his previous conversation. She just scoffed.

Peter took his turn, glancing over at Elle, who was already peering back at him. She managed to keep her face stoic, "Go ahead, ask me too." 

The boy's countenance grew meek, and a lot of the boisterous energy that he had whilst speaking with Aspen had been wiped away by a heightened nervousness. "You like pumpkin pie?" 

Elle rolled her eyes, though she allowed a fond smile to curve her lips upwards. "I'll be there, Peter."

He flashed her a grin before she turned back to her lunch, smiling gently down towards the table. If she had dared to look up again, she might have noticed the way Peter's cheeks had flushed pink, or the way he was forced to rub his sweaty palms against his jeans. If she would just pay attention, Aspen wouldn't have to spend entire evenings on the phone with her swearing that Peter liked her the same way she liked him.

"They've gotta figure it out eventually," Charlie had told her halfway through one of her venting sessions. "I mean, it's so painfully obvious, not even Peter can ignore it for that long."

When Peter worked out a way to keep himself composed, he turned his smile to Aspen, who was patiently waiting to see what would happen next. "Alright, perfect. Now all we need is-"

Before Peter could finish his sentence, a deep voice replaced his, sending chills through both of the childhood friends. A short, yet surprisingly warm, "I'll be there," congested the air around them. 

Peter whirled as Aspen jumped in her seat, her head subconsciously snapping upwards to follow the voice. Roland looked about as awkward as humanly possible, standing behind his best friend with his thumbs hooked through his backpack straps. Though he looked helplessly out of place, he managed a lopsided smile, a single one of his dimples making an appearance. He shrugged, "Your mom makes the best pumpkin pie on earth. How could I miss that?"

He glanced over at Aspen to offer the briefest of smiles, their tentative eye contact broken once Peter told the boy to sit down beside him. An apologetic look fell across Roland's handsome face. "Ah, I've gotta run to the library. I'm getting some help from one of the upperclassmen with English. But I'll see you guys after school." 

Everyone in the general vicinity bid the boy farewell, smiling gently at the sound of his voice. It had felt like so long, and they had all missed him dearly. When Peter turned to Aspen, his excitement was palpable. He didn't have to say a single word. They both knew things were turning around for the better.

Leaning back into the embrace of Charlie's arm that was casually strewn around her shoulders, Aspen allowed herself to take a deep breath. Her eyes fell to Joey's usual table, occupied by Jett and his girlfriend, Zander and Nigel, and, to Aspen's never-ending delight, Caine and Mei. Joey was nowhere to be found, which gave his sister the sneaking suspicion that the upperclassman who offered to help Roland out with homework was someone they all knew quite well.

"How's your head?" Charlie asked softly, his gentle voice snapping Aspen out of her wandering thoughts.

She turned to smile up at him. "Suspiciously better. I think I know who to go to for every headache I have."

A gentle smile curved onto his lips, and by way of response, he pressed a kiss against her forehead. An array of warmth pooled into her stomach as her lashes fell to cover her blue eyes. A husky chuckle filled her ears. "You're cute." 

She pulled her eyes open, and the moment her steady gaze connected with Charlie's, the teasing smirk on his lips fell away. Aspen stared at him for a moment, her own smile growing as he swallowed the lump that her burning gaze had forced into his throat. With a cheeky grin, she stole a kiss from his lips. His cheeks flushed pink, and his smile became sheepish. Aspen couldn't help but chuckle.

"No, my love. You are cute."