knj imagines

lies || jc caylen

"Why is the rink even open today?" I had never seen so many kids in all my life, and they couldn't seem to stay away from me. How was I supposed to practice my jumps for the competition this weekend when they were everywhere I turned? I suppose getting up earlier could've helped me a little but beauty sleep was important.

As if reading my mind, my friend tapped her watch. "If someone wouldn't have slept in maybe we could have practiced before everyone decided to bring their families."

I rolled my eyes at her and shook my head. "Why would you bring your family to a dingy rink when you could go to a pond or a lake. Isn't that more Christmassy anyway?"

I was still wrinkling my nose at having my Saturday morning practice interrupted when I noticed a group of people who had come in. They had just finished renting their skates, tugging them on and getting ready to get onto the ice.

I couldn't tear my gaze away from one of them in particular, his curly hair tucked under a beanie and a camera held out in front of him. "Hey, isn't that guy a YouTuber?" I turned to my friend who already had her phone out and she flashed me a group picture that had most of the same people as this group. "Jc Caylen."

"Never heard of him," I said, "but he is pretty cute." I watched him step on the ice and gave my friend a mischievous smile before stepping out as well, holding on tightly to the wall for balance.

"Have you suddenly forgotten how to skate?" The lightbulb went off above her head as soon as she said it and she frowned. "You are not going to play that card," she said but I just beamed back and waited until he was within arms reach before letting my foot slip out from underneath me. 

I crashed to the ground and he slid to a stop, kneeling down beside me. "Woah, are you okay?" He hooked his arms under mine and pulled me up, holding tightly onto my shoulders as I steadied myself. "Any broken bones?"

I laughed and shook my head, brushing the powder off my butt with one hand while keeping a tight grip on him. "No broken bones, but my pride hurts a little bit," I said, making him smile. "Thanks, I don't know what made me think I would be good at this. She dragged me along even though I told her I would be horrible."

He turned and smiled at my friend who glared at me as soon as his back was turned. "Oh come on, with a little practice I'm sure you'll be great." He pushed off with his foot, his hands still on my shoulders, and we took a lap around the rink. "See, you're doing great!" His eyes crinkled into another smile and I felt myself melt despite the ice everywhere.

"Yeah, it's almost like she's a professional," my friend said as we stopped beside her. Jc nodded encouragingly at me and I tried not to laugh.

I steered him away from her as quickly as possible, because she was bound to blow my cover, and we went over to where his friends were instead. "Who's your new friend?" One of the girls wiggled her eyebrows at us and Jc slapped her as he helped me exit the ice.

"I'm (Y/N). He rescued my pride after it was splattered across the ice," I said, making her laugh. She introduced herself as Nezza and did introductions for the rest of the group.

After I said hello to everyone, I decided to sit down and tighten my laces, Crawford doing the same thing. "First time skating?" I shrugged in response but I could see him smiling. "Those are pretty nice skates for a beginner."

"Oh um," I said, wiggling my foot. My coach had just ordered us new skates and the white was glaring accusingly back at me. "I'm just borrowing them from my friend. She's the professional."

"Oh, really? You aren't here for this too?" He held out his phone with the schedule of the competition for next weekend and I looked around to see if Jc was close enough to hear us. "Don't worry though, your secret is safe with me."

"How did you even find out?" He nodded at the lanyard that was poking out from my puffer coat with my ID for the competition. I zipped it up, my face on fire and he laughed at my embarrassment. "Fine, Jc was cute and I may have played the damsel in distress card so I could talk to him. Does that make me a horrible person?"

Crawford shrugged but the smirk on his face made me feel better. He walked back over to group and I saw my friend shaking her head at me from across the rink. I rubbed a hand over my face in embarrassment before getting up to join the group. 

"Ready to get back out there?" Jc was smiling at me and I caught Crawford trying to hold back a laugh as I followed him out to the ice. I wasn't thinking as I started to skate beside him and he furrowed his brow at me. "You got really good at this fast."

I mentally slapped myself for being so dumb and gave him a strained smiled. How could I go about telling this cute stranger that the last hour of us knowing each other has all been a lie? "Well the funny thing is I actually do kind of know how to skate."

"Yeah, I can see that," he said, looking amused at my stuttering.

"You see, it's actually a really funny little story and I'm hoping it will make me seem charming and sweet although you're probably just going to think I'm psychotic," I said, avoiding looking over at him until I heard his laugh. "Why are you laughing?"

"Crawford might have already told me your story," he said and I scanned the rink for Crawford, glaring at him when our eyes met. He laughed knowing exactly what was happening and I balled my fists up at my sides. "Lucky for you, I do think you are charming and sweet."

I blushed and let Jc grab my hand, leaning slightly into him. "I don't usually I lie, I swear."

"Just to impress cute boys?"

I shot Crawford another glare. "Did he tell you the whole conversation?" Jc laughed and shrugged. "But no, I actually haven't tried this technique when flirting before. Should I continue using it?"

He shrugged and squeezed my hand. "Worked for me, but hopefully you won't have to flirt with anyone else any time soon."