“No way, there is nothing in the world that could get me out there,” Maria commented, her arms defiantly crossed as she faced the oval shaped ice skating rink in downtown Snowmass. She was mere feet away from the ice, her feet clad in skates, but Maria had taken one look at the cold, hard ice and the number of people who had fallen and had halted. Michael faced her, already on the ice, as he tried to persuade Maria to come out on the ice.
“Maria, I’m no better at this than you. I’ll probably fall down more than you will. Besides, you can use me to break your fall,” Michael offered generously. Maria seemed to consider his offer for a moment, but she shook her head. Michael shook his head in exasperation as Isabel and Alex carefully walked past on their skates to reach the ice. Max and Liz followed, stopping at one of the benches to lace up. Max had his own pair of skates made of worn black leather slung over his shoulder and Liz was carrying the pair she’d rented from the rink. The six teenagers had separated from their parents after dinner in a local Italian restaurant and they’d quickly decided on ice skating as the entertainment for the evening. Max, Isabel and Alex were expert skaters while Liz, Maria and Michael were very new to the sport.
Isabel shed her bulky coat to reveal a long sleeved pale blue sweater, black stretch pants with black gloves and a white scarf she wrapped around her neck. Alex couldn’t stop from staring at as she gracefully moved, completing the simple action of folding up her coat. He caught Max looking at him staring at Isabel and quickly shook himself out of his trance. He shed his own coat and followed Isabel onto the ice. Without saying a word they fell into an easy rhythm, gliding around the ice in slow strides. Alex had skated quite a bit over the years and he kept pace with Isabel, never straying too far yet close enough that she wouldn’t forget he was there. He could tell that she probably wasn’t going to fall accidentally by how she pushed herself over the ice, but he wanted her to know he was there to catch her if she did.
Max sat down next to Liz and began to pull off his boots. Liz had already shed her shoes and as she pulled on her skates, her foot got caught in the shoelaces. She struggled for a few moments before turning to Max. Wordlessly, but with a smile on his face, he gripped her ankle and eased the skate onto her foot. With quick hands he laced up her skate and leaned over for the left skate to put it on. Before she could blink her skates were all laced up and Liz was ready to go. Max finished his own skates quickly and he stood, holding out a hand for Liz. She took it and got to her feet unsteadily. She wobbled for a few seconds until she felt balanced enough to lean over and gently kiss Max on the cheek. He turned to smile at her.
“Thanks Max,” she whispered. He nodded and started to slowly walk towards the ice. Liz gamely followed, uncertain how she was going to avoid falling down on the ice when she could barely manage on dry ground. Thankfully she noted the ice wasn’t too crowded with people. It was the Wednesday before Christmas, but somehow the town managed to stay pretty free of tourists. Max walked onto the ice and quickly turned to help her, his arms wide open to catch her if she fell. Liz concentrated on staying on her feet as she stepped out onto the ice. It didn’t seem too bad, as long as she didn’t try to move. Liz was momentarily distracted by Michael continuing to try and coax Maria onto the ice and she looked up just in time to see Alex and Isabel skate gracefully by, like a pair of swans on a lake.
“Hey, Sergei and Katerina! You guys are making this look too easy!” Michael called to them as they passed. Isabel halted, digging her toe pick into the ice. Alex caught her lead and stopped a few paces beyond her. Isabel gave a quick turn and skated back to Michael and Maria, executing a perfect figure eight before returning to where Alex was stopped. She shot Michael a look of utter superiority over her shoulder and as she passed Alex, she reached out for his hand. He took it and picked up speed with her as they continued around the ice. Michael was really irritated, knowing that he’d just been issued a challenge by Isabel. He gave Maria one last chance.
“Okay, Maria, how bout it? You coming or not?” he asked.
“Not,” she quickly replied. Michael sighed and shrugged. Before she could utter a sound, Michael came forward and leaned over, throwing her over his shoulder. With a view of his back and the ground spinning above her head, she shrieked as Michael carried her onto the ice.
“Michael!!! Put me down! This is so not fair! Alex, Max, are you guys just going to stand by and watch???” Maria yelled. Max nodded; having his hands full with watching to ensure Liz didn’t fall and Alex completely ignored the question as his eyes followed Isabel. Miraculously Michael managed to carry Maria to the center of the ice where he finally set her down. She pounded on his chest furiously for a minute while he watched her until she finally calmed down.
“See, now you have to skate to get anywhere here on the ice,” Michael said, proud of the plan he’d come up with. Maria turned away from him and tried not to let him see her smile. Secretly, she’d lost her breath when Michael hefted her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. She just couldn’t let him see that. Across the ice she saw Max and Liz skating.
Max watched Liz carefully, noting her every move and reaction to try and anticipate if and where she might fall. Meanwhile, Liz was concentrating so hard on not falling that she was missing the playful smile on Max’s face as he watched her. He was skating backwards, his arms open wide, and his hands holding hers as he half pulled and coached her across the ice. They didn’t move at any speed that could possibly be called fast, but Max loved how he finally got to teach Liz something. Of all the things he’d learned about coming out from behind the tree, he’d learned most of them from Liz. She was his reason for believing the world was worth enjoying.
“That’s it, just move your feet in and out, the movement will push you forward,” Max said, patiently moving with her. Liz looked up at him, her eyes had been staring at the ice and she caught the smile on his face. He’d been getting a good look at the stocking hat she’d been wearing until her face turned up to his. She looked at his suspiciously.
“I think you’re enjoying this too much. I know you can skate a lot faster than this Max,” Liz observed.
“Maybe, but this is exactly where I want to be,” Max replied. Liz’s heart melted at his words and she was momentarily distracted, her foot hit a rough patch of ice and she fell forward a little. Max was right there to catch her, lifting her so she never actually hit the ground.
“You okay?” he asked worriedly. She nodded and carefully righted herself. Max was concerned but she realized he might have a bit more fun if he got to skate enough to really move.
“I’m fine Max, I barely tripped. Why don’t you join Alex and Isabel? I think they’re skating a little bit more at your speed. I’m going to see if I can help Michael move Maria at least a few feet around the ice,” Liz said.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you if you’re not steady,” Max said, concern etched on his face. Liz touched his face with her hand, her eyes softening at his words. His face was colder than normal from the biting temperature outside and her bare hands had been so warm after holding his.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Besides, I’d like to see my boyfriend impress me with his skating abilities,” Liz suggested. Max’s face lit up at her words and he cautiously let go of her hands, moving backwards until she was standing on her own wobbly feet. She almost looked like a newborn colt with her unsteady long legs. He turned away from her and dug his skates in, quickly picking up speed to catch up to Alex and Isabel. Liz watched him go for a moment before taking a deep breath and glancing to where Michael and Maria still stood in the middle of the rink. Thankfully the crowd was thinning out as the evening grew later, so her competition for space on the ice was scarce. She tried to remember what exactly it was she was supposed to do to move forward, but she’d been so distracted by Max’s hands holding hers and trying not to fall flat on her face that she hadn’t put too much thought into propelling herself forward. She experimented, moving her feet like Max had told her to and was amazed that she could actually move forward, albeit a little unsteadily.
Across the rink, Max finally caught up with Isabel and Alex as they turned around the far end of the ice. He fell into pace beside them and noted to himself that Alex was casually holding Isabel’s hand and both of them were trying very hard to make it look as though it wasn’t a big deal. He knew his sister and he knew by the brightness in her eyes that it was a very big deal for her. She was actually smiling a little, not at any particular thing, just smiling to herself. Max was surprised but pleased, Isabel had never been very demonstrative towards people she cared about and she was making her feelings about Alex known in a very public way.
“Max, don’t tell me you left Liz by herself!” Alex exclaimed. Max nodded.
“She said she was fine and that I should skate with you guys for awhile,” Max insisted. Alex shook his head and glanced to the middle of the rink.
“Does she look fine?” he asked pointing. Max followed his hand and watched as Liz and Maria tumbled into a heap onto the ice. Michael was also sprawled on the ice a few feet away, so he couldn’t help the girls untangle themselves from each other. Max took off in a hurry, cutting a quick path across the ice and stopping next to Liz and Maria sitting on top of one another. He leaned over and lifted Liz up, giving her a quick once over to check for injuries. He ran a hand up and down her legs and over her arms quickly, looking for anything broken.
“Liz? Are you okay?” he asked worriedly. He finally looked at Liz’s face and saw the smile there and knew she was fine. He sighed with relief, but he also knew she easily could not have been fine. He couldn’t help but feel protective for her. He’d seen her shot, her blood pooling around her on the linoleum floor of the Crashdown only a few months before. That alone was proof that anything could happen to her at anytime.
“Max, I’m fine, really,” she said, gently placing a hand on his chest to try and reassure him. Isabel and Alex caught up to them coming to a halt next to Max and Liz.
“Well, some of us are still sitting on wet, cold ice,” Maria muttered from where she still sat. She looked at Michael expectantly, and he shrugged.
“Don’t look at me, I can’t get up any better than you can,” Michael replied, also still sprawled on the ice. Isabel leaned over to help up Maria and Alex did the same for Michael, finally righting them. Almost immediately Maria began to sway and she grabbed onto Michael, her fingers digging into his arm.
“See, this is precisely why I don’t ice skate,” she said, pointing at Michael.
“I think I’m starting to understand. How about if we can somehow manage to stumble off the ice we find a nice warm bench to sit down and watch?” he suggested. Maria nodded and they started to skid and skate to the edge of the rink.
“I think you owe me some hot chocolate,” Maria suggested. Michael started to argue, but finally gave in.
“I guess I do since I hauled you onto the ice like a sack of potatoes,” he replied.
“That’s right--hey, are you calling me a sack of potatoes?”
Liz shook her head as she listened to Maria and Michael. If they stopped arguing for two seconds they might have realized that they were actually skating pretty well when they were distracted. Isabel and Alex had moved off and Liz turned to Max, who patiently waited next to her.
“Do you want to sit down for awhile?” he asked, his eyes still concerned over her fall. She shook her head.
“No, I want to skate with you,” she replied, drawing his arms around her. She stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed his lips, pulling back just a little after a second. Max responded by bringing his lips down on hers with enough passion to swallow Liz’s breath away. His lips rubbed against hers with enough friction to return some of the warmth to her cold face. Everywhere he touched began to warm. Just when Liz was beginning to wonder if people were watching, Max pulled back, cupping her face with his hand.
“That was for teasing me,” he said. She couldn’t help but grin.
“Well, if that’s my punishment, I’ll have to keep it in mind,” Liz replied. Max smiled and they finally began to move over the ice themselves, taking slow strides as Liz found she could stay upright as long as Max kept a secure arm around her, something he was more than happy to do. From across the rink, Isabel waved to her brother with her free hand, the other still loosely holding Alex’s. She wasn’t quite sure when it had happened, it just had. Her arms had been swinging by her side and then suddenly Alex was holding her hand and she found that she liked being linked to him as they skated.
She had to watch her feet when she skated so that she didn’t tangle her skates with his. She had to watch her stride so that she wasn’t being pulled along by him or yanking him behind her. She could feel how his body moved over the ice through their linked arms, how his legs pushed against the ice and how he turned his feet to anticipate the curves of the rink. Before, Isabel might have minded having someone so close to her thoughts and so closely within her personal space. With Alex she didn’t mind because his presence seemed to almost calm and balance her. Her thoughts were still wandering when the song over the speakers changed to a slower tune. Her mind slowly realized that she recognized the song and she tried to think of where she’d heard it before. She nearly stumbled when she finally realized what the song reminded her of and what she’d seen.
I’ve been watching you and all you do for quite some time
Knowing all the ins and outs of you
I should have known what was on your mind
But all the world is spinning round and round inside my head tonight
I will fall into the darkness and I fear I’ll never see the light
It had been in Alex’s dream.
Cause you won’t let me in
All that I wanted from you was something you’d never do
So let me in
Oh, please tonight
Don’t let this end tonight
Cause I’m starting to fall
So let me in
Isabel tried to cover up her sudden nervousness as she glanced over at Alex. She’d never told him about how she’d walked into his dream and had seen what he thought about her. That had been when she’d first started to change her mind about Alex. She wanted to tell him. Not because she wanted him to know how she’d violated his personal thoughts, but because she thought he had a right to know. She wanted to tell him for her own sake. Alex seemed to notice her discomfort and he drew her over to the edge of the ice, turning to face her.
“Isabel, what is it?” he asked. She finally looked up at his face, his concerned eyes and expressive eyebrows knit in concern and she sighed. She knew that she had to tell him. And she wanted to tell him.
“Does this song sound familiar to you at all?” she asked him. He concentrated for a second and then smiled as he recognized the tune.
“Yeah, it’s that new song by Save Ferris. They’re one of my favorite bands. Why?” he asked, knowing by Isabel’s expression that there was more to her concern.
“Okay, this is really hard,” Isabel stalled, fighting not to lose control. But the thought that Alex might be furious with her actions and that she would be shattering their newfound relationship terrified her. She didn’t want to lose him. Alex reached up with his gloved hand and tipped her chin up so that she looked directly at him.
“Isabel. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad. Just tell me, you’ll feel a lot better,” he said. Isabel bit her lip, searching his face.
“Well, right after you traded your blood for Max’s in the hospital we all weren’t sure if you would tell anyone about what had happened,” she started. Alex nodded, signaling for her to continue.
“You weren’t talking to Liz or Maria and I was worried that you were close to telling Kyle or Miss Topolski. We, Max, Michael and I, have the ability to walk into people’s dreams. We can come in as observers or take an active role. A person’s dreams often reveal what someone is thinking subconsciously, so I decided to see what your intentions were,” Isabel paused and took a deep breath after stealing a look at Alex’s attentive face.
“So I walked into one of your dreams.”
Alex looked startled for a moment as he shook his head and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something. When no sound came out he closed his mouth again and just stared at her. She knew she had to tell him everything, which meant she wasn’t done yet.
“Well, I followed you in your dream through the hallways at school and into a class room. Inside there was a band, you were dressed in a tux and I was . . .”
“Dressed in a red dress. And we danced,” Alex finished, finally remembering what dream she was referring to. He wasn’t looking at her; his eyes seemed to be concentrated on a spot on the ice behind her.
“Alex, I know it was wrong and I’m sorry. I was worried that our lives were in danger. I know I was invading your thoughts, but I had to be sure. What I saw there convinced me that we could trust you, and it made me want to know you better,” Isabel said, trying to recapture his attention. Alex finally turned his eyes back to her. She looked at him for any hint of anger or disappointment. She saw none.
“Are you sorry because you invaded my thoughts or because of what you saw. Tell me the truth Isabel,” Alex said. Isabel felt like she was being asked a trick question. She wasn’t sure what the right answer was, but she did know what her honest answer was.
“I’m not sorry for what I saw. I shouldn’t have walked into your dream like that, but it made me understand you better,” Isabel said. She looked at him and waited for his response. When his face broke out into a grin, a forgiving grin, she relaxed.
“Then that’s all that matters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not thrilled that you saw my personal thoughts like that, but I understand why you did it. And if what you saw brought you closer to wanting to know me, then I don’t object at all. Just announce your presence or something next time, okay?” he replied.
“Don’t worry, I won’t walk into your dreams again. I’ve learned my lesson. I already freaked out both Maria and my mom, and I don’t want to scare you away,” she said.
“Not a chance,” Alex replied softly, taking both her hands in his. Isabel felt her knees buckle a little at his words. No one had ever talked to her in the way Alex did. A way that she actually believed. Before she could respond, the announcer came over the speakers to say that the rink was closing in ten minutes. Alex pulled away from her and extended his hand.
“One more time around?” he asked, his eyes asking her the question. Isabel reached forward without hesitation and she took his hand, easily falling beside him on the ice.
