Where The Ice Gives Way Chapter 89

**Charlotte**

Blake drives with one hand resting loosely on the wheel, the other shifting gears without looking. I sit beside him with my new bag at my feet, my fingers tracing absently over the smooth edge of it. Everything about this morning feels… nice. My uniform fits properly, the fabric sitting where it’s supposed to instead of pulling or hanging or reminding me that it was never really mine. My shoes don’t pinch, rub, or make me walk differently to avoid discomfort. Even the jumper Mara gave me sits right on my shoulders, giving me warmth instead of letting the cool air pass through. I glance down at myself again, brushing a crease from my skirt that isn’t really there, more out of habit than anything else. Then I look out the window as the school comes into view, stretching out ahead of us in long, low buildings and wide paths already filling with people.

Blake pulls into the car park, the car rolling to a stop between two others before he cuts the engine. “Another beautiful day to be admired,” Theo says as he pushes the door open and climbs out of the back seat. Charlie snorts from the other side as he opens his own door. “By who?” “Everyone,” Theo says, completely serious, already moving around the car. I shake my head before I even realise I’m smiling, the ease of it all is just… really nice. I step out beside Charlie. He looks different. Not because he’s changed, but because he fits in a way he didn’t before. The new jersey over his uniform is bright in colour, his posture looser as he swings his new bag over his shoulder. His smile is bright and carefree. I always wanted to see him like this. I just didn’t know if I ever would. As we start walking, a couple of guys from the team call out to him from across the lot. “Oi, Charlie!” He lifts a hand in greeting, the movement automatic, and heads toward them, already falling into conversation. I watch him go with something warm settling low in my chest. He looks happy. Really happy.

Blake steps up beside me again, his arm brushing my shoulder. “You ready?” he asks, his voice quiet and meant just for me. I look up at him. The way he stands there, relaxed but aware, his eyes moving once over the crowd before settling back on me. He’s calm and controlled in that way that makes everything else feel a little less loud—the same peacefulness and protectiveness from last night. “Yeah,” I say without hesitation. We walk toward the main building together, the noise growing with every step as more people spill out of cars and gather in groups. Voices begin to overlap, and laughter cuts through the air, the familiar chaos of school gradually surrounding us. It brushes against me, but it doesn’t sink in. Not like before.

Inside, the halls are already filling, lockers are being slammed shut, and shoes scuff across the polished floors. Bodies upon bodies move in clusters that shift and part as we pass through them, and I can feel the looks, the glances that linger just a little longer than they should. I feel it. That awareness. But it doesn’t press down on me the way it used to. Still, I move closer to Blake. It’s not something I really think about. I want that feeling that he brings me. So I move closer, just a small shift, a step that brings me closer until my arm brushes his, the contact light but enough. He doesn’t hesitate. His hand finds mine like it’s the most natural thing in the world, his fingers sliding between mine. Warmth and peace envelop me as his fingers close around my hand without even breaking our stride. The contact sends a quiet rush through me, grounding me in a way I think I will always crave now. The noise of the halls softens at the edges, and the crowd becomes something I move through instead of something pressing in on me. I glance up at him, and he’s already looking at me, that small knowing smile sitting at the corner of his mouth. I don’t pull away, or question it, or give some witty remark. I just hold on.

We move through the hall together like that. Charlie’s voice carries somewhere ahead of us as he laughs with the guys from the team. Normally, I would be at battle with myself. One part would want to latch onto him, the other would want to see him fly off on his own. Now? Now I’m just happy. I’m happy that he’s happy. That we’re both happy. I catch my reflection in one of the glass trophy cabinets as we pass, and for a second I don’t recognise myself. My shoulders aren’t drawn in. My head isn’t down. I’m not trying to make myself smaller. Blake’s hand tightens slightly around mine, just enough to remind me he’s still there, and I realise I’ve slowed. “You good?” he asks quietly. I turn to him and smile, a real, genuine smile that comes easily. “Yeah.” I squeeze his hand in return.

We reach the lockers, and Charlie joins us again, still mid-conversation, still grinning, and Theo leans back against the row like he’s been waiting for us to catch up. “Well,” he says, looking between us, his eyes dropping briefly to our joined hands before flicking back up, “this is new.” I hear Lex growl low through Blake, so low the humans wouldn’t hear it, but we do. Theo raises his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I like it. If it means you’re going to be less of a dick on the ice,” he points at Blake, “then keep holding his hand.” He winks at me. I roll my eyes, but I can’t help the smile that stays on my lips anyway. Blake huffs and pulls me a little closer so his lips are right next to my ear. “Put your stuff in my locker until I can get us moved next to each other.” Then he reaches over me and opens his locker.