Finally, after an agonizing wait of 5 long days, Friday finally arrives. I bore my eyes into the small black clock that sits above the whiteboard, holding my breath in anticipation until the minute hand reaches the 12.

3… 2… 1…

RING!

“Class dismissed!” Mr. Whiteman calls. “Have a good weekend!”

I hustle out of the room, not even stopping to say bye to Amy, Key, Emily, or Jon. The frigid December air slaps me in the face as I throw open the exit door, looking around for Kris. Where is he? We agreed to meet in the parking lot today as soon as school got out.

I swear, if he ditches to go on a date or something-

“Hana.”

I whirl around. Kris is standing behind me, a sheepish expression on his face.

“I forgot to tell you… my car broke down yesterday,” he murmurs, looking down at the cement sidewalk. “So… so we can’t drive to Headquarters.”

“Are you kidding me?” I growl. “Is there any way you can get your car fixed today?”

He shakes his head. “The mechanic said that it’d be out in a week. Until then I can’t… drive.”

I acutely observe his downcast eyes, the slight pauses in his sentences, his twiddling thumbs. He’s lying. It's so obvious. But why would Kris lie about his car being broken? 

“Fine. Okay.” Sighing, I am about to storm away when Kris grabs my wrist.

“Uh... if your afternoon’s still open, I could always take you out,” he coughs, looking up at the sky. My face turns the color of a tomato.

“T-This won’t make up for not being able to go to HQ,” I stutter. Why does my heart feel all weird and tingly? Why am I blushing so hard?

If I hadn’t known better, I’d say it was because I liked Kris, but that’s impossible.

Kris is… Kris. I can’t like him.

“I know." he responds. "But can’t I spend an evening with my best friend?”

“Well... sure. I guess." Squirming, I pull away my wrist from his grip and try to hide my face. “Where are we going?”

“You know the lake near our training area? It's totally frozen over. We could go ice skating there, and then we could go get pizza.”

I tilt my head. That’s not a bad idea. 

"Let’s get changed into something warmer, then we’ll go.” I smile. “I’ll meet you there at 4, kay?”

Kris beams. “Sounds like a date to me. I mean, day,” he adds hastily. “Day. Sorry. Slip of the tongue.”

I run away before he can see the crazy grin that's spreading across my face like melted butter in a hot pan.

When I arrive at the pond, bundled up in earmuffs, two jackets, a scarf, a hat, and fuzzy socks, Kris is already waiting there, sitting by the side of the pond. I bite my lip as I see him run a hand through his blonde hair and stretch his neck from side to side.

God, why does he have to be so-

 "Hey, you're here," Kris says, noticing me. "Come to join the insane party?"

"You know it."

“Here, I brought two pairs of ice skates. Sit down.” Kris gently removes both of my sneakers, chuckling at my neon blue fuzzy socks, and replaces them with black skates. They’re a little tight but I don’t mind at all.

“Let’s go,” I say, and clomp awkwardly towards the frozen pond. “To be honest, I’ve never ice skated before, so don’t make fun of me if I fall a million times.”

“Dang, I was really looking forward to making fun of you. Kidding,” Kris adds when he sees the outraged expression on my face. His eyes curve up into crescent moons of delight as his body shakes with laughter.

The sight sets my heart racing again.

“I’ll race you around the pond once!” I declare. “Ready, set-,”

I slip and crash to the ice.

“Oww,” I moan, rubbing my head. “This is harder than I thought.”

“You’re such a klutz,” Kris snorts. “Here, take my hand.”

Gingerly latching onto his arm I hoist myself up, sliding around a little bit on the slippery surface.

“What are you-oh!” I gasp as Kris whirls me around so that my back faces him and wraps his arms around my waist. I'm tightly secured by his hold. 

“See, the key to skating is to keep your balance,” he murmurs in my ear.

For a winter day it sure is hot out here. 

“Loosen up,” Kris chuckles. “Now, you just slide forward with your feet like this… make sure you alternate feet.”

We spend a few quiet minutes slowly skating together, only the low sound of our skates moving against the ice breaking the silence. “This is kinda nice,” I laugh softly. The familiar musk of Kris’s scent surrounds me, causing me to relax and melt into his embrace. His warm body provides a sense of tender affection. Our strides forward slow down, and finally Kris and I come to a halt in the middle of the ice, his arms still wrapped around me in a hug.

“Don’t let go of me,” I mumble.

"I won’t. I’ll always hold on to you, Hana,” he whispers in my ear, tightening his grip around me.

Gradually I feel his breath come closer and closer to my face, warming my skin. Closing my eyes, I anticipate his kiss-

“Well, well, if it isn’t Hana Kim and Kris Wu, together again.”

A/N: THEY WERE SO CLOSE-