“Move over. I can’t see.”

Haruki glanced over her shoulder with a frown. The sudden movement caused her to lose her balance and she nearly pitched forward as her skates slipped out from beneath her. Donghae caught her by the shoulders just in time, smirking at her embarrassment.

“You okay?”

“How did I let you talk me into this?” she asked. The knees of her pants were covered in ice and soaked through from all the times she’d fallen down. Her hands were cold and wet from catching herself. After an hour of skating, she still hovered near the wall, in case she needed to catch herself.

“Because it’s fun! You’ll enjoy it more if you stop being scared of falling,” Donghae called as he skated backwards into the middle of the rink. “Come on, join me.”

“Tch. Show off.”

Haruki frowned. She had been thinking the words, but she hadn’t said them out loud. Was it just her imagination?

She shook her head. “Donghae, there is no way I’m going over there.”

“Aw, come on. Why not?” He skated backwards, hands in his pockets, blades curving gracefully across the ice. “Scared?”

Haruki scowled at him and slowly inched away from the wall. Her left foot slipped from beneath her and she landed on her . She could swear she heard laughter, but where was it coming from? Donghae was skating towards her, trying his best not to look amused and none of the other skaters on the rink were paying attention to them.

“You alright?” he asked, holding out a hand and pulling her to her feet.

“My ego might be bruised,” Haruki replied. “Along with other areas.” She dusted some of the ice from her back and sighed. “You make it look so easy.”

“Well, I’ve been skating for a little longer than you have,” he replied. “I think it’s fun. When you fly across the ice, the wind in your hair, all your worries just disappear.”

Haruki smiled. “Sounds nice.” She sighed and dried her hands on her pants. “There’s no way I can do this though. I-”

A snicker. “What’s so funny?”

“Look at her pants!”

Haruki self-consciously looked down, then frowned over at the bleachers. But besides a couple parents who were glued to their phones, she could see no one. “Is something wrong?” Donghae asked.

“I’m hearing voices,” Haruki replied.

Any other person would have been concerned. Donghae simply asked, “And that’s more interesting than skating with me?” He held out his hands “Alright, ready? Hold out your arms. I’m going to push you along and you’ll see that skating’s a lot more fun than you’re giving it credit for.”

“Aw, come on! That’s the oldest trick in the book, Donghae!”

“How cute. It makes me sick.”

Haruki’s eyebrows furrowed. “You really don’t hear anything?”

He spun her around, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pushed off. Haruki shrieked, gripping his hands tightly as they sped across the ice. “Oh my god, Donghae, stop!”

“Why?” he murmured. “You don’t like it?” Without warning, he leaned left and they turned sharply. Haruki yelped and squeezed her eyes shut. The cold air blew against her face as she clung to Donghae’s hands and tore her breath out of as they skated faster and faster. She couldn’t help laughing and turned her head back to look at him, grinning as he eased to a stop.

“Ready to try that on your own?” he asked.

Haruki thought for a minute, then shook her head firmly. “No.”

Donghae sighed. “Oh well. Next time.”

“What makes you think there’ll be a next time?” Haruki retorted.

“I’ll find some way to persuade you.” He winked and headed towards the exit, as a gagging noise made Haruki frown again. She skated to edge and leaned over the wall, staring down at the upturned faces of Eunhyuk, Jiyong, and Ryeowook.

“Um. Hey.” Jiyong waved awkwardly.

“They forced me to come with them,” Ryeowook said quickly.

“What are you looking at?” Donghae asked, skidding to a stop beside her and peering over the wall as well. He narrowed his eyebrows at them.

“Run?” asked Eunhyuk.

“Run.” Jiyong agreed and the three of them sprang to their feet, dodging aside as Donghae lunged for them, and raced out of the building.

“Not again,” Donghae growled. “I’m going to kill them.” He gave Haruki an apologetic look. “They’re just being idiots. I’m not sure why they keep following us-”

“Wait, they’ve been following us? More than once?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve caught them more than once.”

Haruki let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god!”

“Excuse me?” Donghae looked bemused. “You want them tailing us on our dates?”

“No, but it’s better than the alternative of having voices in my head,” Haruki replied. “I thought I was losing my mind!”