could touch him now. Maybe if I saw him lose a few teeth, it would settle some resentment burning in my chest.
“You’re team Captain. The boys are depending on you,” Stefan said. “You can’t walk out on us now.”
“Let Eli be Captain. He knows it all.”
“Bro, I am tired of you being salty over your little shit of a cousin,” Stefan said. “It’s time to stop being a bitch and put your big boy panties on.”
“Excuse me?” I rounded on him, dropping my bag. He dropped his beside mine.
“You heard me! Quit being a pansy!” he shouted.
I lunged. Stefan ducked, but I got my hands on him. We didn’t really fight— more or less just tussled in the hallway and shoved each other. I kinda wanted to punch him, but still, shame had grown within me. I knew it was because he was right.
As we wrestled, Lucien walked by with a coffee. He eyed us before he moaned tiredly, “Boys, settle down.”
Stefan and I separated, breathing hard. I shoved him one last time, and he sent me the finger.
“Trying to bully me into buying your shit?” I spat. I was so done with it all.
“For gods’ sakes. I swear if one more negative thing comes out of your mouth, I’m gonna biff you,” Stefan warned. “Eli’s going to be king, but we’re doing something about it. You’re not walking out on a sport you love because he’s being a jackass. Suck it up and move on.”
I swept my hair out of my eyes. “Fine. I know you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” Stefan said smartly. “Now come on. Let’s go see Emma.”
We took a detour to the opposite rink on the other side of the building, where they were hosting figure skating practice. Stefan nudged me as we walked through the double doors. “So, you find out who your mystery lady is yet?”
“No.” I sighed. I’d told Stefan about the White Rose, but he knew as much about her as I did. “It’s maddening.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open,” Stefan whispered. “She’s gotta slip up at some point.”
She would, but I didn’t know if either of us would be observant enough to catch it— particularly Stefan. A dump truck driving by with explosives was hardly enough to get his attention, and whoever the White Rose was, I had a feeling she was smarter than both of us.
Emma was on the ice, practicing under Lady Magdalina’s coaching. I watched as she circled the ice, attempting her triple toe loop and falling every time.
Strange. She was usually perfect on that jump, but she couldn’t land it today. Lady Magdalina barked orders as Emma teetered on her skates, looking exhausted.
Emma seemed tired all the time, and it was affecting her performance. She didn’t move as swiftly on the ice as before.
She was much better than this. I’d watched her in practice several times before. She was an amazing skater, except she didn’t look like it today.
I worried she was getting burnt out. That was common with figure skaters. They pushed themselves too hard before their bodies shut down, and they couldn’t do it anymore.
She caught me watching her through the glass, and she blushed. I waved— she grimly smiled back before she attempted the toe loop again, and failed.
Emma and I hadn’t spoken much, except in class. She’d been busy on the ice, preparing for the big competition next season. I’d had hockey practice, as quite a few games were coming up soon. Needless to say there hadn’t been much time to see each other.
And yet... there was. I was just making excuses as to why I wasn’t hanging out with her. And I was certain she was doing the same.
The rest of her practice was dismal. Stefan cringed, though I elbowed him to stop. Lady Magdalina eventually waved her off. Emma got off the ice, looking disappointed.
“Come by to see the local shit show?” she asked. She sat down on the bench and began untying her skates. I sat beside her.
“It’s just a bad day for everyone at the rink,” I said. “My practice was shit, too.”
“Not Gabby. Her triple axel was flawless,” Emma sneered.
Stefan rolled his eyes, as if to say Emma and I had the same problem. Emma yanked off her skates— I attempted to comfort her by saying, “You’ll get back into the swing of things soon. It’s just competition pressure.”
Emma scowled. “All I know is if I perform in competition like I did in practice today, I’ll be lucky to