The next Monday, I sat through my government class, waiting for the end of the day to come. The fact that the cinder block walls were painted white didn't change the prison-like atmosphere of the classroom, especially since I had somewhere to be after school that my new boyfriend-type person was slightly suspicious about and probably wouldn't like.

I loved that ice rink more than myself.

Ever since we had our minor blow-up, it was almost like Viktor treated me differently, and maybe things were different on my end too. I didn't want to throw up as much when I saw him, so that was weird.

With tryouts in a few days, Viktor and I had shifted our focus to hockey almost entirely. Everything that we had been working for the previous few weeks was about to be rewarded, hopefully.

While I knew that Viktor would make the team easily, the uncertainty of anything was enough to bother me.

The teacher droned on and on about the Constitution, and although it was an interesting topic, there was no debate that day. As much as I wanted to discuss my opinions on the Bill of Rights and to what extent those freedoms are protected, I had to shut up and listen, which was not particularly one of my skills.

The bell rang, and I headed off to calculus.

Typically, I got there before Viktor, but that day he was already sitting in his seat when I arrived. Lukas stood in front of his desk pointing a finger to Viktor's chest, and I rushed over there before anything could escalate.

"Dude, what's the problem?" I asked, strategically placing my hand between Viktor and Lukas.

Lukas turned and pointed to me. "Your dumbass boyfriend needs to learn his place. I swear to God, if he doesn't shut up—"

"I just said good afternoon. That's it," Viktor said.

"Don't talk to me. I don't like you, and I only haven't kicked the shit out of you because you follow Amanda around like a lost puppy, and she's okay," Lukas said.

"I don't do that."

"Yes, you do. Every single day after school, you're always with her."

"We live together."

Lukas's eyes widened. "What?"

I laughed.

"That's how the foreign exchange thing works," Viktor said.

I laughed even harder.

14. Thank you so much for absolutely obliterating Lukas just now. Solid entertainment. Ten out of ten.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Lukas muttered, and even though he didn't even ask to go, he left the room.

I turned to Viktor. "For the record, I still hate you."

Viktor smiled. "That's not true."

"Maybe not, but I certainly don't like you."

"I can live with that."

Neither one of us said anything else as Ms. Harter began the class, but I just like in government, I couldn't really pay attention.

It always bothered me that I didn't know the beginning of Lukas and Viktor's one-way rivalry.

***

After school, Viktor and I went for one final practice. Since tryouts were just two days away, we decided it would be best if he could spend his time relaxing mentally, emotionally, and physically.

15. As much as I hate to admit it, I'll really miss our hockey training sessions. But I know you'll do well in tryouts. And I'm not one to just trust a gut feeling.

He skated just like he always had, with long strides that looked like they took every ounce of effort he had in his six-foot frame. I could never take my eyes off him. There was never a lackadaisical moment when he was on the ice, and I couldn't help but believe that I had something to do with that.

His shot had improved, but there were still times where he missed the net so badly when Matt never would. It was a minor frustration for both of us, but I couldn't expect him to be perfect all the time. It wasn't his fault he couldn't be like me.

After an hour and a half, I called him over to the bench to call it for the day.

After he gathered his stuff, we walked to the parking lot. I would miss those training sessions, but I definitely would not miss Febreze-ing my car every single day. His hockey bag's stench could have killed someone.

He sighed. "I'm a little sad that this is our last one. I feel like you aren't as mean as you were, and I prefer the nice Amanda for sure."

"You'll get over it. In a couple days, you'll be settled in with the team, and everything will be like it should. If you want, I'll call you a fucking dumbass."

"Thank you for doing this. I know it was for Matt, but I feel different now. Just," he paused for a moment, "happier. Back to normal."

I looked away. "Yeah."

He chuckled. "I would be even happier if it didn't end just yet."

"I don't really care about your feelings."

"Can we do another exchange?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm done with those. Look what the last one did to us. I haven't threatened to kill you in, like, a week."

He smiled. "And that's why I want to do another one. You're not nearly as bad of a person as you want everyone to think, and I think you actually like to help me."

I laughed. "Let's not go that far. You're getting a little big for your britches."

He looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"It's an idiom. It means that you're getting cocky, or you think too highly of yourself," I said.

He nodded and took out his phone. "What was it again?"

"Too big for your britches."

"How do you spell that?"

I spelled it for him. "Why do you need to know?"

"I have a list of some of the phrases you and Matt use. I want to learn them."

Sometimes I was convinced I was a robot. Other times, my heart melted at stupid shit like that.

For once, I let my heart say her piece. "That's kind of adorable."

A faint blush rose on his cheeks, and he stumbled over his words. "Oh, um, I just like to learn. Is it stupid?"

I brought my shoulders up in a slight shrug. "I don't think so."

"You're just saying that to be nice."

I smiled. "When's the last time I did that? I don't say things to be nice. I say what I think. I figured you of all people would know that."

He nodded. "That's true."

He put his bag into the trunk of my car, but before either one of us got into the car, I turned to him. "I have an idea. It's not an exchange, but how about a little competition?"

"That sounds interesting."

"Whoever can hold a wall-sit longer wins a smoothie."

He laughed. "You're not serious, are you? I'll definitely win after all you put me through."

"Then I'm sure you'll enjoy a free smoothie for your hard work. Come on." I took out my phone to time us, then I squatted with my back against the car. He did the same.

"Go." I began the timer.

"This is one of your dumber ideas, Candy Cane," he said.

"I've never had a stupid idea in my life. Some of my ideas didn't work out the way I planned, but that doesn't make them stupid."

He thought about what I said for a moment. "That's pretty optimistic of you, or you can't admit that you're wrong."

I checked the timer. Ten seconds had gone by. Why did it feel like my legs were already dead? Was I really that out of shape?

Viktor looked over at me. "You're struggling already. Your legs are shaking."

"No, they're not."

"I see them shaking right now."

"No, you don't."

I checked the timer again. Fifteen seconds. I bit my lip and prayed to every god I could think of for some strength.

That took twelve more seconds.

I decided that I needed to learn more about other religions and cultures and snuck another glance at the timer, then looked over at Viktor. That bastard wasn't suffering at all.

To keep my mind off of my pain, I decided to talk. "So what's the deal with you and Lukas? It kind of pisses me off that I'm not your main hater anymore."

"I wish I knew. He hasn't liked me since the first day of school, and I don't really know what I did to him."

"Have you asked him?"

"That doesn't feel like a good idea. I don't want to make him hate me even more."

I looked at my legs, which weren't wobbling nearly as much as they were just moments before. I didn't know what kind of psychological fuckery was responsible for that, but I sure as hell didn't mind. "If you want, I'll investigate for you."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to. It's like being a detective, and I don't know if you've noticed, but I inherited my mom's love of cooking up ridiculous ideas."

"I'm not going to stop you, but just make sure that you don't make him mad at you. He doesn't bother me that much, but his anger does if that makes any sense."

I thought for a second. I had seen Lukas get oddly emotional for no reason, especially when I was getting along with Viktor (which, of course, was rare). He seemed that he thought of any friendliness between Viktor and me as an act of betrayal. But he also calmed down quickly once his rational side kicked in, and he was a decent person then.

"He won't be a problem. I'll figure this out for you," I said.

A silence fell between us, and I looked over at the arena where I would watch Matt and Viktor soon. Their on-ice reunion was going to destroy the league, and I couldn't wait to see them together again. From what I had seen of them before, which unfortunately wasn't much and a long time ago, they didn't even need to communicate that much on the ice because their minds were so in sync. Plus, they never shut up on the bench. Ever.

Viktor turned back to me. "I'm surprised you lasted this long."

"Why?"

It was pretty obvious why: I wasn't skinny, and I also liked cupcakes and taking naps.

"I figured your, um, your–" He struggled to find the word, and I wasn't sure if it was because he wasn't trying to be mean or if he literally just forgot the English word.

"Describe what you mean," I said.

"You don't quit. You keep going no matter what. It's good and bad."

"My stubbornness?"

"That sounds right. I thought your stubbornness would keep you going for a minute at the most, but eventually you would get tired."

"I'm great. Not even tired at all," I lied.

He laughed. "That's not true. You're just more stubborn than I thought."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know. Probably bad."

I rolled my eyes to the side and bit my cheek. "You want to call this a tie, so we can get going? You could probably do this forever, and I'm not going to quit until I win. So let's call it a draw."

"Sure."

"Okay, stand on three. One, two, three."

He stood up. I didn't.

I smiled at him. "I win. When will you learn to stop trusting me?"

"I thought we were having a moment, Candy Cane, and you ruined it." He turned away from me. "Let's just go."

"Are you seriously mad at me?" I asked.

He sighed. "No. It was just a game. Come on, let's go get your smoothie."

"You don't have to. I won unfair and square."

And even though I kind of cheated, he still bought me a smoothie anyway.

16. Why do you have to be so nice?

***

The next couple school days dragged on, but after school on Wednesday was the moment I had been anticipating for what seemed like years. Hockey tryouts.

I knew that I wasn't supposed to be there, but no one could stop me, and I had to see Matt's face when he saw Viktor. I stood just inside the door, giving me a clear view of everything that happened on the ice. I peered through the dirty glass, hoping Matt wouldn't see me, and I waited for their tryouts to begin.

The guys all skated out onto the ice, but Viktor was not with them. Half of me wanted him to just put me out of my misery and get out there, but the other half loved the theatrics. It would only make Matt's reaction that much better.

There must have been a magnet on the glass, because I found myself almost pressed up against it, staring at the guys as they stretched and warmed up. It wasn't a bad view, but I remembered Blaine and took a couple steps back.

"Come on, Viktor. Just kill me while you're at it," I mumbled to myself. My eyes flitted to the runway from the ice to the locker room. He had to come out sooner or later, or he'd miss the tryouts.

If he pulled something like that, I was certainly going to lose my mind.

"Okay," a loud voice boomed, and I assumed that it belonged to the coach. Everyone skated into a large group, and there were many more guys than could ever make the team.

"Viktor, I swear to God." I checked my phone, and the time read 5:03. Three minutes past when the tryouts were supposed to begin.

The players then spread out all over the ice, and some skated down to where I was standing.

And that's when I heard that accent.

"I'm sorry that I'm late." Viktor skated onto the ice and stopped right beside Matt. He said something to him, but I couldn't hear.

I covered my mouth before anything could escape, and Matt did the same.

He hunched over in laughter before shaking Viktor's shoulders in excitement.

"I can't believe this. I'm—I can't even talk right now," Matt said just loudly enough so I could hear.

Viktor laughed. "It was Candy Cane's idea. She was the one who talked me into it, then made me come here every day to get me back to where I used to be, and even better."

"I should've figured that out. You two couldn't have been any more obvious. I'm just happy you're not secretly dating or something."

Mom knew something was up, Matt must have known, and somehow, we still managed to pull off the surprise. Ten points to Viktor and Amanda.

17. Thank you for not giving in and ruining the surprise. Matt's face made everything worth it.

18. Oh, and thank you for playing hockey again. For Matt. For yourself. For me.

Matt and Viktor looked over to me, both with bright smiles and joy in their eyes. I waved to them with a smile of my own.

Matt laughed. "Go home, Amanda. I'll talk to you then."

My smile didn't fade. "Okay, okay. Don't fuck this up. You both suck at hockey."

They turned to each other again, and I gave them one last wave before leaving the rink. Their faces were all the payment I needed for all the work, yelling, sweat, and maybe a couple of tears to be worth it.

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Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading! This chapter was pretty fun to revisit, and I did quite a bit of work on it, so I'd love to hear your thoughts! It's still not exactly what I want, so if you have any constructive criticisms, I would totally appreciate that.

So for today's question, do you think this is a big step for Amanda and Viktor? And what is the deal with Lukas??