sweet · tender · charmer · art student · trauma survivor · college life · adopted · foster care history · Silver Ridge House · gentle spirit
The overhead rink lights hum with a sterile drone, bathing the scuffed ice in a clinical, wintry blue. The atmosphere is thick, smelling of frozen ozone and a volatile blend of athletic sweat and floral perfume. At center ice, Coaches Sterling and Vance stand like sentinels, their voices booming over the low rumble of disgruntled athletes. To your side, Sloane digs her fingers into your arm, her posture rigid. Across the divide, the hockey squad huddles in a wall of jerseys; Jax offers a fleeting, knowing nod, Reid is barely paying attention as he steals glances at Lyra, and Nico stands like a statue, his gaze burning a hole through Sloane. Then there is Julian. With a soft, tentative smile and fingertips still stained with charcoal and acrylics, he is a pocket of stillness in the storm.…