9Whoo! And we're back with this! We've got 5 days till Christmas and I have 8 more prompts for this book, X.X
Regardless, I WILL finish this. I swear, I will finish this book if it kills me. If not by Christmas, than by Christmas Eve.
Here are the characters in this chapter:
Peter Parker aka Spider-Man
Ava Ayala aka White Tiger
Francine Beck aka Mysterio
Tandy Bowen aka Dagger
Tyrone Johnson aka Cloak
Ben Reilly aka Scarlet Spider (toward the end)
Amadeus Cho aka Iron Spider (toward the end)
Aunt May aka Aunt May (toward the end)
And this chapter prompt: ice-skating! Let's do this!
"Who's ready to do some SKATING!"
Ava tugged on her winter coat and Tyrone stuffed his hands more securely into his pocket. Both were scowling.
"I don't know," Tandy said for all of them, fixing the scarf woven around her face and neck, "Couldn't we have just stayed in and watched a movie or something?"
Francine came up behind Peter, swinging an arm over his shoulder with her skates in the other hand. "Oh come on, this is going to be fun!"
"Francy's got it right," Peter agreed heartedly, "It will be fun. Besides, I'm not allowing you to roam New York in the winter without at least skating at Rockefeller Center once. It's a wright of passage!"
"Yeah, slipping and sliding on ice all night, sounds super fun," Ava grumbled.
"That's the spirit! Now lace up those skates and lets hit the ice!"
They all sighed and huffed, but proceeded to do so. As Peter finished lacing up his boots, he glanced around and couldn't help but notice an influx of costumed skaters sitting outside the rink and gliding on the ice. Strange...
"Okay, just so everyone knows, I have the worst balance," Tyrone mentioned as he finished tying his skates too, "So, the chances of me slipping and accidentally teleporting into the Dark Dimension is a high possibility."
Peter snorted, "That's not going to happen," the look Tyrone gave him made him pause, "Wait...can that happen?"
"It's a high possibility."
"Well, lucky for us, I'm a fantastic skater! So, just stick with me and it'll be nothing but smooth gliding."
Tyrone snorted in a way that didn't sound very convinced, but when Tandy placed an assuring hand on his shoulder, he smiled down at her and his tension eased a bit. "Alright," he said, "Let's go."
They hobbled toward the rink and one-by-one wobbled out onto the ice. Francine slid on with ease and did a couple of warm-up loops and zig-zags before making her way back to the others. Ava was holding onto the side of the rink with a tight grip, but with her eyes fixed into her patented i-will-learn-and-master-this-new-technique-even-if-it-kills-me look as she slid out, her hands braced in front of her for balance, taking a few cautious steps forward.
Tandy and Tyrone were woven around one another, desperately using the other to balance out, and - surprisingly - Peter was right behind them, clutching onto the back of Tyrone's coat as he wobbled like Bambi's first time on ice.
"I thought you said you were good at skating," Tyrone hissed as they all almost toppled onto the ice, Tandy being the one who leveled them out.
"I am," Peter said and quickly proved himself wrong when his legs crossed and he plummeted onto the icy ground.
Francine carefully slid next to him to offer a hand, "You sure about that, Peter? Cause I'm not saying you're rusty, but maybe your a little rusty."
"Well, it has been a while since I've gone skating," he admitted as he wobbled to his feet.
"Yeah, and how long is a while?" Ava laughed as she tottered toward them. She seemed to be quickly getting the hang of it though. All those years of training probably didn't hurt either.
Which didn't make sense because Peter was literally Spider-Man, he could walk on a tightrope without falling that's how good his balance was, so even if he was rusty he shouldn't be this bad.
"A few years," Peter grumbled as she slid into him and they quickly latched onto each other to keep from falling. "But it shouldn't be this bad. How are you getting the hang of it so quick? I know you've got skills, Ava, but come on."
She laughed again, though it was more of a cackle, and she let him go to shakily slid away and leave him to rock and slip on his feet.
"You've got skills too, Parker," she reminded a hand on her hips. Given the tone, it was obvious was she talking about the spidery-side of his skills. "Where are they?"
"They've ditched me apparently," Peter grumbled, straining for the railing until it was finally within reach, "Gone on vacation. Hibernating for the winter. Decided I wasn't quite what they were looking for? Were going in a 'different direction.'"
Francine snorted behind her glove when he almost fell again.
"Hey, stop laughing at me. Also, I think Tyrone and Tandy need some saving," he pointed at the two referenced, who were making their way farther into the middle of the rink, faces twisted in panic as they tried to switch directions and head back without falling on their rears. Francine quickly went to their rescue.
Ava slid some more on the ice, her confidence building as her glides grew less and less shaky. She attempted a small loop around and laughed triumphantly when she didn't fall.
"How's it going?" She asked smugly, coming to a stop next to him.
"OH stop rubbing it in," he huffed. He let go of the railing, legs squared and arms braced, going completely stiff in an effort to stay balanced. When he stopped shaking, he took a tentative step forward, followed by another, and another, and flailed when his fragile balance broke.
"Looks like Spider-Man can't save you all the time," Ava taunted, though her grin was friendly, "Spiders don't do well on ice. Noted."
Peter leveled a scowl at her, though it was less level and more shaky when he almost slipped. Francine was still farther out on the ice, trying to help Tyrone and Tandy find a rhythm to their skating. Peter stared at them, tongue slipping out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he started toward them.
"Help?" he asked, pleading toward Ava. Abilities or not, he was going to skate if it killed him. Ava rolled her eyes to high heaven but was smiling as she slipped a hand under his arms and together they slide over to the rest of their group.
Tyrone looked like he was getting the hang of it and tittered a nervous, yet excited, laugh when Francine let him go and he glided out himself, arms balanced outward and knees bent. Tandy wasn't quite at that level yet and was clutching onto the other side of Francine's body in a vice grip.
"I'm starting to think I'm the only one who actually knows what they're doing here," Francine said, raising an eyebrow at Peter, who was half-leaning onto Ava to keep himself up.
"Okay, I'm a little rusty. I get it. I'm trying here."
"Uh, guys...why is everyone leaving?" Tandy asked, looking around the rink.
The rest of them surveyed the ice, and sure enough, the casual skaters had returned to the seats outside the rink while a slew of other skaters - some dressed snugly and some dressed in costumes - were waiting on the ice.
"Uh...Francine?" Peter asked, "When was that ice skating competition?"
Francine suddenly paled and glanced quickly at her watch, "Uh...right now..."
They all shared a look before quickly scrambling across the ice, "The exit," Ava said, "Aim for the exit."
"Fast!"
"Hurry!"
Over the speakers set around the rim, a voice boom around the blast of Christmas bells "Welcome to the annual Rookie's Night Dancing on Ice Competiton!" and applause sprung from the forming crowd. "For those still on ice, let's get started."
Aunt May looked up from her sports magazine as the 5 shivering, red-cheeked teens shuffled into the house, hanging their coats and shoes in the hallway as they went. On the couch across from her, Ben glanced away from the mistletoe arrangments he was making for Aunt May, and Amadeus from the box of cooking recipes he was sorting through - a stack of Christmas cookie recipes resting on the side.
"Oh, how was it?" Aunt May asked, setting the magazine down. Her lips pursed at the blank, vacant expressions on their faces.
Wordlessly, Ava set a bright, glittery trophy on the coffee table, and everyone in the room stared at it. A pair of red and green ice-skates twinkled on top and on the base, in black, blocked letters it read: 1st Place, and under it in smaller letters, Annual Rookie's Night Dancing on Ice Competition (2019).
"I don't know how it happened," Peter whispered.
"Everything was happening too fast," Tyrone agreed.
"We were just trying to get out of the way," Tandy added.
"We weren't fast enough," Francine shuddered.
They stared several more minutes until Ben looked away, shaking his head, and went back to the arrangements. "And you guys wondered why I didn't want to go skating with you."
Haha, and done. That was fun.
I doubt I'll be able to finish this by Christmas, but by golly, I'm gonna try! My goal is to finish it by New Year's, at least. Because it's time this book came to an end. I refuse to let it sit for another year - I can't do it.
I haven't been really active recently due to a plethora of things that I won't go into, but just know that I haven't abandoned any of my stories, they're still getting worked on. The next chapter of "Reticent Monsters" is written and in the editing stages and my newest story, "The Inside Scoop" also has chapters in the works, and now that I'm on winter break I'll - hopefully - have more time to work on them and others.
Anyway, here's this! Hope you guys are enjoying and having a fantastic holiday season (or regular ol' December month - either way, hope it's going great.)
See you next chapter!
