Hunter winked at Kenzie, enjoying teasing her and getting reactions out of her.
“Actually, his sister forced him to,” Hunter chimed in. “He didn’t last long, though. He quit in the beginning of the second week.”
Before Leo could retort back, they reached the skating ring.
“Well, I’ll make sure to record you guys having fun. And also to capture embarrassing moments,” Hunter said as they reached the front desk (I’ve never been to an ice skating ring tbh).
(Really? Fun fact: I used to take skating lessons. I'm not good, but I can skate without falling in my butt! Lol.)
Kenzie and Willow got their skates from the receptionist and waited for their boyfriends to get theirs. They headed over to a concession stand to get hot drinks, then sat down at a small table.
(I’ve roller skated before, though. Also, Hunter can’t skate for his life.)
Hunter was not looking forward to ice skating. He could not skate for his life and of course Leo knew that. And of course Leo looked forward to seeing Hunter humiliate himself. Hunter was stubborn not to get skates, but Leo got him a pair anyway. Huffing, the boys joined their girlfriends at a table.
"I got a hot cider and a hot cocoa," Kenzie said, gesturing to the two mugs in front of her. "I didn't know which one you'd like, but I like both so I just got both. You can pick one, or we can share."
“I’m not a big fan of either,” Hunter rubbed the back of his neck. “You guys can drink.”
"Oh. All right. I guess Leo can have one. Willow didn't get you anything," Kenzie directed her last comment toward Leo.
Willow frowned at her friend. "Yeah, but I was going to offer to share my hot cocoa with him."
Leo pouted.
“Damn it, Hunter, because of you I can’t share a drink with my girlfriend,” he sulked. “I can’t believe you’re even my best friend! Honestly, the first time I found out that this guy doesn’t like hot cocoa, I didn’t talk to him for a few days.”
Hunter rolled his eyes at the memory.
“We were six. He locked himself in his room for a few hours before his mother dragged him out. She’s extremely scary. He then proceeded to avoid me for a week and a half until I gave him loads of sweets.”
Leo had a blissful look on his features like he remembered a fond memory.
“Ah, yes, I remember,” he said dreamily. “He got me dozens of chocolates. He got me so many that he got scolded by my mother and I had most of my chocolate confiscated. It was because my teeth started to decay.”
“That was an awesome moment,” Hunter added. “You should’ve seen him all sad and moody but not refusing to go against his mother.”
Leo shuddered.
“She’s terrifying,” he tried to defend himself. “You know very well how scary she can be!”
Hunter laughed.
“You remember that one time a kid pushed you down and you scraped your knees and your mother was so furious, your dad had to hold her back before she could yell at the kid’s mother?”
Leo laughed back.
“Or that time when your dad was an ass, which was nothing new, and she nearly beat him with a shoe?”
Both boys were laughing hard, clutching their sides as they remembered fond memories of Leo’s mother.
“Ah, she’s amazing,” Hunter breathed out. “I haven’t visited her in weeks.”
Leo winced.
“Oh, yeah. She’s pretty pissed about that, man. You’d better visit her soon, otherwise she’ll pull your ears again and give you another earful.”
Hunter then realized they both had started their own conversation and left out their girlfriends. Leo, too, realized his and both boys cleared their throats.
“Sorry, just reminiscing about good times,” they both said at the same time.
Willow and Kenzie exchanged an amused look, both because of the stories and the synchronization.
"Perfectly okay," Willow assured them with a smile.
Kenzie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's not like we don't do that all the time to you guys. And, Leo, your mother sounds amazing. I'm sure Willow is perfectly ecstatic to meet her."
Willow shot Kenzie a glare, though she was trying to hide a smile. She really was excited to meet more of Leo's family.
“She really is!” Leo exclaimed, a soft look on his features. “She would adore you, Will. My entire family would. They’re amazing.”
“I agree,” Hunter nodded. “They’re all awesome people. I’ve never felt like an outsider in their company.”
Leo rolled his eyes.
“As if you’re an outsider,” he scoffed. “My family dotes on you like there’s no tomorrow. They’ve literally adopted him as their own. They constantly ask me about him every single day.”
“Laura does treat me like I’m her son,” Hunter mused. “Which isn’t shocking, since I’m the son of her best friend. Have you told them about Willow yet, Leo?”
Leo groaned.
“I have, actually. I accidentally spilled it and now they’re teasing me relentlessly. I was hoping to kind of keep Will away for a while,” he said. “Just until they’ve calmed down a bit.”
Willow gave Leo a small smile. Yes, she was excited to meet them, but she was nervous as well. What if they ended up not liking her? What would she do then?
Kenzie noticed the look on Willow's face, one that only she would have been able to read because of how long they'd been friends, and quickly changed the subject.
"So, are we going to skate or what?" she joked, taking the last sip of her drink.
“Right, you guys should skate,” Hunter nodded, praying that they wouldn’t drag him along with them. “We’re wasting time sitting here, even though it’s fun.”
Kenzie grinned and pulled her skates on. As she was tying them, she noticed that Hunter hadn't put his on, yet.
"Do you need help or something?" she asked, tying a bow in the last skate.
Hunter raised his hands.
“Oh no, I’m good sitting right here,” he said with a shake of his head. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll watch.”
"You don't want to join us?" Kenzie questioned Hunter, carefully walking over to sit next to him on the bench. "How come?"
Leo snickered.
“Mr. Perfect here can’t skate for his life,” Leo provided, grinning cheekily. “He’s absolutely horrible at it.”
Hunter’s ears turned pink and he scoffed, trying to cover his embarrassment.
“I just never understood why I had to learn this, okay?” He grumbled. “It never seemed importa— stop laughing, Barton!”
(Barton is Leo’s temporary surname. 😂😂)
(…Like, Clint Barton…?)
Kenzie raised her eyebrows and set her hand on Hunter's leg. "I can help you if you want," she offered quietly, giving him a gentle look. "It's really fairly simple. I'm sure you'd pick it up fast."
(Yes! 😂😂 I couldn’t think of anything else so I chose that for a while. :P)
Hunter looked away, running his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t say no to Kenzie, but the thought of skating…
Finally, he sighed.
“All right,” he said, sighing. “I’ll be holding on to you the entire time, though.”
(XD Lol. Why just a while? I think it fits him well! ;P)
"As if I'd be opposed to that," Kenzie scoffed quietly, grinning at Hunter. "C'mon, now. Put your skates on so we can go!"
(Really? So Leo Barton it is! ;P)
Hunter obliged, putting on his skates before standing up slowly, wobbling on his feet. He bit his lip in concentration before reaching out to grab Kenzie’s arm for support.
“If I fall and break something, I’m blaming you,” he muttered.
(Do you want to skip?)
(Sure. When were you thinking of skipping to?)
"If you fall, you'll end up taking me with you!" Kenzie laughed as she helped him onto the ice. "Now, this is simple, like I said before. Just put one foot in front of the other and push off to the side."
(The end of the date?)
(The end of the date?)
(Sounds good.)
Hunter flopped back on the seat, exhausted. He’d fallen straight on his bum multiple times, but he soon got a hang of it.
“That,” Hunter panted. “Was exhausting. My butt hurts. I’m hurt all over.”
Leo snickered.
“I got it all on tape, by the way,” he said, making Hunter shoot him a furious glare.
Kenzie smiled as she sat next to Hunter and started to untie her skates. "Hey, at least someone–" She shot Willow a withering look. "–didn't make you show off in front of a bunch of people. And then fall on your butt."
"Hey, you were doing great until you got distracted. What was with that, by the way?" Willow asked, sitting across from them.
"It was nothing," Kenzie mumbled, staring down at her skates again in order to hide the blush creeping its way to her cheeks. In reality, she had simply seen Hunter watching her, and it had made her a little nervous. She had wanted to be able to show him what she could do, but she didn't want to mess up. In an attempt not to do so, she had tried a little too hard and ended up doing the exact thing she had wanted to avoid.