I didn't see River on Wednesday. Instead, I spent the day in classes and reading the book assigned for my English project. River and I weren't in any of the same courses, and we had agreed to take a day off from the bucket list, but today was Thursday, and he had another activity planned for us in the evening. Even though I enjoyed having time on my own, I missed doing activities.

Tonight, I will be going ice skating for the first time. My mind raced when images of myself falling down and getting sliced by a blade came into my head, but excitement took over any lingering nerves.

"Do you have any idea how hard ice skating is?" Nadia said as we walked back to our dorm. We had gotten coffee even though it was nearing the end of the day. Coffee was good at any time of the day, or at least that's what Nadia said to convince me.

"It can't be that hard," I replied.

"I've gone about ten times and still haven't gotten the hang of it."

"I'm usually good at things like that, though."

"Besides bowling?"

"Besides bowling," I said.

When we got back to the dorm, I changed out of my shorts and tank top and into some leggings and a sweater. After fixing my makeup and taming my hair, I was ready to go. It was nearing 8:00, which was when River said he would be here.

After hearing a ding from my phone, a text from River popped up on my screen. He was here, so I said goodbye to Nadia and headed outside. His slick black car came into sight, and I got into the passenger seat.

"Hi," I said once I buckled in.

"You look like a marshmallow," River said, looking at my white sweater before starting to drive.

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment. Which rink are we going to?"

"The Chiller."

"How far away is it?"

"Only about fifteen minutes away."

"Okay," I said. "So, I think I have decided to add dyeing a streak of my hair onto the bucket list."

"Good. It would look good on you. Have you thought about what color?"

"I was thinking red."

"That's badass."

"That's the point," I said.

"I like it, but I think purple would look better."

"Why purple?"

"I don't know. I get a vibe from you," River said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What about green?" I asked.

"Ew."

"Okay, maybe not green."

"Pink?" River suggested.

"I don't want to look like a unicorn."

"Unicorns are pretty. Why wouldn't you want to look like one?"

"Oh, please. Unicorns are just horses with horns sticking out of their foreheads."

"Good point."

We spent the rest of the drive arguing over what color to dye my hair. By the time we got to the rink, we still hadn't agreed on a color.

After parking, we walked into the rink and paid for our ice time. It wasn't packed, but it wasn't empty, either. It had the perfect amount of skaters there. Having too many people would be frustrating because it would be hard to get around, but having a small number of people would be nerve-wracking since the workers would focus on us the whole time.

Once we got our skates, we sat down and laced them up. River tied his laces within seconds, but I was struggling.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

"I got it," I snapped, not wanting to seem like I couldn't do something simple and concentrating on my skates.

"Okay," He said in surrender.

It took me a while, but I got my skates laced up and ready to go. It was hard to walk in them. I also felt a lot taller than usual.

When we opened the doors to the rink, a blast of cold air hit us. I was glad that I wore long pants and a shirt with sleeves. River got onto the ice and turned around, waiting for me to step onto the slippery floor. I put one foot on the ice and tested it out. Feeling more confident, I placed my other skate on the ice and tried to move forward.

I fell. After making sure I was okay, River laughed his ass off.

I tried to get up, but I kept falling back onto the ice and gaining tons of cuts and bruises.

"Try holding onto the wall," River suggested after he finished chuckling.

I did as he said and gripped the wall. After trying to move forward, I found that it was a little easier to move when holding onto the edge.

River skated next to me. How did he look so graceful while sliding along the ice? If I didn't know him, I would have thought he was a hockey player.

Even though he was skating, he was going at a snail's pace so he could stay with me.

"You can go on without me," I said.

"No, it's fine."

"How are you so good at this anyway?"

"I used to play hockey in elementary school."

"Ah," I said, picturing River doing sports. He had the body for it.

After a little more sliding, I wanted to try to move without the wall, so I let go. The minute I let go of the edge, I fell.

"Do you want to hold my hand?" River asked.

"Yes, please," I said, getting off the ground. I had learned to get onto one knee when getting up, so standing up had become a lot easier.

River skated closer to me and clasped my hand in his. His fingers were warm against my freezing hand. It felt good.

"Ready to move forward?" He asked.

"Yep," I said, bracing myself.

River glided forward, pulling me next to him. I was doing none of the work, so it felt relaxing to glide without putting in any effort.

"Are you doing okay?" He asked.

"Perfect."

"Seems like we found two things that you suck at. Bowling and Ice skating."

"Yeah, whatever," I said, rolling my eyes.

"But you are good at arcade games, though. You'll always have that."

"That is probably one of the worst skills to have."

"It's still a skill."

"I guess," I laughed.

"You could be a professional arcade game tester."

"Is that even a job?"

"Probably."

"I'll look into it," I joked.

"What's your favorite color?" River asked, changing the subject as he helped me skate.

"Red. Why?"

"And what's your favorite slushie flavor?"

"Cherry. Why are you asking these random questions?"

"I've always wondered if people's favorite slushie flavors were the same as their favorite colors. I've asked every one of my friends."

"And what are the results?"

"Most people's favorite color is the same color they like their slushie."

"I have a fun question," I said.

"Ask away."

"Is there any kids movie that you were afraid of as a child? Or that completely terrified you?"

"Uh, no. They are kid's movies. They don't have anything scary in them."

"Not true. I was scared of the movie The Tooth Fairy."

"What, why?"

"I didn't like the parts where the guy turned into the tooth fairy. I had to leave the room when I first watched it," I said, remembering Lola laughing at me, not in a mean way, but a sisterly way.

"That's so weird."

"I have another question."

"Okay."

"What animated character would you want to be friends with?"

"Easy, Goofy."

"From Mickey Mouse?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"I like his voice, and he seems like a cool dude. Who would you choose?"

"Wanda and Cosmo so they can grant me wishes," I said, having thought about this question before.

"That's a good one. I want to change my answer."

"Nope. You can't say the same character as me."

"Fine. I choose the genie from Aladdin."

"Same thing, different font, but I guess that'll work," I said.

"Who would you not want to be friends with? And you can't say a villain," River questioned.

"Um, Patrick Star. He would get on my nerves," I said.

"I would say Squidward. He's too uptight."

"True."

We talked about random things that were on our minds for the next hour and a half, which were mostly stupid questions that nobody would ever ask. I held onto River's hand the entire time, gripping it like my life depended on it. Most people got the hang of ice skating after a few minutes, but for me, it was different. I was as bad as when I stepped on the ice by the time we finished skating.

"Let's get slushies. That question made me crave them," River said as we were about to exit the building.

"Okay."

River ordered me my cherry slushie while he got blue raspberry.

"You have that all over your face," River said as I dug into my cherry treat.

"So do you," I laughed as we wiped our faces. Once we finished our slushies, we headed out to the car.

"Alani, your leg is bleeding," River said, concern lacing his voice.

"What?"

"Your leg," He said. Looking down, I found that my knees were bleeding through my leggings.

"Damn it," I said.

"I have a first aid kit in my car. I'll get it," River said before opening his trunk and fishing out some wipes and bandaids.

"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked.

"I think I can handle a scrape on a knee. Now, sit."

I did as he said and sat down in the backseat of the car, with my legs dangling out the side.

"Roll your leggings up," He said before I moved them up. River knelt in front of me and opened the wipes. After rubbing my cut, he placed a bandaid on my knee.

"Thanks," I said.

"All better," He said, looking at me before we got in the car and drove off with another activity crossed off of the bucket list. Today made me realize Nadia's thoughts on River were the furthest thing from true, and I couldn't have been happier.