CHAPTER TWO: Collision on Ice
1043 Words
The first week at Northcrest University was everything Ariana had expected.
And nothing like she'd hoped.
The campus was breathtaking.
Towering maple trees lined the walkways, their emerald leaves dancing in the crisp autumn breeze. Students hurried across the sprawling grounds with backpacks slung over their shoulders, laughing with friends or rushing to lectures. The red-brick buildings looked like something from a movie, elegant and timeless, while the enormous glass-fronted library reflected the morning sunlight like a crystal palace.
To everyone else, Northcrest was a dream.
To Ariana, it was a fresh start.
She adjusted the strap of her backpack and glanced down at the map on her phone.
"Student Union... Student Union... Where is it?"
Her orientation session had ended almost an hour ago, and after getting lost twice, she desperately needed coffee before her afternoon lecture.
A sign pointing toward the Student Union caught her eye.
"There you are," she murmured, smiling for what felt like the first time that day.
The café inside buzzed with life. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries filled the air as students chatted over breakfast.
Ariana ordered the cheapest iced caramel latte on the menu, silently calculating how much money she had left after paying for textbooks.
I really need to find a part-time job.
Coffee in one hand and a paper bag containing a blueberry muffin in the other, she stepped back outside.
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown Number
She hesitated before answering.
"Hello?"
"Ariana?" a warm female voice asked.
"Yes?"
"This is Professor Eleanor Hayes. I reviewed your transfer essay. It was exceptional."
Ariana's heart skipped.
"Thank you, Professor."
"I expect great things from you. Don't let your past define you."
The words tightened something in Ariana's chest.
"I won't."
She ended the call and stood still for a moment.
For the first time in months...
Someone believed in her.
A genuine smile spread across her face.
Then—
BANG!
She slammed into something solid.
No...
Someone.
Her coffee flew through the air in slow motion.
The plastic cup burst open.
Cold caramel latte splashed across a black hockey jersey.
Silence.
The conversations around them died instantly.
Ariana stared in horror.
"Oh my God..."
Coffee dripped from the captain's jersey.
From his neck.
From his hands.
Even onto the expensive hockey duffel bag resting by his feet.
The young man looked down at himself before slowly raising his head.
His icy blue eyes met hers.
The air seemed to freeze.
He was tall.
Much taller than she was.
Dark hair fell over his forehead, slightly damp from the spilled drink. His jaw was sharp enough to cut glass, and despite the coffee staining his uniform, he looked like he'd stepped straight out of a magazine cover.
He didn't speak.
He simply stared.
Behind him stood six equally stunned hockey players.
One of them whispered, "No way..."
Another covered his mouth, trying—and failing—not to laugh.
Ariana's face burned.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
She quickly pulled a packet of tissues from her bag and reached toward his jersey.
"I'll clean it—"
A strong hand caught her wrist before she could touch him.
His grip wasn't painful.
Just firm.
"You think that's going to fix it?" he asked quietly.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"I didn't mean—"
"I know."
She blinked.
"You know?"
"I know you didn't mean it."
For one hopeful second...
She thought he was going to smile.
Instead, he took a slow step closer.
"But that doesn't change the fact that you just poured an entire coffee on my jersey."
Laughter erupted from somewhere in the crowd.
Students had stopped walking.
Phones were already pointed at them.
Someone whispered loudly, "That's Liam Carter."
"The hockey captain?"
"She just embarrassed him!"
Ariana's stomach dropped.
Liam Carter?
She'd heard the name during orientation.
Captain of the Northcrest Wolves.
Campus celebrity.
Future professional player.
The face on every sports poster around campus.
Great.
Just great.
"I'll pay for the cleaning," Ariana offered.
"I don't need your money."
"I can replace it."
He glanced at the large number 17 stitched across his chest.
"This jersey was signed by my team after we won nationals."
Her heart sank.
"I... I didn't know."
"Obviously."
The crowd grew larger.
Someone actually started clapping.
Another student called out, "Captain, your new girlfriend has terrible aim!"
The hockey players burst into laughter.
Liam didn't.
His expression remained unreadable.
"You should watch where you're going."
Ariana swallowed her pride.
"You're right."
That answer surprised him.
"I should've been paying attention."
For a brief moment, Liam studied her face.
She wasn't making excuses.
She wasn't blaming him.
She looked...
...genuinely guilty.
Before he could say another word, a cheerful blond teammate jogged over.
"No worries, Captain! At least it's caramel. Vanilla would've been worse."
The team laughed again.
Even Ariana couldn't stop the tiny smile tugging at her lips.
Liam noticed.
"So you think this is funny?"
Her smile vanished instantly.
"No."
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his wet jersey.
"I have practice in twenty minutes."
"I'm really sorry."
"You've said that three times."
"I'll say it a fourth if I have to."
For the first time...
The corner of Liam's mouth twitched.
It was almost a smile.
Almost.
But it disappeared as quickly as it came.
He picked up his hockey bag.
"Let's hope we don't meet again."
Ariana nodded.
"I couldn't agree more."
She turned and hurried away, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
Behind her, Noah Hayes nudged Liam with an amused grin.
"So..."
"What?"
"You didn't yell."
"I didn't need to."
"You also almost smiled."
"I absolutely did not."
"Oh, you definitely did."
Liam shot him a warning look.
Noah raised both hands in surrender.
"Relax, Captain."
Liam glanced over his shoulder.
The mysterious girl was already disappearing into the crowd, her oversized hoodie making her look even smaller against the sea of students.
He didn't know her name.
He didn't know where she'd come from.
But something about her lingered in his thoughts longer than it should have.
Neither of them realized...
That by the end of the day, fate would throw them together again.
And this time...
Walking away wouldn't be an option.
- Writer
