Love in the Ice

Next Chapter! Hope you guys like. Im really trying to stick to my goal! :D

Basketball practice had been intense. Season was around the corner, and all the players had to be on their best performance. Not that Aiden wasn't at the top of his game, but his and Kyle's competitive and leadership tendencies clashed with one another.

Aiden would want to try new plays, new strategies, but Kyle and his gang would always go against him. Always.

Today’s practice had been no different, and to top it off, Coach Moreno had some season business to attend to, and left the team to practice alone. His exact words had been, “Learn to trust one another without me guiding you, we're going to need it if we make it to the finals. Work it out amongst yourselves."

Of course Kyle took it among himself to be in charge. Running all the plays, and running all the players to exhaustion. The team had good players, there was no mistaking that, but half of them played one way, the other half, Kyle's half, played another. There was no unity, and that would get the team nowhere.

Most of the players had already gone home, and one or two were clearing the locker room. Aiden had wanted to shoot some hoops for awhile longer, so by the time he finished and started changing to go home, he was the only one in the locker room. Or so he thought.

"You really need to leave the leading to me . You forget you're just a player on this team, and nothing more," said a smug looking Kyle.

Aiden tensed up as soon as he heard Kyle's repulsive voice.

" You don't know how to lead a team Kyle, only a group, “answered Aiden, " that's not going to take us anywhere." Aiden had just finished changing his shirt, closed his locker and was ready to leave.

"Well you’re not the one in charge, I am. I’m the captain," smirked Kyle.

“I did what I had to do! Don't ignore that I've done my part!" Aiden didn't seem to be able to control his anger towards Kyle. The other knew how to get under his skin.

“You’ve done HALF of what you're supposed to do, there's still something else you've apparently forgotten to do." Kyle stood in front of Aiden as he tried to leave.

" I'm with the kid! What more do you want! “ as soon as the words left Aiden's mouth, an ache started to form in his chest.

“That’s where you’re wrong. You know perfectly well the conditions of this deal,” Kyle moved closer to Aiden, with an intimidating posture, “ unless of course the princess has become more than a bet to you." Kyle's face looked nothing but smug. He noticed Aiden's face fall. Bull's eye!

Aiden didn’t know how to answer, but he knew he couldn’t let Kyle win. "Of course not! Snyder means nothing to me, he's a toy in this game." Aiden's chest tightened, " A bet is a bet."

Kyle smirked, "When do I get the tape?"

The famous tape. Just thinking about it made Aiden angrier. "You'll get the tape by the time we come back from the holiday break." Aiden’s stomach turned over. But he couldn't show weakness, he wouldn’t show weakness. No matter how much Ryley's smiling face made his way into his head..

A silence filled the room. "Fine, you have until then, Point guard and captain, they're on your hands."

Aiden pushed his way to the exit. He was about to explode, his knuckles were white with anger, but as much as he tried to fight it, the pain in his chest hurt more.

Kyle finally let out the laugh he was holding in. He reached into his duffel bag, and pulled a small black device. He kissed his voice recorder and walked out of the locker room.

---

Ryley smiled as he walked into the penthouse. Life couldn't be better. Thanksgiving had been amazing. Their Thanksgiving dinner had been filled with so much food and so much love. Emma, Gabrielle, and Ryley had all helped in the kitchen. The three had spend the whole day making a turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, a pineapple ham, a green bean casserole, and a strawberry cheesecake.

The dinner passed by without a flaw. Not only did the family have dinner, but also Emma and Scott were invited. Reed sat at the end of the table, Gabriella at his side, Ryley on her side, Scott at the other side of Reed, Jamie at his side, and Emma at Ryleys side. The whole evening small conversation had taken place. Laughter filled the air. The dinner really couldn't have gone better.

Once the table was cleaned off, Emma, Gabrielle, Jamie and Ryley sat down in front of the fireplace playing a game of Jenga. Reed had asked Scott for a game of chess in his study. Both Jamie and Ryley had made the exact same scrunched up face at the same time. Gabrielle and Emma had laughed for a minute straight. Chess, how boring.

Jamie had been a little nervous about Scott and his father being alone, but after a while Gabrielle calmed him down. Soon the two men in the other room were forgotten. Aiden had given Ryley a call at around 10:30 to wish him a happy thanksgiving. The small gesture had really made Ryley's night.

And so, the holiday break was right around the corner. Ryley couldn't wait. Christmas was his favorite holiday. His parents always came home and took a longer vacation off work. Reed and Gabrielle Snyder had gone back to Wyoming to do some wrap up work for the year, but had promised they’d be back home the week Ryley got off from school.

As soon as Ryley stepped into his room his phone rang.

Ryley's heart skipped a bit as he saw the caller’s name.

"Hey Aiden, how was practice?" Ryley couldn't stop the butterflies in his stomach.

There was a small pause on the other line. "It was intense. The teams just really feeling the season coming."

Ryley knew how important basketball was to Aiden, but still, it bothered him how much Aiden worked himself out. "I'm sorry to hear that, you should take it easy though. I know basketball means a lot to you, but don't run yourself to exhaustion."

There was another long pause on the line, “I know,…don’t worry about it…I’m just trying to be at the top of my game,” replied the older boy.

“You already are,” reassured Ryley, “You know you are. You just transferred, and you became captain for your preseason games. That’s how good you are!” Ryley tried to show as much support as he could. He figured showing Aiden encouragement would help him relax more.

“ Can we not talk about basketball,” suddenly replied Aiden, “I…I did it all day today, it gets annoying after a while.

Ryley couldn’t help but notice the cold attitude Aiden was giving. Had he said something wrong?

“Are you okay? Did I say so-“

“No I just don’t want to talk about basketball anymore!” shouted Aiden.

Ryley was between being shocked and a little hurt. “Aiden I didn’t –“

“Im sorry Ry,” the brunette quickly apologized, “I didn’t mean it, it’s just I’m tired, I just wanted…to hear your voice.”

A small blush formed on Ryley’s cheeks, “ It’s okay… I understand. I should listen more often.”

“Don’t apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong…You’re just being your sweet, caring, self.”

Ryley felt those butterflies again.

“So I wanted to know if you were doing anything tomorrow night?” asked Aiden, “ I was thinking we could catch a movie or something.”

“I would enjoy a movie on a Friday night,” playfully answered the green eyed boy.

Aiden gave a small chuckle, “Your parents wouldn’t mind?”

“Just as long as I get home at a reasonable hour,” joked Ryley, “They can live with that. After all I’m a growing teenager, I need some freedom!”

And just like that the mood between the two turned around. Ryley continued trying to lighten Aiden’s mood with his lame jokes. He didn’t like it when Aiden was stressed out, he wanted to make the older boy happy. Aiden had a lot on his shoulders, playing a sport, and being as good as he was, while trying to keep up with his grades, was sure to be stressful. If Ryley could help ease that burden, he’d do whatever he could.

Lisa- Thank you sooooo much! I can't believe youre still reading this!! :O its been so long! But i appreciate it a lot! So, at least for you, i WILL TRY TO FINISH THIS! and about the Jamie and Scott thing, i was kinda trying to portray it as a flirtatious relationship. Maybe Jamie has experienced a bit more at school, but about going all the way..NOT YET! hahaha He's been in love with Scott for a while now, i think his character is one that waits for his true love! :D More romantic that way! hahaha!

Review??. Please! :]