"We're moving?!" Addison exclaimed. Missy rolled her eyes.

"Yes Addison, it's not the end of the world." She told her daughter, continuing to pack up decorative trinkets from around the house.

"B-but, what about my friends?! My school?!" Then she gasped as a thought struck her. "I'll have to transfer skating divisions! You can't do this to me!" She cried in horror. Missy laughed at her over exaggerating.

"You're going to be fine!" She smiled assuringly. "It's just the next town over. I even made sure to find a house close to the ice rink just for you. You'll be able to walk there, we're so close!" Missy told her excitedly. Addison groaned and dropped her head on the kitchen counter dramatically.

"I'll have to compete against my friends. My life is over." She complained. Missy once again rolled her eyes, but sat down the box she'd been carrying around and came up next to her daughter.

"I know this will be a big change for you, but we have to do this. The board wants to bring the two communities together and, as mayor, it would show a great deal of respect to move into their town." Missy explained, running her fingers through Addison's blonde wig affectionately. "You're so good at blending in, I'm sure you'll do great in this new school."

Addison frowned but thought it over. Her mom made a good point about bringing the two communities together. She'd love to make new friends, but what about her old ones? Would she be able to balance the two groups evenly? Eventually, she just sighed and nodded her agreement. Missy smiled and clapped her hands together in finality.

"Good! Now go up to your room and start packing Sweetie. The big move is this weekend." She instructed.

"This weekend?! You mean in two days?!" Addison asked in exasperation. Missy nodded happily and shooed Addison off.

"I have movers coming tomorrow to pack most of our belonging, then everything will be loaded up Saturday and taken to the new house!" Missy continued her tedious packing of little trinkets. "Now go pack up anything you don't want someone else handling!" Missy ordered. Addison groaned again but marched up the stairs and slammed her door closed, sliding down to the floor and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"My life is over." She cried.

XxX

After school that day, her father came to pick her up. She got in the passenger seat of the patrol car and just immediately started staring out the window. Dale glances over at her every few minutes awkwardly.

"So, uh, how was school today?" He asked. Addison snorted.

"Fan-ta-stic." She enunciated with a pout. Dale sighed.

"I know you're not excited about the move Sweetie but it will be good for us. For everyone!" He tried to encourage. Addison didn't respond, just continued staring out the window. Dale knew he wasn't going to be able to change her mind by himself, but knew something that might.

Addison noticed they weren't taking their usual route home. Then she started to realize he wasn't driving home at all. He was, in fact, going the complete opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" She asked trying to figure it out based on landmarks hat we're getting harder and harder to recognize.

"I thought that maybe rather than going home and watching movers pack up the house, you'd like to check out your new skating facility." He informed her.

Her eyes lit up, even if she tried her best to hide that little sparkle. Figure skating was the one thing that always made her happy, a passion that burned deep in her. She shrugged, trying to be indifferent, and turned to continue watching the cityscape pass by her window.

Dale chuckled quietly, knowing he'd gotten her, and drove his daughter to the ice rink.

XxX

The arena was about an hour from their house in Seabrook and the facility seemed nice, not quite to the elitist standards that most Seabrook skaters demanded, but Addison wasn't so picky. If it had a sheet of ice she could skate on, the location didn't matter.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Addison was jumping out of the car with her duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Addison!" Dale called before she could shut the door, but he was a second too late. He rolled the window down and she bent down to looked at him. "It'll be kind of late by the time I can pick you back up. I'll be here around 9 ok?" Addison quickly nodded.

"5 hours to skate? I'll take it!" She said enthusiastically. Dale laughed gesturing to shoo her away.

"Get going then! Have fun Honey!" He yelled as he watched her enter the facility before pulling away from the curb.

XxX

The corridors were virtually empty, save the merchandise stand here and there and the occasional staff member. But she walked quickly towards the wide open arena with the sheet of ice smack dab in the middle.

The slight chill in the air exciting her as she drew closer. And when she pushed through a set of double doors, she was there. To her surprise, there were tall, clear, protective walls surrounding the entire thing. A loud smack hit the glass right in front of her, she jumped, squeezing her eyes shut and yipped out a scared cry.

"What the-" She heard someone mutter inside the rink. She looked up and saw a boy wearing practice padding skate towards her. She was frozen in place, not from fear like a moment ago, no, this was from taking him in. His hair was dyed green and messy in the cutest way, but it's his face that has her awe struck. She doesn't think she's ever seen anyone more handsome in her life! And those bright brown eyes, she could just stare into them forever. His face shifted from confusion to a smile and Addison instantly knew she had a crush.

"Hey! Sorry if I scared you, I didn't know anyone else was here." He apologized as he slowed in front of her. Addison shook her head to snap out of her daze and smiled at him.

"Oh, it's fine! I, um, didn't know anyone would be here either." She shifted her weight to one foot shyly. He smile widened as he skated up to open the door in the protective wall and exited the ice to stand with her on solid ground. She had to look up at him from the height difference and his smile was dazzling, making Addison forget her name for a moment.

"I'm Zed." He said, tucking his glove under his arm to slide his hand out and offered it to her. She placed her hand gently in his.

"Addison." She breathed. Their handshake was slow and irrelevant to the way they were both looking at each other, like they were entranced just by the other's eyes.

Zed was the first to recover, clearing his throat to recompose himself and successfully pulls Addison back into reality. "I don't think I've seen you around here before." He comments curiously.

"That's 'cause I've never been around here." She teases with a smile. Zed laughs. "My Family is moving to town this weekend." She continued less jokingly.

"In that case, is there some place you're looking for? 'Cause I know this place like the back of my hand." He informed her confidently, holding up his gloveless hand to show her the back and winking for good measure. She giggled and raise a brow at him, tilting her body to look around his bulky pads and pointed a dainty finger at the ice behind him.

"Pretty sure I've found it already." She teased again. His face showed his surprise.

"You skate?" He asked. Addison tightened her hold on her duffle bag and nodded.

"Mind if I join you?" She countered with a smile. Zed took a sidestep.

"Be my guest!" He offered gladly, his eyes alight with amusement. Addison did step around him and sat down on the nearby bench.

"Just gotta put my skates on." She told him as she opened her bag and pulled out her pearly white skates. Zed chuckled to himself.

"I knew you didn't seem like the hockey type." He mused. Addison scoffed.

"Like I'd resort to such a barbaric sport." She teased sarcastically. Then it was Zed's turn to scoff as he returned to the ice.

"Whatever you say Princess!" He responded as he scooped up the puck with his hockey stick, skated around the rink with ease, then smacking the puck across the ice and into the awaiting goal net.

Addison watched as she finished tying her second skate. Sure, she's seen hockey players skate before, but the way Zed glided across the ice and the strength behind his swing was way more beautiful than any rough and tough hockey player she's ever had the pleasure of watching. For a moment she wondered if maybe he wasn't very good at hockey, maybe he was too soft. But she didn't dwell on the thought, rather watched as he took another shot straight down the middle. Her excitement was peaked, her pulse quickening. She grabbed her phone, stood up and expertly walked over to the door on her blades, making sure the door was shut behind her.

Zed has regained control of the puck and was ready to shoot again, but Addison entered the rink. Damn, he was finally getting a good look at her. Her grey leggings and pale pink tee accentuated every curves and her blonde curls pulled half up to stay out of her face while the rest hung relaxed against her shoulders. She shut the door and turned back to face him.

"You're sure it's ok if I skate with you?" She posed.

"Uh, yeah! Of course! I'll stick to this side so you can have room." He assured her. The brightness of her smile made him feel warmed to the core.

"That's great! Thank you." She thanked sincerely. Zed let out a breath as he smiled wistfully.

"No problem." He basically whispered. She skated gracefully over to the booth that connected to the speaker system and set up her phone.

"Mind if I play a little music?" She asked. Zed smacked the puck into the goal once again.

"Go for it!" He agreed even though he figured it'd be some lame melodic crap most skaters used in their routines. "To each their own." He muttered indifferently to himself at the thought. He was just trying his best to keep his eyes off the petite girl on the other end of the ice and focused on getting some extra shooting practice in.

The music started and it was exactly how he'd expected, a soft piano with an echoing voice every few notes. But to his surprise when the song really kicked in, it was catchy and modern and upbeat. As it went on, he realized he recognized the song mash up, a remix.

He looked over and Addison was gliding around the ice so effortlessly and graceful. Her movements syncing perfectly to the music and even accentuating the lyrics. Every time she did a spin, or a leg extension, or a leap, she looked so elegant and flawless.

It was like she was in a league of her own compared to any other skater Zed had ever seen. Sure, he hadn't exactly seen a lot of performances, but Addison seemed like she was good. Like really good. Her tricks and spins looked difficult and she did them without fault. He stood there beside the goal net just watching her as she performed.

Addison kept glancing discretely over at the boy sharing the ice rink and noticed that he was watching her. Just watching her. He'd stopped practicing to stare at her. It gave her a boost of excitement that he had his eyes on her, nothing else distracting him. And you know she had to impress him. She pulled out all the stops, using her best tricks, inserting extra leg extensions that add difficulty, anything she could do to show off her skills. And it seemed to be working.

Their eyes connected at one point during the performance.

It was like time had slowed when she turned and looked at him. Her sky blue eyes looking only at him and he swore his heart skipped a beat. As she slid gracefully through her moves, she kept eye contact with him. She skated closer and smiled at him. He was visibly rattled with pink cheeks and wide excited eyes.

When the music ended, she was out of breath but smiling ear to ear. She skated up to him.

"So! What do ya think?" She asked happily. Zed still had pink slightly staining his cheeks and he had to clear his throat to make sure his voice wouldn't crack if he spoke from his dry his mouth suddenly seemed.

"That, you were amazing!" He praised, skating to meet her part way. "That routine will definitely win you a trophy." He complimented. Addison let out a laugh.

"That was just me messing around! You know, warming up and practicing moves. That wasn't choreographed." She explained, finally regaining her breath and not panting so hard. Zed gaped at her with his jaw hanging open.

"You're kidding." He argued. She giggled, skating even closer till she was just inches from him.

"You think I was that good?" She flirted, looking up at him through her long lashes. Zed gulped but quickly recovered, wrapping his hockey stick around her back and grabbing the other end with his free hand. Successfully trapping her. It was her turn to blush, her eyes widening.

"Definitely that good." He said. "Maybe you wanna 'mess around' with me?" He offered with a cheeky smirk. Her face went bright red, making him break out laughing and releasing her from his caging arms. "I'm referring to hockey." He teased, backing up to collect the puck with his stick and raise an amused brow at her. "What do ya say?"

Addison had to register what was happening for a moment and smiled. "I'm sure I won't be very good. This'll be," she paused and looked at him innocently, "my first time." She countered his explicit teasing. Zed choked on air from her comment. Addison laughed and skated back up beside him. "Let's do this!" She agreed. Zed smiled down at her.

For the next half hour, Zed showed Addison the basics. Which she was actually horrible at.

"Why is this so hard?!" She yelled in frustration. Zed chuckled, moving up behind her and wrapping his arms around to help her hold the hockey stick. Addison felt her heart begin to race.

"Relax your shoulders. You're too tense." He said close to her ear.

'How am I supposed to relax with you pressed against my back?!' Her mind was screaming. But she tried her best to follow his instructions, her hand shook under his. If he noticed, he didn't say anything.

"Good, ok, now aim for the goal. Right down the middle." He told her gently. "Pull back, and," he helped her with her swing, giving her a little extra force, and the puck hit the net. "Goal!" He said cheerfully. He let go of her and skated around dramatically with his arms raised in victory and making the sounds of the crowd roaring. Addison laughed and joined him in his celebration. "Addison for the game winning point! Zombies Win!" He yelled. She eventually settled her laughter and gave him a curious look.

"Zombies?" She asked.

"I thought in introduced myself! Hi I'm Zed! And yeah," he joked, giving her a wink as he pointed to his hair, "I'm a zombie." Addison lost it.

"Oh my god! Please stop!" She laughed hysterically. Zed chuckled himself.

"Ok ok, sorry!" He apologized halfheartedly. "You are moving to a town of zombies though. That's our mascot." He told her when she calmed down. That made so much more sense to her.

"I see. That does explain the hair." She teased, grabbing her phone off the speaker booth and they made their way off the ice. Zed smiled.

"What you don't like it? It's good luck!" He feigned offense. She giggled.

"Green suits you." She complimented. They sat down on the bench outside the rink and Addison took off her skates to put back on her shoes.

"Thanks. It really is good luck though. Most of the team, and half the school for that matter, dye their hair green to show their support." He explained. Addison scoffed.

"I'm sorry, but you will never get any hair dye close to this hair." She said with the slightest hint of sadness in her voice. Zed couldn't help but notice.

"It won't hurt you fitting in or anything if you don't dye your hair." He assured her. They turned to face each other and she looked up at him hopefully. The look she gave him took his breath away. "You're perfect." He breathed.

Her eyes widened and her heart broke. She gave him a sad smile. "Thanks Zed. I gotta go." She lied, grabbing her things and standing quickly to leave.

"W-wait what?" He stood but didn't even have time to question what he'd done wrong before she was halfway to the exit. "Addison wait!" He called, unable to chase after her in his skates off the ice. She did stop for a moment and look back at him over her shoulder, the tears swimming in her eyes evident. "I-I'm sorry!" He apologized for, he didn't know what. She let out a bittersweet laugh and shook her head.

"Goodnight Zed." She said fondly before retreating for the exit.

"Yeah, goodnight." He whispered to himself, smacking his palm against his forehead for his stupidity as he tried to figure out why she'd left in such a hurry.

XxX

Addison sat on the curb her dad had left her on as she waited to be picked up. It wouldn't be long before he showed up and she took that time to calm down and wipe away any evidence of her crying, not wanting to go into it with her parents tonight. The chief car pulled up and she quickly hopped in.

"Let's go." She said quickly. Dale was a little taken back by her eagerness to leave.

"Was it that bad?" He asked as he pulled away from the curb. Addison sighed.

"No. It's actually pretty nice. I guess I'm just dreading the move." She lied for the second time tonight. Dale didn't noticed her fib and sighed as well.

"I know Sweetie. But try to be positive." He encouraged. Addison nodded and once again stared out the window as they drove back into Seabrook.

To her own surprise, she wasn't excited to be back within the perfect borders of her hometown where she would never truly be perfect by their standards. She thought of the way Zed told her she was perfect and wondered how he would feel if he knew what she really looked like. Would he still flirt with her if she wasn't the poised blonde figure skater she'd introduced herself as?

She yawned as closed her eyes, leaning her head against the seat. All the excitement and emotions she'd felt today really wore her out and exhaustion took hold as she fell asleep on the car ride home.