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Part 3
The roller rink was bursting with activity from the moment Ivory and Jesse entered. People were either skating on the polished wooden floor or eating in the cafeteria or playing arcade games. It surprised Ivory how many people had turned out tonight; the place was nearly packed. But there was not one person that didn't appear to be enjoying themselves.
Ivory and Jesse picked up their rentals quickly, put their things in a locker, and went to one of the benches to put on the skates. And, although Jesse tried to engage her in idle conversation over what a great evening they were going to have, Ivory could only force a smile and nod absently. He didn't seem to notice though and was off before she knew it.
Ivory sighed, then finished lacing and tying her own skates. Once that was done, she stood, wobbly at first, then more sure of herself. She made her way to the rink slowly, lost in her thoughts for the second time that day. The next thing she knew, she was toppling over onto the benches to her left, using one arm to brace her fall, as someone collided with her.
"Oh, man, I'm sorry," she heard a familiar masculine voice say. "Are you alright?"
Ivory sighed, looking up into the same intense ebony eyes she had seen earlier that day. "We have to stop meeting like this," she told him sardonically.
He groaned likewise. "You again?" he asked in disbelief. "Geez, Princess, is this your common way of getting a guy's attention?"
She crossed her arms. "Could you be any more rude?" she snapped back. "You ran into me, remember?"
"A mistake I'll be sure to avoid a third time," he replied with a smirk, inwardly feeling like smacking himself. *You came to this town to meet her, man. Don't blow it!* he thought.
Ivory glared at him a moment, then moved to leave. But the moment she shifted her weight, she let out a cry, shocked by how much her leg hurt. She must have hit it on the bench harder than she thought.
The wry look in his eyes quickly faded, as he seized the opportunity to remedy the situation by taking a step forward to catch her. "Easy," he said in concern, helping her to a seat. "Are you going to be okay?"
Ivory winced slightly. "If you could have someone fix an icepack for me," she replied. He quickly went to do so, then returned to her side. "So," she said. "It took nearly maiming me to get you to be more attentive, huh?"
He blushed slightly in embarrassment. "I'm sorry about earlier. I'm not usually that obnoxious," he said apologetically, dark eyes gleaming.
"Mutual," she replied, extending her free hand for him to shake. "Ivory Summers," she introduced herself.
"Mmm, pretty name," he said, shaking her hand. "Chase McNamara."
"Nice to meet you," Ivory replied absently, glancing down at the icepack she held against her lower thigh. Was it just her or was the swelling going down awfully quick? She only spent a moment wondering about it, and when she looked up again, she caught Chase staring at her legs. Slightly amused, Ivory cleared her throat loudly to get his attention.
Flustered, Chase looked up at her. "I'm sorry. I was just..." He trailed off, at a loss for words.
"Checking me out?" Ivory finished, a comical note in her voice.
Chase reddened considerably at this, looking quite uncomfortable. He remained silent a moment, then said, "Did you want me to stick around until you feel better?"
Ivory sensed he was eager to change the subject and she was kind enough to let it slide this time. "That'd be nice," she replied. After a slight pause, she added, "So, Chase, what brings you to Sunnydale?"
He seemed surprised. "What makes you think I haven't lived here for a few years?" he said cryptically, his mind scrambling for a quick answer.
Ivory's green eyes took on a playful light. "Come on, Chase. Sunnydale's a small town, and I would have seen you long before now if that were true."
"Alright, you got me," Chase admitted. "My mom's job transferred her here about a week ago, and I got dragged along... It's quite a stretch from living in Arizona."
Ivory whistled. "That it is," she replied. "You're lucky! I've always wanted to visit there. Heard it's supposed to be pretty nice."
Chase averted his eyes, smiling faintly. "Yeah, really nice," he said quietly, sounding kind of down.
Ivory was prepared to ask him what was wrong when Jesse suddenly appeared through the crowd, asking her why she was just sitting around. "I fell," she told her younger friend. "Didn't you see?"
Jesse shook his head. "Hard to see anything through this crowd," he replied, his gaze going to Chase. "Who's he?"
Ivory did the introductions, then stood tentatively, finding that her leg felt much better. "Thanks for your help, Chase," she offered as a parting remark, waiting a few extra seconds for a response.
"Anytime," he replied, giving her a killer smile. Then, just like that, Ivory was off, all smiles inside at having made a new friend...
Meanwhile, at the Bronze, Risa and Hannah weren't having as pleasant an evening. There wasn't a very big turnout, it wasn't the same without Ivory and Jesse to liven things up, and the music was somewhat lousy. And, to top it all off, Kenyon kept popping up at their table every few minutes wanting to know where his "girlfriend," Ivory, was.
Finally, Hannah grew frustrated at the lack of activity and stood, retrieving her purse. "Let's go," she told Risa. "This is getting way too dull." On the way from the dance club, she added, "And Kenyon is such a jerk! Ivory dances with him twice at last year's homecoming, and he automatically thinks he owns her!" Hannah rolled her eyes. "Typical jock mentality!"
Risa sighed. "One of these days, someone needs to put him in his place," she agreed quietly, following her red-headed friend out into the crisp evening air; the chill immediately brought goosebumps to her arms and legs.
Hannah took a few licks of the grape-flavored sucker she had taken from her purse, then said, "Well, the Bronze is shot. What should we do for fun now?"
Risa contemplated this a moment. "Well, there's always Sunnydale Cinema," she replied, fingering the crucifix she wore around her neck that her mother had given her for her last birthday.
Hannah brightened considerably. "Totally!" she said cheerily. "We could see that new horror flick that people at school are raving about! Um, Scream 5 or whatever sequel it is."
Risa blanched. "Or we could see something more light-hearted, like that new Adam Sandler movie," she suggested, hoping it would prove equally interesting.
Hannah gave her a silly grin. "Why do you never want to see a horror film?" she asked. "It's always been sappy stuff for you, Risa! You need to live on the wild side for once!"
Risa scowled. "There is nothing wrong with being sappy. It's the way I am, Hannah," she said, slightly incensed. "And I prefer life to be all roses and laughs."
Hannah paused, savoring the taste of her sucker a moment. "Is that why you're so afraid to ask my brother out on a date?" she blurted out.
Risa blushed. "Jesse and I are just friends, nothing more," she stated firmly. "I do not like him in that way."
"So you keep saying," Hannah replied as they started down the sidewalk by the cemetary. "Why don't you just admit you love him?"
"Because it's not true, Hannah!" Risa snapped. "Why is that so hard for you to fathom?"
Despite Risa's protests, Hannah continued to press the issue until the elder girl had reached her limits. Once that had happened, she turned to face Hannah, prepared to really blast the younger girl. But just then, out of the corner of her eye, Risa spotted a dark figure some yards behind them.
Risa gasped, recoiling slightly until she caught a better glimpse of who it was. "Jesus, Kenyon!" she snapped. "You scared me half to death!" She paused to calm herself, aware that Hannah had also turned to face him, then added, "Don't you have something better to do besides follow us and eavesdrop?!?"
He gave the two girls one of his trademark smirks, stepping into the light. "I'm sorry, but no," he replied. "If I'd had the honor of overhearing where my favorite lady, Ivory, is, I'd be long gone by now."
Hannah stuck out her tongue at him. "Get a life, Kenyon," she said sarcastically. "And leave Ivory alone! She doesn't want you!"
He took a step closer, looking self-satisfied as usual. "Can I take that as a sign that you do, Hannah?" he teased.
The redhead groaned, giving him a disgusted look. However, she merely leaned closer to Risa and whispered, "Just ignore him and walk away."
Risa was quick to comply, and the two girls began to walk away. Kenyon, however, wasn't about to give up that easily and moved in behind them, wrapping one arm around each of them. "Don't leave without me, babes," he said.
Hannah groaned. "Does someone pay you to be obnoxious?" she quipped. "I'd like to know." During her speech, she attempted to get Kenyon's arm off her, but it would not be budged.
"I'll tell you if you give me a kiss, Hannah. Nice big sloppy one," he replied licentiously.
Hannah would have issued a fairly good comeback had Risa not suddenly stopped in her tracks, halting Kenyon as well. "Did you guys hear something?" Risa asked, her eyes wide as she gazed out into the dark graveyard.
Kenyon shook his head. "I don't hear nothing," he replied. "But don't worry. I'll protect you from the invisible monster, Risa."
"Could you be serious for once?" Risa snapped, startling her two companions. Without turning to look at them, she added, "There's something out there!"
"Risa, you're paranoid," Kenyon returned, even though doubts were beginning to form in his mind. So when Risa took a step out of his grasp towards the short stone wall bordering the sidewalk, he let her go without a fight.
Risa gazed out into the graveyard a moment, then sighed deeply, reaching into her purse for something. "Paranoia can be a good thing sometimes," she replied, turning and letting loose a mist of pepper spray in Kenyon's eyes.
He howled, clutching blindly at his eyes and thus allowing Hannah to get away. The two girls were running off seconds later, listening as Kenyon shouted a rather colorful expletive after them.
His eyesight returned gradually, but by then, Risa and Hannah were nowhere in sight. Kenyon cursed once more, angry that this was the second time today he'd been suckerpunched by a girl. But no more, he resolved. From now on, he'd be sure to keep his guard up. With that thought, he began to make his way home, to salvage what was left of his pride...
By this time, over three blocks away, Hannah and Risa finally came to a stop, confident that Kenyon wasn't giving chase. Once she had caught her breath, Hannah cheered, giving her elder friend a quick hug. "Man, you really kicked his butt!" the redhead exclaimed. "Way to go, Risa!"
Despite herself, Risa smiled slightly, running one hand through her ash blonde hair. "Yeah, I suppose so," she said quietly. "I just hope he'll be alright."
Hannah gave a short laugh. "Risa, pepper spray does not do any permanent damage. Tomorrow morning, he'll be fine."
Risa shook her head. "Not because of that... I wasn't joking when I said I heard something. Sounded like a wild animal, the way it was growling."
"A wild animal?" Hannah asked skeptically. "In the cemetary? Get real!"
"Hannah, I know what I heard!" the elder girl insisted, casting a glance back the way they had just come. She paused, then added, "Maybe we shouldn't have left him there alone."
Hannah groaned. "Kenyon's a big boy. He can take care of himself... Now come on. Let's get home."
Risa hesitated, then followed her younger friend with a sigh. And, all the way, she wondered if she was doing the right thing in simply leaving....