[GL] Someone Once Told Me the Grass is Much er on the Other Side Chapter 142: Junior Year Arc: Two

The neon sign outside the roller-skating rink flickered like it was trying to wink at passersby. Aurora decided it was an on. Not a good on, not a bad on, just an on. Sothing was going to happen.

And honestly? With Erica around, sothing always did.

Inside, the rink looked like an 80s movie had been condensed into a fever dream. Purple lights washed over the glossy floor. The DJ, who was at least seventy-two and wearing a sequined fedora, blasted music that felt about thirty years too old yet sohow perfect.

Kids zipped around like caffeinated hummingbirds while couples clung to each other with varying degrees of codependency.

Aurora skated onto the floor first, effortlessly gliding backwards as if she was made for this. Which she kind of was. She had grace, balance, and the ability to look perfectly adorable even while doing dumb things like spinning. The Oga smirked over her shoulder.

"You coming, or are you scared you’ll cry in front of all these people?" she called.

Erica, five feet behind her, stood stiff in her skates like a baby deer that had JUST entered the world and imdiately realized gravity existed and it sucked. The five foot and seven inches, lean, slender Alpha stared at the rink floor with the suspicion of soone who had recently survived a betrayal.

"I’m not scared," Erica lied. "I’m just... taking in the environnt."

"You an panicking," Aurora chirped.

Erica glared. "I don’t panic."

"You absolutely do."

"Nope."

"Erica, you panicked when you saw a squirrel last week."

"That squirrel was holding sothing sharp!"

"It was a muffin."

"And yet," Erica muttered, "it looked like a blade."

Aurora laughed and held her hand out. "Co on, tough girl. It’s a date. I promise I won’t make fun of you too much."

"You literally started by making fun of ."

"That was a warm-up."

Erica grumbled but took Aurora’s hand, clutching it like it was a lifeline. Which, judging by how her left skate imdiately rolled sowhere she didn’t intend, it sort of was.

Aurora giggled. "Okay, okay, relax your shoulders. You’re so tense you’re going to snap into two pieces."

"They put wheels on my feet," Erica complained. "Wheels, Aurora. Do you know how unnatural that is?"

"You drive a motorcycle."

"That is entirely different."

"Mhm."

Aurora guided her forward, moving slowly so Erica wouldn’t go full catastrophe mode. They made one lap around the rink, which for so reason took Erica approximately seventeen years.

By the ti they reached the starting point again, Erica exhaled like she’d just climbed Mount Deverest.

Aurora patted her shoulder. "Amazing. That’s one lap. Only fifty more until you’re sort of okay at this."

"You’re evil," Erica said.

"And you’re cute."

Erica flushed imdiately and very aggressively. "Shut up."

The music switched to a cheesy pop song. Aurora squealed, yes, squealed, and let go of Erica’s hand to spin.

"Watch this!" she said.

"I can’t," Erica said. "Because if I take my eyes off the wall, I’ll die."

Aurora skated backwards, sticking her tongue out. "Be brave!"

"No."

"Live a little!"

"No."

Aurora circled her, graceful and bright, like she was literally designed to tornt her Alpha date. She leaned in close.

"I dare you," Aurora whispered dramatically.

Erica narrowed her eyes. "I don’t respond to dares."

"You also panicked at a muffin squirrel."

"That’s not...okay, you know what, no. I refuse to be bullied like this on a date."

With that, she pushed off the wall.

Unfortunately, Erica pushed off with the confidence of soone who had no business having confidence. She rolled forward too fast. Aurora’s eyes widened.

"Erica, Erica, slow down!"

"I CAN’T," Erica yelled as she shot past.

Aurora took off after her, giggling so hard she could barely breathe. Erica, in contrast, was experiencing sothing close to spiritual terror.

The Alpha sped forward in a very uncoordinated zigzag, arms flailing. Children parted before her like she was Moses, only much less in control and much more likely to crash into soone’s grandparents.

The DJ even leaned into his microphone. "Uh, watch the tall one! Brace for impact!"

Aurora hollered, "Bend your knees!"

"I’M TRYING!"

"No, bend them like...oh, wait-WAIT-DON’T-"

Erica did bend her knees.

Just unfortunately not in the direction knees are ant to bend.

What followed was a spectacular collapse, the kind that would’ve gotten ten million views on the internet if anyone had been recording.

She went right, left, and then down, dramatically, as if gravity had personally offended her. She slid ten feet across the floor and finally stopped only because she crashed into a giant inflatable birthday cake prop.

The entire rink gasped.

Aurora ca to a stop beside her, panting from laughter and worry. "Erica! Are you alive?"

Erica groaned. "Did...did I break sothing? Please tell I broke sothing. Because if I didn’t break sothing, then I just fell stupidly and I’d rather have an injury than look incompetent."

Aurora blinked. "Do you want to lie?"

"Yes, please."

Aurora leaned over her dramatically. "Erica...your knee."

"Yes?"

"It’s broken."

"Ha!" Erica looked smug even while lying on the floor. "At least I broke it impressively."

Aurora stared at her. "Baby, I’m kidding."

Erica sat up a little. "Oh."

"And yes, you fell stupidly."

"Oh."

"And no, I don’t think you broke anything."

"Please stop talking."

Aurora did not.

"Except maybe my soul from laughing."

Erica covered her face with her hands. "This date is a disaster."

"No it’s not," Aurora said cheerfully. "It’s perfect."

"How," Erica demanded, "is this perfect?"

"Because you’re cute and dramatic and you fell in the most entertaining way possible."

"Not helping."

Aurora knelt beside her, touching her knee gently. Erica hissed.

"That hurt?"

"A little," Erica admitted.

Aurora checked again, more carefully. "Okay, hmm. It’s swelling a tiny bit. You might’ve sprained it."

Erica narrowed her eyes. "You’re not secretly a doctor."

"No," Aurora said proudly. "But I do watch a lot of dical dramas."

"That’s, Aurora, that’s not..."

A teenage employee skated over with more enthusiasm than experience. "Hey! You good? Should I call-uh-like-soone? Like a dic? Or my manager?" He looked about fourteen and terrified.

Aurora waved him off. "We’re fine."

Erica lay dramatically on the floor. "I am wounded."

The teen nodded slowly. "Cool."

Aurora helped Erica up, very gently. The Alpha winced but managed to stand. She clung to Aurora for balance.

They made their way off the rink, with Aurora doing most of the steering and Erica doing most of the whining.

Once they reached a bench, Aurora sat her down.

Erica sulked. "I can’t believe this. I was supposed to impress you."

"You did," Aurora said.

"I literally fell."

"Yes! So gracefully."

"That was not graceful."

Aurora pinched her cheek. "It was the most adorable disaster I’ve ever seen."

"You’re not supposed to call your date adorable after catastrophic injury."

"Oh? Is that in the manual?"

"Yes."

"Show the manual."

Erica sighed loudly.

Aurora rummaged in her bag and produced a mini ice pack (because Aurora was the kind of person who carried such things "just in case"). She pressed it to Erica’s knee. Erica made a noise halfway between a hiss and a groan.

"Why do you even have this?" Erica asked.

Aurora shrugged. "Preparedness. My-" She was going to say because her girlfriend tended to get injured when playing basketball, but of course, changed gears.

"For what?"

"Life."

"For knee-breaking ergencies?"

Aurora nodded. "Apparently."

Erica pouted. "I hate this."

Aurora smiled sweetly. "I love this."

"Rude."

"Very."

Aurora sat next to her, swinging her feet. "So, want to tell how you managed to fall like physics owed you money?"

Erica glared. "I told you, it was the wheels."

"Uh-huh."

"And the lighting."

"Sure."

"And the birthday cake was too close."

"It was on the OTHER side of the rink."

Erica folded her arms. "Well. It shouldn’t have been."

Aurora leaned her head on Erica’s shoulder. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "for a non-serious date, this is very morable."

Erica lted a little at the contact. "You’re not embarrassed?"

"Not even a little."

"You didn’t want a cool Alpha date who could do flips and protect you from everything?"

Aurora shook her head. "Honestly? I like this version better."

Erica blinked. "The version of that fell and almost died?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because she’s real." Aurora nudged her. "And she tries very hard. And she makes laugh."

Erica’s ears reddened. "I’m not supposed to be cute."

"You’re cute in a tall, clueless disaster kind of way."

"That’s worse."

Aurora giggled. "It really isn’t."

Erica sighed. "I’m glad you’re having fun."

"Oh, I’m having the best ti."

Erica rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the tiny smile creeping in. "Fine. But next ti, we’re doing sothing safe. Like...sitting. Sitting is good."

Aurora gasped. "No! Where’s the fun in sitting?"

"Sitting doesn’t kill !"

"You didn’t die."

"Barely."

Aurora kissed her cheek, light, quick, but enough to make Erica freeze.

"Oh," Erica whispered.

Aurora smiled. "See? Worth it."

Erica swallowed. "Can we sit here forever?"

Aurora laughed. "No. Because we need to get you ho and ice that knee before it turns into a waterlon."

"That is extrely dramatic."

"You’re rubbing off on ."

"I don’t appreciate that."

"You love it."

"Maybe."

Aurora helped Erica stand again, much slower this ti. They waddled out of the rink, one limping significantly and one giggling nonstop.

Outside, the neon sign flickered again.

Aurora pointed. "See? It was an on."

Erica groaned. "I hate ons."

Aurora squeezed her hand. "I don’t. Tonight was great."

Erica looked away, embarrassed and pleased. "Yeah," she admitted softly. "Yeah, it kind of was."

They hobbled to the car together, Aurora still teasing, Erica still complaining, both smiling like idiots.

It was, without question, the perfect date.

Even if it ended with one very dramatic Alpha and one slightly sprained knee.