Don't Let Me Down

Aria stood on the ice at Madison Square Garden, her arms crossed in front of her. Her golden blonde hair was pulled into a loose bun, some stray strands framing her face. The Garden was empty at the moment and the only sound Aria could hear was her deep breathing. The air had a constant chill from the ice, and Aria wrapped her thin sweater tighter around her. She inhaled deeply as she remembered the night one year earlier that changed her life forever.

Aria was dancing around the dressing room, clad in her heavily sequined leotard. The green of the suit brought out her eyes in a striking manner, and the smile on her face made her a true beauty. Her headphones were blaring some upbeat pop song to pump her up for today’s competition. She was interrupted by her manager, Andrew, coming into the dressing room.

“Aria, you’re on in five.”

She was more than ready to get out on the ice to show them what she was capable of. She bent down and grabbed her skates, which she lovingly considered to be her lucky pair. They were black, and covered with stickers that Aria had placed on them over the years. While it was unconventional, she loved them to pieces. She walked out of the dressing room and down the hallway to the entrance to the rink. She got to the edge and looked out across the rink, where the stands were completely full. She stretched one more time as she heard the announcer calling her name over the sound system.

“Up next is leading regional champion, two-time gold medalist, Aria Foster!”

Aria smiled to herself as she took the ice and stood there, waiting for her music to start. After a few moments, the music filled the arena and Aria began to move. Unlike most skaters, Aria liked to start her routines with difficult jumps, without allowing for the stereotypical “warmup” period. Right away, she went to her signature move: the triple axel. It was a jump that most female skaters couldn’t do, but Aria never took “no” as an answer. That’s why when she was a teenager, she told her coach that a double axel jump just wasn’t enough for her. As usual, Aria landed the jump perfectly, trying her best to not crack a smirk.

She continued to skate around with some less intense jumps. Some toe loops, a double lutz, and the occasional triple flip. As her routine was coming to an end, Aria sped up to end it the way she had started it. She prepared for another triple axel jump, but knew something was wrong. Just as she lifted her feet, she realized she had gone too fast. She managed to twist her body correctly, but she knew the landing would be off. She bit her lip and hit the ice, too hard. Her leg gave out and the rest of her body followed, hitting the ice. Aria could hear the gasps from the audience. Medical crews rushed out to tend to her but Aria knew this was it - she was done.

Aria stared blankly at out the ice as she recalled the memory, as if it had been yesterday. She remembered the ambulance, the countless surgeries, the physical therapy. But most of all, she remembered the doctor saying she could never skate competitively ever again. In fact, Aria hadn’t skated at all since that day. It was just too much. She backed up so that she was leaning against the boards of the ice rink. Aria looked down at her watch and knew it was time to go, before she got caught. Before she could turn around, a hand touched her shoulder. She spun around and came face-to-face with a guy with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes. She exhaled and shook her head at him before speaking.

“Dude, give me a heads-up next time.”

The guy stood there and chuckled, looking at Aria with a smirk on his face.

“Are you lost or something?”

This time Aria was the one who laughed, leaving the ice and starting to make her way out of the Garden. She knew the halls of it well, and was nowhere near lost. She turned around to face the mystery guy and shook her head, yelling, “I know exactly where I am.” He watched her as she made her way out of his sight, waiting until he could no longer see her before heading into the locker room.

Aria made her way outside of the Garden and back into the thick, Manhattan air. She walked over to the makeshift tables that were set up outside Madison Square Garden, surrounded by young girls of various ages. Aria walked over to the girls and joined them at the table for their fundraiser. One girl grabbed Aria’s arm and shouted, “Miss Aria, where were you?”

It had taken Aria a while to get used to being called “Miss,” which came along with being a dance teacher to young girls. She looked at the girl and gave her the most genuine smile she could. “I went to the bathroom, but there was a long line.” This seemed like a good enough reason for an eight-year-old, and the girl went back to jumping around with her friends. The girls that were in Aria’s class were hoping to participate in a dance competition in Washington D.C., but first, they had to raise the money to get there. Because of that, Aria thought it would be a good idea for the girls to sell hot chocolate outside of MSG on a day when the Rangers were playing.

Fans of the team were already lining up, blue jerseys filling the space from MSG to 8th Avenue. Aria cracked a tiny smile, recalling all the hockey games her father would bring her to when she was a kid. Her father was a hockey fanatic, and as an only child, Aria was his daughter and his son. He made sure Aria knew all about hockey. It was how she had gotten into ice skating. However, it had gotten to the point where ice skating consumed her life and she no longer had time for hockey. Within the last year, it had just been too painful to attend games. The few minutes she spent on the ice today were the first in the past year.

She knew the guy who snuck up on her was a Ranger, but she wasn’t the kind of girl to fawn over an athlete. Aria was raised to be better than that, and she knew she wouldn’t see him again anyway. After a while, the crowd began to disperse as security started letting the fans into the arena. The girls in Aria’s class seemed filled with excitement that they were raising money for their competition. They were jumping around and singing, causing a smile to break out onto Aria’s face. While being a dance teacher was not her first career choice, she couldn’t help but love the joy that the girls brought to her life. One of the girls pulled on Aria’s sweater, getting her attention.

“Miss Aria, all the people are going inside. What do we do now?”

Aria crouched down to be at the girl’s level, smiling.

“They’re going inside to watch the game, Lily. When it’s over, they’ll come out and be cold again. You know what they’ll want then?” The little girl’s face lit up and she started jumping up and down again before screaming, “Hot chocolate?!”

Aria laughed and nodded her head before ruffling Lily’s hair. “That’s right, Lily. Hot chocolate.”

Lily turned around and went back to her friends, telling them all about the brilliant plan she had for when all the people came out again. They sat on the sidewalk, playing games and talking feverishly, while anxiously waiting for the game to end. Aria sat down on the metal chair she had brought with them and sighed. She checked her watch and saw that they still had about three hours before the crowd would be back again. She took out her phone, to keep track of the game that was happening right behind her. Even though she couldn’t skate, she cheered for those that could.

Notes

Hey! So this is my first story here on Hockey Fanfiction. I wanted to feature my favorite Ranger, Mats Zuccarello. He doesn't have much love here, so I hope to bring it!

This is just the first chapter, but I do have ideas. I would love some feedback, as the future of this story depends on the feedback I get. So if you like it, tell me! Even if you just message me hello, I'd love to hear from you guys. Thank you for reading and LGR!

xo - Erin