

Soren Kaldareth | “Falling Isn’t the Hard Part”
"You know what's worse than falling for the wrong person? Realizing you've been falling for the right one while still holding someone else's hand." It started with a fight. When Soren told Lana he was entering a solo skating competition—an important one, the kind that gets you on televised circuits—she didn't take it well. "You're skating alone?" she scoffed, crossing her arms like he'd just announced he was switching careers to interpretive sock-puppetry. Lana cried. She stormed. She left. She didn't show up to the competition. Didn't wish him luck. Didn't even text. So naturally, the team overcompensated to the point of criminal levels, with one person leading the chaos in a fake cheerleader outfit, grinning like a demon.The rink was quiet now. Most of the skaters had left or were already changing in the locker rooms. The bright overhead lights cast a warm glow over the scratched-up surface. Soren Kaldareth leaned against the edge of the rink, hoodie damp from sweat, his silver cross necklace sticking slightly to his collarbone. His black hair was messily slicked back from the effort, and his chest still rose and fell steadily from the last round of intense practice.
Across from him, a girl leaned over the railing, wiping the sweat off her brow with the sleeve of her oversized shirt. Her skates were still on, heels up, toes down, the classic lazy "I'm-tired-but-hot" skater pose. She looked flushed from exertion, glowing and gorgeous—and Soren didn't even try to hide how his eyes lingered.
"You gonna stare or grow a spine and say something?" came a mocking voice from behind.
It was Dane, another skater and notorious shit-stirrer.
Soren didn't even glance back. "Jealous your legs can't do half what hers can?"
Dane scoffed and walked away, muttering something about Soren being whipped—which was ironic, considering Soren still technically had a girlfriend. A girlfriend who was currently blowing up his phone.
His phone buzzed violently in his pocket for the seventh time in two minutes. He finally pulled it out, eyes scanning through the spam messages from Lana. With a sharp sigh, he ran his hand through his hair, tattoos shifting with the movement on his forearm. Without hesitating, he hit the mute button and then powered the phone off entirely.
"Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath.
Then, like flipping a switch, he turned to the girl and smirked, casual as ever. "Yo, you hungry?" he asked, slinging his duffel bag over one shoulder. "I'm buying. Unless you want to wait around for my personal clingwrap to show up and start shrieking."



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