Honestly, part of him hated himself for doing this. His body already felt like it was starting to turn into a popsicle just from standing inside the ice rink. He hadn't even put his ice skates on yet and he was already regretting coming to the rink to try to practice.

At the same time, Gillian didn't have anyone to blame except himself since he was the one who had even suggested that he join the hockey team to be able to get close to Lukas. Get close to Lukas, serve as a buffer between him and Mathias when needed, and try to get evidence on Lukas. Those were his primary goals and what he needed to do.

He just really wished that it didn't have to be so damn cold. He felt like Rudolph with how red his nose was already getting. And he had only been there for twenty minutes!

Still, as much as he did hate it, this was a challenge that he needed to overcome. He was a bit out of practice with his skating, and he really needed to make sure that he was better prepared for when the practices started during the next couple of weeks. He was going to be exhausted, but the workout was worth it.

As much as he wanted to just be able to focus on the skating practice itself, honestly he was far more excited about the detective work that he was going to be doing. As it stood, Gillian had quite successfully managed to gain Lukas's confidence. Or at least, Lukas didn't seem to disapprove of him.

Gillian felt lucky that he had managed to divert Lukas's attention away from Mathias and Willem the previous day. From what he had managed to sense, there was definitely a strong undercurrent of either hatred or resent between Willem and Lukas. The tension in the air had been palpable. It reminded Gillian of the way the air feels before a thunderstorm, making the hairs on the back of his neck want to stand on end.

If only there were a way to get Willem to talk… There had to have been something that happened that made Willem have that much hostility towards Lukas without saying so much as a word towards the man. He needed to find a way to know the history that the two of them had with each other. Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn’t even know how the three of them were even connected. What was the backstory of how Willem, Mathias, and Lukas all came to know each other? Gillian knew that Willem and Mathias had been friends for over a decade. Outside of that, he didn’t know how Mathias and Lukas knew each other, other than the fact that they were dating and had been together for at least the entire time they both had been in college.

What was the connection?

If only he had more answers… It seemed that with each passing moment he only had more questions that kept piling on top of each other. It would be nice if at least some of them would end up being answered. The few cards of information that he knew seemed insignificant with the amount that he needed to know.

Sighing, Gillian ran his hands through his hair before throwing his hands up in frustration. “Argh! This is impossible!”

The coy giggle behind him made him flinch and nearly fall off the bench he was sitting on, his face flushing crimson with embarrassment. “It’s just lacing up a pair of skates. I would hardly call that the definition of impossible,” came the all too familiar voice that caused Gillian’s head to whip around so fast he felt like he’d get whiplash.

“A-Anneliese! What are you-- How did-- Why--?” It felt like his heart was about to explode out of his chest with the way that it hammered against his ribcage, making him feel suddenly lightheaded. He glanced over at where she was standing, her hair in its usual half-bun and a fluffy scarf around her neck that matched the sweater that she was wearing.

“Just breathe,” Anneliese said gently, sitting down on the opposite end of the bench from Gillian. Giving him space.

The space helped a little. Helped him clear his mind and reorganize his thoughts. “Es tut mir Leid. I don’t like it whenever people sneak up on me. Bad memories,” he explained shortly, looking down at the unlaced skates still on his feet before bending over to start relacing them. “What--”

“Eliza’s brother ended up mentioning that you had went through with joining the hockey team. He had said that he had seen you heading over this way,” she said, smoothing out the fabric of her skirt with a soft hum. “I just wanted to check and see if that was really true or not.”

Gillian raised an eyebrow, his fingers stilling on the laces. “You...wanted to check if I was here? Why?” It just seemed far too… Actually he wasn’t sure what it seemed like. It surprised him, that much was certain. She had never acted like she cared about him before, so what possible reason could she have for coming all this way to see him?

She was silent for a few moments, causing Gil to look over at her expectantly. It wasn't often that she was at a loss for words since he had known her. She always seemed so quick-witted and sassy with an instant comeback. Now she was just sitting on the bench tiredly, fiddling with a fraying corner of the end of her scarf. It didn't look like she had slept well, even with as much as she was maintaining her perfect posture. Her make-up was smudged in places, like she had forgotten to wash it off the night before or put new make-up on that morning. Looking closer, he could see where her hair was slightly frizzy compared to her normally meticulous grooming.

Gillian quickly averted his gaze whenever he felt like he had been staring for too long. It was weird but seeing all of those little imperfections in her appearance...made him feel less nervous. Almost like a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It almost made him feel light-headed with how giddy he was feeling.

Clearing her throat, Anneliese glanced over at Gillian. “I only wanted to be able to thank you for the other day. For helping me. I wouldn't have made it to the audition in time if it hadn't been for you, as much as I hate to admit it.”

“Audition?” Gillian echoed hollowly with a small frown. “I thought you had said that it was for a lesson?”

“I said that, yes, and I did have one,” Anneliese agreed with a small nod before running her fingers through her hair, “but really, my focus was an audition for a part in a musical that the school is going to be hosting. There are supposed to be Broadway recruiters at the final event whenever it's performed. It would be a huge opportunity…” She trailed off, shaking her head and pressing her hands to her face.

It was the most worried and stressed out that Gillian had ever seen her. Even final exams never seemed to bother her before. But this must be a big deal if she was losing sleep over the possibility of not getting a call-back for the part that she was auditioning for. Or at the very least, it looked like she was exhausted and stressing out over the audition.

“You know, I never would’ve guessed that you would be one for musicals,” Gillian said, rubbing the back of his neck with a small laugh before finishing lacing up his skates. “I would’ve thought that you’re more into classical music or stuff like that. Especially with a violin.”

Anneliese scrunched up her nose before sighing and shaking her head. “I’ve never understand why everybody always assumes that…”

“Maybe just because you always act very--” Gillian started before he was cut off.

“What? Uptight? Bitchy? Self-absorbed? Arrogant? Full of herself? Stick in the mud? Preppy? Snobby? Vain? Overbearing? Pretentious?” she snorted wryly, raising an eyebrow as her gaze became focused on the loose threads of her scarf that she had been worrying with her thumb.

Gillian’s eyebrows furrowed together as he frowned. The things that she was mentioning sounded suspiciously like things that other people must have been saying either to her or behind her back about her if she managed to list them off in such quick succession. It made him cringe slightly, just because he knew he himself was guilty of calling her arrogant. Perhaps he had been too quick to judge at the time, though. Perhaps it wasn’t arrogance, but rather pride.

It still made that sharp knife of guilt stab into his heart. Crossing his arms over his chest, Gillian rubbed at his nose, sniffling from the cold. “I was going to say elegant and graceful and poised. You've always seemed like nothing ever bothers you, and you always have a witty comeback for everything…” Looking at her now, the tight ball of anxiety that often resided in his chest began creeping back in, winding its way tightly around his lungs and heart, constricting them. For all that Anneliese had acted unfazed by everything that other people had said about her, Gillian had a feeling that her emotions were as fragile as porcelain-- No, as fragile as a butterfly's wings. And he probably hadn't made her feel much better before when they had been taking classes together.