Page 12 of Fire Dancing For Icey Dragons

"Hey, Jeremy," I say to the tiger shifter as he heads over to where his girlfriend is breaking away from the rest of the cheerleaders.

"Hey, Blaze. I don't usually see you at these things," he responds.

"Figured I should come down for at least one match before the end of term," I respond.

"Ah fair enough." He waves and goes to put his arm around Krissi while I search for the cheer captain, even if I know there's no reason to when we've only had a couple of conversations.

"Blaze." It's hard to miss the surprise in Zara's voice, and when I turn in her direction, it's written on her face too. The dark-haired girl beside her gives her a strange look but disappears to talk to someone else, leaving the two of us alone.

"Hey," I say.

"Hi. I didn't expect you to be here," she says.

"I was passing and thought I'd come watch."

She raises an eyebrow. "The game or the cheer squad?"

"Definitely the cheer squad," I respond, not seeing the point in lying.

"Impressed?"

"Very, actually. I thought you said you were feeling blocked."

"I am," she responds. "Those were all old routines. It's good for us to practise them because it makes us better at the flipsand tricks, especially with all of the noise and distractions going around. At least, that's the theory."

I nod along. "When we're prepping for a competition, we play a recording of a load of people chattering, shouting, and cheering."

"Desensitivity training," she responds. "I mostly do that when I'm training on my own or with Yuri."

"Yuri?" There's a hint of jealousy within me that I don't expect.

"My best friend." She gestures over to the dark-haired girl who she was talking to when I arrived. "We met at our first Sapphire Sparks meeting and have been friends ever since." She smiles as she says it, but I don't think she realises she's doing it.

"That must be nice," I say. "To have a friend like that."

"It is. And someone who remembers me before I became this." She gestures to herself.

"And what is this?"

"All of the things you think I am. Cold, calculated, obsessed..."

"I don't think those things, Zara," I respond softly, a little hurt that she thinks them, but seeing why she does, especially when I was the one who brought up her reputation when we met to have a coffee.

"Sure," she murmurs.

I need to do something that convinces her that I don't think that, but I don't really know how to. "Anyone who thinks you're cold and calculated is completely missing how passionate you are," I say.

"Thanks." She shuffles a little.

"Look, erm, we're having a campfire later tonight. Do you want to join me?" The words slip out before I think about whether they're a good idea or not.

A strange expression crosses Zara's face, which doesn't answer my question about regret. "You want me to come to a campfire with you?"

"Some of the other members of the fire dancing team will be there," I say quickly. "But I'd like it if you came. You can bring your friend if that's more comfortable." I have no idea what I'm doing, or why I'm doing it.

Actually, that's a lie. I know why I'm doing it. There's something about Zara that makes me want to spend more time with her, and the campfire is a good excuse for that, even if there will be a crowd.

"All right, sure. Message me the details. You've got my number, right?" she asks.

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