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Fane aiting outside lish class when first period ended

"Want to get out of here?"

No, Aurora Just say no

I smiled "Yeah"

As we headed for the double doors, I caught a quick glimpse of Noel Her eyes widened She shouldn&039;t look so surprised Wasn&039;t she the one who told me Scott Stevens was herbal tea? I would think Fane Donada was the type of guy who merited the Mouseketeer stamp of approval

"Are you ready to try out the tank?" Fane asked e reached his car

He opened the passenger door for me And they said chivalry was dead Turns out it came in the most unexpected places

I raised a brow before cli?"

"Anywhere you want"

"How about Portage Glacier?"

"Hop in"

Oh, I was bad skipping classagain This ti on school property It&039;s not like I could concentrate on a word my teachers said, anyway Not with Fane on the brain 24/7

Math and science just didn&039;t mean asDante&039;s driving

Unlike Dante, Fane handled his car with care I nearly giggled Fane drove a piece of shit He probably had to be gentle or she&039;d fall apart over the first speed bump

Fane hadn&039;t lied, the tank ot onto the highway going south

I stared out theas Fane wound his way along the base of the Chugach Mountains The Seward Highway skirted the shores of the Turnagain Arm Admittedly, I lived in one of the most beautiful places in the world Still didn&039;t mean I wanted to freeze my ass off half the year

"I love this drive," I said

"I&039; brow

"You see," Fane continued

"I don&039;t think it&039;s you so ry? I could pull off in Girdwood"

"No, keep driving"

I faced the ocean on the right It was gray and full of silt-crusted icebergs floating in and out on the tide I only looked ahen Fane pointed out oats on the left He had an uncanny ability to spot the lot at Portage Glacier was empty e pulled in

My lossy icebergs floating by in Portage Lake as Molacier itself had receded over three miles in the last century I&039;d never walked across the frozen lake to the edge of the glacier in the winter, but now it sounded like a good idea

I tightenedonto the ice I couldn&039;t actually see it with all the snow coverage

Fane drifted silently byon the ht The lake was covered in snow that crunched beneath our shoes Fane and I blazed a trail across the expanse of white

We rounded a corner carved into the lake by a lacier in the distance I wondered if Fane was as drawn to that great river of ice as I was

We walked up to the jagged edge of the glacier Chunks of white ice glowed unnaturally blue The pieces looked as though they were lit fro place," I said

"It&039;s the last frontier," Fane said

"Too bad it&039;s so cold and dark"

"Are you kidding? That&039;s my favorite part"

"We should turn back," I said "My bus is going to be leaving soon"

He laughed "I can drive you houess that&039;s true We should still turn back I really need to doto class I don&039;t want to spend my summer in school or worsenext school year at Denali"

The way to the glacier felt like a journey of many miles, but the way back was quick

"What about you?" I asked "Do you plan on going to college?" I sort of doubted it

He shrugged "I don&039;t know I hadn&039;t really thought about it lately I guess it&039;s tiher education Meet new people"

"You mean friends who aren&039;t junkies?"

"They aren&039;t junkies"

I raised a brow

"Well, I guess they are sort of junkies, but I can&039;t judge them"

"What&039;s your roon films and rare books - not much"

"Real barrel of sunshine he is," I said

"He&039;s depressed"

"Maybe Alaska&039;s not the best place for him"

Fane huffed "He&039;s like that no oes"

"Have you been a lot of places together?"

"Beforeto Alaska ere roommates in New York"

I whistled "Wo York to Alaska I guess you really needed a change in scenery"

"Call of the wild," Fane said and laughed "It was my dream to co and that he could join uys must be reallyclose"

I wasn&039;t sure how to respond to that Wasn&039;t it kind of weird for two teenage guys to ether?

"Joss lost his fa time"

"Oh, I&039;m sorry"

Fane squeezed my hand

"Anyway, he wanted to check it out first, but I said I was her for Joss You see, he loved New York&039;s arts and culture, but hated the people The idea of vast stretches of uninhibited land appealed to himthe lack of artistry and architecture was ot toterinned back "Joss is uy"

"We have ice sculptures don"

Fane laughed "You&039;re tenacious I thought you were sick of this state"

"It&039;s still my homeand I still think it&039;s beautiful It&039;s just"

"Dark and cold?"

I nodded, but somehow I didn&039;t mind sofor you," Moh the front door

"Mom, I&039;m only forty minutes late"

"I orried You never answer your phone anymore"

"That&039;s not true"

"What happened?"

"Nothing Fane gave ed out of reat?"

You&039;d think my mom would look happier

"Anyway, I&039;et started on homework," I said