Contents
Five | Anastasia
Overview
Aaron publicly confronts Anastasia and Nate, exposing a damaging rumor about the rink sabotage. Nate denies the worst of it but admits partial knowledge, fracturing Anastasia’s trust. After delegating Sabrina’s ride to Olivia, Anastasia vents to Ryan, who counsels empathy for Nate’s captaincy, but Anastasia resolves to avoid the hockey team.
Summary
Anastasia and Nate descend the stairs at the party and are confronted by Aaron, who accuses Anastasia of sleeping with Nate and demands to know what they were doing. Tension escalates when Aaron claims to know the cause of the rink sabotage: a rookie allegedly got someone’s sister pregnant and ghosted her. Nate denies the pregnancy rumor but reveals he knew more than he’d admitted, shattering Anastasia’s trust.
Feeling dismissed when Nate suggests she’s overreacting, Anastasia explains how the shared rink jeopardizes her Olympic ambitions and ends the exchange by declaring they should stay out of each other’s way. She leaves to find Sabrina, delegates Sabrina’s ride home to Olivia, and orders an Uber, still angry and hurt.
Later at Simone’s Rink, Ryan surprises Anastasia with lunch. They banter about his budding connection with Olivia and her reluctance toward relationships. Conversation shifts to the party conflict: Ryan criticizes Aaron’s behavior and urges Anastasia to see Nate’s position as captain, balancing team loyalty and disclosure.
Anastasia acknowledges the logic but remains resolute about keeping her distance from the hockey team. She doubles down on focusing on training with Aaron despite his volatility, determined to protect her goals amid campus fallout from the sabotage.
Who Appears
- Anastasia AllenPairs skater; clashes with Aaron and Nate over sabotage fallout; prioritizes training and decides to avoid the hockey team.
- Nate HawkinsHockey captain; defends his guest, denies pregnancy rumor, admits limited knowledge, and fails to reassure Anastasia.
- AaronAnastasia’s skating partner; jealous, confrontational, exposes rumor about the rink incident, and humiliates Anastasia at the party.
- Ryan RothwellAnastasia’s best friend; brings her lunch, encourages empathy for Nate, and flirts with Olivia.
- Olivia AbbottPerformer; unexpectedly at the party, offers Sabrina a ride, and sparks Ryan’s interest.
- Sabrina (Brin)Anastasia’s friend; last seen in Robbie’s room, later entrusted to Olivia for a safe ride.
- SimoneRink owner; employs Anastasia and flags Ryan’s lunch visit at the rink.