Sidelines

Part title

"One more point boys!" Liam shouts as they get in position, giving Harry and Louis both a look. Louis shoots back a jerky nod, determined to win this if it kills him even if it means handing over the spotlight, to show coach and everyone else that he can fucking play. The whistle blows signaling the start of the final period, Andy getting the puck straight away and sending it back to Liam. The game stays in their favor, for the most part, except for one hiccup in which the puck stays on Ohio's side for too long and Zayn has to block a close pass. He can hear coach cursing from the side, the whole team on their feet as they watch Niall send the puck up to Harry at the center line.

From there Harry takes it, and Louis tries to stay open but the other team has picked up on that strategy by now. He makes eye contact with Harry and nods to the left, signaling for him to drop it back to Liam and head up to the goal. Harry actually listens, effortlessly sending it back to Liam. Harry pushes through the defensive line as Louis skates his way over to Liam, taking the puck from him after Liam does a fake out. From there all there's left to do is get it in, and Louis' getting ready to when he catches someone coming in from his right side.

"Harry," Louis yells as he passes the puck to him right when he gets shouldered to the floor. He doesn't even see him receive it, can only hope he did with so little time on the clock, but the cheers that follow are telling enough. He gets up as soon as he can and rushes over to the dog pile that Harry is at the bottom of, jumping on top. There's a little over a minute left in the game, and Louis knows from experience that it's more than enough time for Ohio to tie them back, but as long as they can keep the puck away the game is in their favor. Liam clasps both Louis and Harry on the back and tells Niall and Andy to keep the puck as far away from their goal as possible.

As they break their huddle, Louis dares to clap Harry on the back, hoping it's a friendly tap that says good job and not you look really hot and sweaty and I hate that I want to fuck you.

"Kick ass Tomlinson." Harry says with a nod and a small smirk. Louis blinks. He didn't exactly think Harry would punch him, but.

"You too Styles."

"Let's go boys!" The referee shouts. Louis skates back into position, crouching down and keeping a careful eye on the puck as the game restarts. He hears the whistle go off and Andy is already sending the puck over to Liam. Ohio's dedicated, Louis has to hand it to them, but Niall and Andy are ruthless if nothing else. Harry is making his way through the defense line, skating towards the goal as he signals to Liam to set him up.

Harry makes the shot with twenty seconds to spare, setting their win in stone.

-

"Alright lads, everyone settle down and take a seat." Cowell calls over all the shouting in the locker room. Louis stops horsing around with Liam to listen, already showered and changed into joggers and a sweatshirt and buzzing on adrenaline from their win. He sits on the bench next to Zayn and Liam, throwing an arm around Zayn's shoulder.

"So," Cowell starts, "We had a rocky start, but you all pulled through once you started working together. That's what I want to be seeing."

Louis can feel the whole team looking between Harry and him and does his best to ignore it.

"With that being said I've decided that for the rest of the season everyone will be getting a partner. Your partner will be who you practice with, who you study with, and who you socialize with."

Louis fights the urge to groan, because he already knows what's coming. Coach starts going down the team roster, pairing up Samuels and Payne, Horan and Malik, Styles and Tomlinson, naturally. The rest of the team is fine with this of course since everyone already gets along.