Heart As Cold As Ice | 18+ | ✓

05: alondra

The dark haired guy sitting next to Jack peers at me curiously, "So you're the freshie?"

My quick remark dies when the blonde girl practically sitting on Jack's lap shoots him a look. "We're not supposed to call her that Dylan. Don't be a dick," She offers me an apologetic smile. "Ignore him, I'm Peyton."

Jack seems unfazed by her position on him so why I should let it bother me? We're not even friends so why should I care where he sticks his willy? "Nice to meet you, I'm Al but I think you guys already know that." An awkward chuckle comes out of my mouth, but the girl next to me with the deep auburn colored hair smiles warmly.

"Peyton's right, ignore Dylan. Actually while you're at it you're probably better off ignoring Jack too," She jokes and Pritchett gives me an 'I told you this would be fun' look.

On the other side of Peyton is another guy fully immersed in conversation with Eli. A little surprising since I've always thought conversations with him were as interesting as speaking to a wall but to each their own.

"You guys are mean," Dylan grumbles, taking another sip of his beer and Margot giggles.

"Seems like you kind of deserved it."

Jack's smile grows wider at Margot's sass and he laughs, shaking his head at Dylan.

"Dylan just shut up, you'll be better off that way."

His jaw hangs open at Jack's betrayal, and the girl next to me leans over to kiss his cheek. "He has a point babe."

Oh, this must be the girl Jack was trying to tell me he was friends with. He was insistent during our tutoring session that we should be friends and he wouldn't try to get in my pants. I didn't really believe him. There's a glimmer in Jack's eyes almost like he knows what I'm thinking and he smirks. "See Al, I told you I had platonic friends who are girls. Ruby definitely counts."

"So you haven't asked her for a kiss for the sake of saving your ego with your buddies?" I ask sweetly and his eyes flash as Margot tries to hide her laugh.

"That's how you got her to kiss you? Damn Schultz, you're losing your touch." Dylan laughs heartily and Peyton shakes her head, but doesn't chime in.

Jack smirks, "It worked, didn't it?"

I can't help but laugh because it did. I smile back at him, surprising both of us. Maybe he isn't so bad...

Eli looks over at me in confusion, having tuned into this part of the conversation. "Al I thought you like hated hockey players and now you're kissing them in bars?"

Pritchett elbows him quickly, but the question is already out there as we're surrounded by hockey players. My grip on my beer tightens and Jack raises an eyebrow at me, waiting for an explanation but I don't really have one.

"How do you hate hockey when your dad coaches?" Dylan asks curiously. I shrug, sipping my drink to buy myself time as I try to come up with a logical explanation that doesn't tell them everything about me.

"I don't hate hockey," I answer simply. My smile has dropped and I try to keep my face neutral, but a very teeny tiny part of me is worried that Jack is going to ask me to leave.

Instead, he offers me a small smile before taking a drink from his water bottle. "Good enough for me. It's refreshing not having someone up my ass about the draft."

I relax a little in my seat as Dylan starts a side conversation with his girlfriend next to me. I never got her name and it feels like it's too late now to ask. They're whispering low enough that I can't catch what's being said.