"Fate brought us together for a reason and if you believe for even one second that there isn't anything between us," Elijah held her close as he peered down into her eyes. "Then, I'm willing to prove you wrong, beautiful."
...
"But seriously, stop standing around and get to practice," demanded Connor, walking off the ice as he blew the whistle, once again, gathering everyone's attention. "I want all of you at your best for the first game of the season in a few weeks, boys— and I swear to God if I catch you guys gossiping in the corner, I'm adding an hour to practice. And that goes for all of you."
The boys groaned, before, they skated back onto the ice one by one.
"There's no-"
"I in team," The boys chorused, finishing Connor's sentence. It was a phrase that Connor practically drilled into their minds that had quickly become the team's mantra. It was also why their teamwork was one of the best in the leagues and what won them championship after championship.
As practice continued, the doors to the stadium opened, revealing two girls— one in which had direct ties to two of the players and the coach.
"Jesus, you didn't tell me how cold it was in here, Megan," muttered the shorter girl, bringing her hands to her arms in an attempt to try to warm them up. Compared to the heat outside, this was most definitely a stark contrast. It was almost as if they weren't in sunny California anymore.
"Sorry!" Apologized Megan, looking at her best friend sheepishly. "I promise we're only here for a bit. Noah forgot his practice jersey at his apartment and you know Connor will give him shit if he doesn't bring it to practice."
Leila hummed, bringing her dark, slightly curled, hair over her shoulders in an attempt to keep her neck warm. So far, it was not working.
"Come on, I think they're all on the rink," Megan tugged on Leila's hand, leading the girl down towards the ginormous rink. They were towards the top of the stadium and honestly, looking down at the rows of seats below them was kind of terrifying.
Leila's eyes widened with surprise, not expecting the scale of the rink to be this grand-looking. From the top of the steps, she could see multiple figures skating around with stinks in their hands as well as figures on the sidelines, shouting something inaudible to her ears.
"And... Connor's the coach, right?" Asked Leila, once again. Megan came from a big family— it was a bit difficult keeping track of all the names.
Megan nodded enthusiastically. "Mhm. He's also the brother of my sister-in-law, which is why I'm kind of allowed in here whenever."
Megan continued to lead Leila to where the glass was only standing half height. Knowing that neither of them could shout loud enough over all the sounds, they decided to patiently wait until someone noticed them, which did not take long.
Megan's eyes were immediately glued onto Noah's familiar figure, while Leila continued to look around in awe, watching how each player moved around gracefully on the ice. She pushed her glasses up on her nose bridge, completely forgetting that she was wearing them, but was reminded as they continued to fog up due to how cold it was in the stadium.
On the rink, Elijah and Noah passed the puck back and forth, skillfully maneuvering across the ice and past the other players. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed two figures on the sidelines— one familiar and the other, not so familiar.
It was only a brief second, but immediately, Elijah turned around in his skates to do a double-take.
There she was, looking around with her curious wide eyes as she took in her surroundings. Her luscious dark hair fell in long waves that reached her mid-torso as her hand reached up to tuck a few shorter pieces behind her ear.
God, she was breathtaking.
For a moment, he had forgotten how to breathe— now completely frozen in his tracks. He knew he was blatantly staring at the mystery girl, and he was surprised she hadn't noticed— too busy looking around in fascination.
She looked so small, even next to Megan, who looked to be a few inches shorter than his sister. She also looked cold, and all he wanted to do was run back into the locker room to hand her his team sweater that he kept in his bag.
He watched as she threw her head back in laughter at something Megan had said, covering her pretty smile with her hand as her eyes crinkled with amusement behind the round glasses.
What a beautiful sight.
"Hey, you alright, man?" Noah clapped his hand on Elijah's shoulder, causing him to finally snap out of it.
"Huh?" Elijah asked, startled. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Noah gave him a weird look.
"Yo, Knight, Haynes," Their teammate and close friend, Derek called out, interrupting Noah from further asking any questions. "Your girl's here for you."
"Megan's here?" Noah immediately perked up, turning a complete 360 in his skates before finally locating his girlfriend. Immediately, Noah skated towards her direction, her eyes shining with love and adoration as soon as she noticed him skating towards her.
"Damn," Derek sighed dramatically, clutching his chest with a sorrowful expression. "Must be nice having your girl come by practice to see you."
With slumped shoulders, Derek skated away, causing Elijah to laugh. Honestly, he couldn't agree more. Turning around once again, Elijah had hoped to catch the pretty girl's eyes and perhaps introduce himself.
But to his dismay, the spot next to Megan was already empty.
✿✿✿
And their story begins...
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