cool kids , fulton reed

seven

"on behalf of the ducks, i'd like to say welcome," charlie said and walked toward adam. jesse rose from his seat and placed his hand on charlie's chest to stop him.

"cake-eater," jesse sneered, narrowing his eyes into a glare.

"ooh, the jess-man, dissin' the new guy. the jester," averman commentated.

"shut up, averman!" jesse snapped, flexing his hands at his sides.

"it was just a joke," averman commented, glancing at his nearby teammates as jesse slowly stepped toward adam.

"putting on a ducks jersey doesn't mean you're a real duck," jesse said and forced his way between adam and bombay to leave the locker room. sloane crossed her ankles and quickly licked at her lips as the rest of the team followed. she sighed softly and followed charlie, attempting to slip between bombay and the row of lockers behind him. he grabbed her elbow gently and sent her a pleasing look. he tilted his head toward adam with a pleading expression that melted into relief when she subtly nodded.

"they're a good group once you get to know 'em," bombay said as the locker room door swung shut.

"i'll bet," adam said, averting his eyes.

"well, suit up. i'll see you on the ice," bombay said and left the locker room.

"sloane anderson," she introduced, briefly motioning to herself as she pulled his jersey off the hanger to toss at him.

"i'm gonna be your new best friend. if you need anything or you're being bullied or something, come to me. people only mess with me once. plus, i think most of the team's kinda scared of me. i'll see you on the ice," she explained and placed her hands on her hips. she stared at him for a moment, shifting as the awkwardness built, before dropping her hands and leaving the locker room.

✩

"mine!" charlie called as adam carried the puck around the goalpost. sloane crossed her arms and chewed the inside of her bottom lip as the puck slid across the ice toward charlie.

"on your left!" peter yelled, causing charlie to pass him the puck. sloane let her teeth chatter nervously as one of the huskies dove by charlie's stick just after he passed it.

"right here! i'm open!" adam said and tapped his stick against the ice as he watched the puck glide across the ice. "come on, right here! upfront!"

"they need to pass it," sloane quietly commented as she lifted her thumb to her lips.

"um, they are passing it, sloane," averman said, leaning toward her.

"to adam, averman. they need to pass the puck to adam," she deadpanned while staring blankly at the boy.

"upfront!" adam called as he moved away from the husky guarding him.

"pass it to banks!" bombay yelled with his hands cupped over his mouth to amplify his voice.