Fast Break

seventy-three : drive

End of July

Back to school season was around the corner. The friends thought it would be good to go shopping now, everything was going to sell out in a month. They took a trip to the city together. It was just Christopher, Matthew, Elliot, Dylan, and Ryan. Matthew wanted Sam to tag along, but he couldn't be bothered to see people. They took Matthew's car and Elliot's, they all drove to their favorite mall in Salt Lake.

They took advantage of the back to school sales everywhere. The hockey players took an extreme advantage of the sales at the sporting goods store.

"Buy 1 get 1 free mouth guards?!" Elliot exclaimed.
"15% off of sticks?!" Matthew smiled. "I suddenly need a new one." He said.

Ryan just watched her friends go crazy over the deals. She walked up to where Dylan was looked at helmets.

"Why are they so excited about sales?" Ryan asked sheepishly.
"Hockey can be a very expensive sport." Dylan replied. "I want a new helmet but they're so expensive." She sighed.
"It can't be too crazy expensive." Ryan said.
"They range from $50 to $400." Dylan responded.
"500?!" Ryan exclaimed.
"Yeah. Mine is old but I don't wanna drop 80 bucks for a decent one." Dylan said.

Christopher was shopping for new grip tape, he needed some for the upcoming season. He looked at all the different kinds, he examined the different brands and colors. He was trying to look for his favorite brand he always got but he couldn't find it. Matthew saw him visibly stressed, not being able to find your brand of grip tape was a tad frustrating, finding a new one you liked was just as hard.

"Hey you okay?" Matthew asked.
"No. They don't have my brand." Christopher huffed. "Must've discontinued it." Christopher sulked.
"Here." Matthew picked out his favorite grip tape. "This is my favorite." He smiled.

Christopher took the tape and examined it. It had a good grip and he couldn't help but notice it was Matthew's favorite color.

"It's helped me through countless games." Matthew smiled.
"Thanks." Christopher smiled back. "I can never find one I like." He chuckled.
"Yeah, I feel you there. I swear by this one though." Matthew chuckled.
"If it's good enough for the Matthew "flash" Grayson,  it's good enough for me." Christopher smiled.
"You know about that?" Matthew shyly smiled.
"Yeah, I might've saw it on an old post of yours." Christopher replied. "Why'd you stop going by it?" He asked.
"It was more degrading than loving." Matthew said.
"Well, I think it's an accurate description." Christopher smiled.
"If I'm Flash, Dylan's the Sniper or better known as the Sharpe Shooter, What does that make you and Elliot?" Matthew asked.
"I don't know." Christopher said.
"I think I like captain the most." Matthew smiled.
"Yeah?" Christopher smirked.
"Yeah." Matthew leaned in for a kiss.

He was interrupted by Elliot crashing into them, placing his arms on their shoulders.

"Am I interrupting something love birds?" Elliot teased.
"You're an ass E." Christopher joked.
"You love me." Elliot smirked. "What are we discussing?" They asked.
"Nicknames." Matthew chuckled.
"Ooo cool." Elliot said.
"Our dearest Matthew here was known as Flash back in New York." Christopher teased.
"Matthew! You had a hockey nickname and you didn't tell us?" Elliot gasped dramatically.
"It was mostly used for harassment back then, but since I am the second fastest skater in the state, I'll take it." Matthew chuckled.
"It inspired the question of what are we if he's the flash and Dylan is the Sharpe Shooter." Christopher said.
"That's a good one." Elliot said. "Huh, I don't know. You're the captain and I just hit shit." They continued.
"I think E is fitting for you." Matthew smiled.
"There's not much you can do with your name." Christopher said. "Unless you want us to start calling you Mickey." He chuckled.
"For the love of god please don't." Elliot laughed.
"Got it." Christopher laughed.
"Can we call you the "Flying Grayson"?" Christopher asked Matthew.
"That's how his parents die!" Matthew laughed.
"Just avoid circuses in sketchy towns." Christopher replied.
"Or pay your protection fee to the mafia!" Elliot added.
"I hate you two." Matthew chuckled.
"You love us Matt." Elliot teased.
"And you're stuck with us." Christopher kissed Matthew's cheek.

They ran off to find Dylan and Ryan. Dylan was in the middle of reconsidering why she chose one of the more expensive sports.

"You guys find anything good?" Elliot asked.
"Nope. Just wondering why this sport is so expensive." Dylan sighed.
"Yeah. I can't even imagine what it costs to buy new skates and pads." Christopher said.

They wondered around the mall for hours. They all enjoyed shopping together. Christopher enjoyed having Matthew there, he only really wore basic clothes. He loved having a boyfriend that had a sense of style. Christopher's walked into his favorite store, he bought all his band t-shirts here. Matthew looked at him with heart eyes the entire time, he watched as Christopher picked out new shirts of bands he already owned.

"Baby, do you really need another Led Zeppelin shirt?" Matthew asked.
"Yes." Christopher responded.

Matthew just smiled and watched his boyfriend enjoy shopping.

"They have Cypress Hill!" Christopher exclaimed as he went to find his size.

Matthew chuckled to himself, he walked over to Christopher and kissed his cheek.

"What was that for?" Christopher asked, he was blushing.
"You're just so cute." Matthew smiled.

Christopher blushed even more. He kept his cool and went back to shopping. They all shopped until they couldn't, they got many things. They all drive home that day and fell right asleep when they hit the bed. Matthew was thankful for his friends, he could t imagine life without them.