Serendipitous

*Part 26

Max

My heart pounds as I skate along the ice, my eyes darting along its surface. I feel my chest heave as I race after the small black puck, the warm feeling that hasn't subsided for weeks now, on or off the ice. My hockey stick makes contact with the puck, my speed never wavering as it glides across the ice. With one final glance up, I spend the puck spinning across the ice and straight into the net. Relief instantly explodes in my chest, and a laugh escapes me as I'm enveloped by a group of teammates. I hear Fitz talking in my ear and someone else hitting my shoulder, but I can't focus on any of it. Because a little in the distance, behind a plexiglass wall, is the girl that I love, jumping up and down like a little kid.

I'm in love with Persephone Miller. And I have absolutely no idea how to tell her that.

She's smiling from ear to ear, and clapping in that way that causes her to clasp her hands together at the side of her cheek. Even from this far away, her laugh rings in my ear. That laugh is the last thing I hear before I fall asleep. Her smile is all I can think about, every minute of the day.

I'm not the best with my words. I never know what's the right thing to say, and the best way to say it. I always feel like I'm in the wrong with other people, always at risk of saying something slightly random that will make things awkward. It's always been that way, since elementary school and I didn't fit in with the other kids, in middle school where I was so quiet that I was picked last for class sports. 

I think when you're the 'quiet kid', it becomes normal to retreat further and further into yourself. Which, in turn, only makes you more quiet, less likely to articulate your words right in the future. It's one, large spiral, which catches you in its web and refuses to spit you back out again. I think that's one of the reasons that Persephone's quickly become my favourite person. She doesn't make me feel bad when I don't want to talk because I simply don't know what to say. She allows me to communicate with just a smile or a look, and doesn't overcompensate for me when we're out together. I never knew that something that started out with the intention of being artificial could morph into the most fulfilling relationship of my entire life. But I'm so, so glad that it did. In such a short amount of time, Persephone has changed me in so many ways. She's taught me to show kindness, to be strong, and how to love again. 

After my last relationship ended as a result of the paparazzi, I thought that I'd never be able to trust myself in a relationship again, so long as kept playing hockey, and kept being photographed. I always thought that I'd never be able to give up hockey. That it would be another piece of my soul that I'd never, ever sacrifice. But now... now I'm not so sure. When I walk into work and see Persephone, my vision narrows, everything else becomes blurry. She's all that I see, all that I care about. All I want is to call her mine for the rest of my life, or for as long as she'll have me.

I break away from my teammates after a few moments, my gaze immediately falling on Persephone. Her camera is positioned in line with her eye, a grin firmly attached to her lips. Without thinking, I begin to skate towards her, and in seconds, I reach the glass. I wait impatiently as Persephone lowers her camera, allowing it to swing loosely around her neck. Surprise startles her, but only for a second, before her smile grows impossibly broader. She lifts her hand, forming it into a small wave, her fingers dancing in the air.

When I'm around her, everything seems to slow down. It's like the majority of my day is in 2x speed, and I can't get a breath, can't pause to look around. And then Persephone moves into the frame. And I can breathe again. Every movement I make is steady and calculated When I look at her, it seems like everything I've ever worried about just melts away. It melts away with her smile, with her laugh, with the pure warmth that radiates from her aura.