jamie thought he was nervous the last time he was with austin and colten. boy, was he wrong. with the stakes seeming so much higher than before, jamie's nerves were at an all-time high. knowing that austin and colten didn't really like him, he knew he had to make a greater impression this time around. unlike before, jamie was aware that he had to talk to more and try to find common ground. he was going to have to come out of his shell and he was not all that enthusiastic about it.
"why did we have to host this thing here?" mason questioned trevor.
trevor finished grabbing random pieces of trash scattered across a table and sighed, "because this is an environment that jamie is comfortable in."
jamie glanced over at mason and nodded. if jamie was going to succeed his mission, he needed to be in his element. now that he was thinking about it, maybe they should have agreed on an ice rink. at least there he could impress them.
"anyways, what's the game plan?" jamie asked.
his best friend answered in a 'duh' tone, "to win them over."
"no, i meant like how do i do that."
unfortunately for jamie, he never got a reply. austin and colten had arrived and that ruined any chance of jamie getting any advice. mason just gave him a thumbs up before giving colten a bro hug. austin and trevor were also being super friendly which left jamie to stand awkwardly by himself. this was not a good start.
noticing that jamie felt awkward, austin extended an olive branch. "hey jamie, how's it going?" austin gave him a head nod.
to say jamie was surprised would be an understatement. he was expecting more hostility or the cold shoulder. reese must have really gotten through to them. "i'm doing good, how are you?" jamie asked.
"not too bad," austin replied. jamie just smiled and nodded. he wasn't entirely sure what to do after that.
meanwhile, trevor and mason watched what seemed like a promising moment completely fizzle out into nothing. they both knew colten was going to be the harder one to convince jamie was a great guy. neither one could quite believe this was going on, but here they were. trevor had a plan. he wasn't really sure if it was a great one but it was better than nothing.
"okay, everyone, let's gather around in a nice circle. a couple people can sit on the couch and i can grab some chairs," trevor announced to the group.
mason and jamie shot worried looks at one another. trevor had gone completely rogue. not that they really had a plan to begin with, but the dynamic had shifted and it wasn't a good one. the vibe had completely changed and trevor had put himself into a leadership position.
"why do i feel like i'm in a classroom about to get a talk from the guidance counselor?" colten asked to no one in particular.
jamie agreed, "yeah. i'm not too sure i like this."
"no! you guys are going to love this!" trevor reassured the group. none of them bought it though.
mason stated, "whatever, let's just get this done and over with. what are we doing?"
everyone turned their attention the overly happy boy who stood by the last chair he had placed down. his smile was wide and his demeanor was making everyone in the room worried. no one had a clue as to what he was doing, especially jamie.
"i'm so glad you asked. i thought it might benefit all of us if we went around and said three things we liked about each other. i'll go first," trevor announced.
trevor took his seat as everyone stared in disbelief. jamie felt like he was going to throw up and kill his best friend at the same time. austin and colten suddenly appeared uncomfortable and mason didn't know what to do.
"austin, my man," trevor grinned. the boy returned a nervous smile. the hockey player continued, "you are a great actor with an award winning smile that could win over any girl. you are so supportive of all your friends and i appreciate that. last but not least, you have never told me to shut up."
austin was too stunned to speak. he was not expecting this in the slightest. the only thing he could come up with was, "i am very flattered."
meanwhile, colten had a thought of his own. "what the actual fuck," colten shouted.
trevor clapped his hands and said, "great! now that everyone knows what's going on, austin you're next and you're going to say three nice things to jamie."
jamie gave trevor a glare. why on earth was his best friend doing this? there is absolutely nothing good that can come out of this. austin and colten were having similar feelings.
austin cleared his throat and looked at jamie, "well, you seem like a pretty nice guy. you're good at hockey and you clearly have a big heart."
"thanks, austin," jamie responded. maybe, he was starting to win austin over. although it was forced, jamie was still happy that he could find three positive things to say about him.
"that was perfect! okay, jamie, you're next and you're going to compliment colten!" he gave jamie a big thumbs up and winked.
colten interrupted, "no, that's not really necessary."
"no, i think it is. jamie, go!"
this frightened jamie to his core. if he said anything that rubbed colten the wrong way, he was done for. the room started feeling hot and his hands became sweaty. in that moment, he wished reese was there. this would not be nearly as bad if she was present.
jamie tried to think as fast as possible for things to say. the issue was he knew very little to no information about colten. he only knew bits and pieces from things that reese had mentioned to him. he also was not a man of many words. as a result, his statement was very short and sweet. something he hoped that colten would respect.
"you're very protective, you're always there for your friends, and i've heard you're a great photographer," jamie said while holding eye contact with colten. he thankfully remembered that eye contact was important.
trevor started to wipe fake tears, "that was beautiful, jamie. although, you could have said he has piercing hazel eyes."
mason looked at trevor with a concerned look and genuinely asked, "trevor, are you on drugs?"
"no, why would you think that?"
the canadian forward opened his mouth to say something back but decided it wouldn't help anything. trevor was going to act however he desired and there was no stopping it. his intrusive thoughts were winning today.
"anyways, colten say something nice to jamie," trevor switched the conversation.
the boy furrowed his eyebrows, "but he just went."
"yeah, you know, it's okay. let him say something nice about mason. mason needs to feel the love," jamie interjected.
trevor shook his head, "nope, i make the rules and i say he returns the favor to jamie."
jamie really hated his friend right now. this had to be the most awkward last couple of seconds of his life. jamie and austin had established that they could act friendly around one another. colten and jamie were not at that level, not yet at least.
"i think that you are respectful and you compliment trevor's personality very well," colten stated.
the defenseman replied, "thank you." the same time that trevor shouted, "you forgot one!"
"and you have good hair, i suppose," colten side eyed trevor as he said it. colten was hoping trevor wouldn't notice but of course he did.
in an uncertain voice, jamie answered, "thanks?"
that went a little bit better than jamie had anticipated. trevor was completely ecstatic. in his mind, he had singlehandedly made it so jamie secured at least a tolerable relationship with the two boys.
"now, was that so bad?" trevor asked the group. all he got was blank stares from people who wanted to move past this moment.
jamie decided to break the silence in hopes to earn some laughs, "you said some of the most out of pocket shit i've ever heard." thankfully, colten and austin found this funny. he had accomplished his goal.
"yeah. trevor, are you okay?" austin laughed.
trevor didn't think he said anything out of the ordinary and told them, "yeah. i have no idea what you guys are talking about."
mason just patted trevor's back as the boy looked at everyone confused. the group of boys were still supposed to hang out for another hour or until reese decided it had been long enough. in the meantime, jamie couldn't wait to tell her some of things that were said and how he thought he made progress with her two very protective friends.