Hailey's P.O.V.
~ Four weeks after the Buried Alive video wrapped ~
I rubbed my hands together rapidly, hoping to chase away some of the cold that seemed to radiate through my body. It's late November now, and the weather in North Carolina is becoming more unforgiving by the second.
I adjusted the position of my skating bag's strap that hung loosely around my torso and persistently dug into my skin, as I took long strides to cross the parking lot. A bitter feeling of dread enveloped me for the practice that lay ahead, as I roughly pulled on the icey door handle to the rink.
Upon entering the skating center, I was engulfed with the warm welcoming air of the lobby. My skin became covered in goosebumps as winter's chill was chased from my bones by the heat. I smiled tightly at Nancy the receptionist, giving her a small nod in greeting and walking down the hallway towards the women's locker room.
Exhaustion already filling my bones from the early hour, I pushed the door open to the locker room and sauntered to the furthest locker from the door, discreetly tucked in the back corner with the name "Dunnlap" printed proudly above it. As I approached my locker, I harshly threw my skating bag into the hollow space, already feeling short-tempered due to the practice I would be forced to endure.
Sighing to myself, I began to search through my belongings locating my skates, legwarmers, deodorant, and my gloves as I readied myself for the rink.
SLAM
I nearly jumped out of my skin, as the sound of metal clanging together rang through the near-silent locker room. I sharply turned my body towards the sound, a look of frightened shock still evident on my face.
There stood the source of the noise smiling slyly at my surprised form, with more energy pulsing through her than I thought possible so early in the morning, my best friend, Alison.
"Why so jumpy this morning?" Alison said in a coy tone, as she fought to contain the chuckle bubbling inside her.
"Ha-ha" I mocked her, rolling my eyes and facing back towards my locker, "It's 7:30 a.m., Als. It's too early for this shit"
I could practically feel her eyes rolling as she retorted, "You're deflecting.."
I grabbed my skates from my bag before turning around and heading to an adjacent bench to begin lacing up, "You know why I'm jumpy Ally" I grumbled in response, shooting her a look I normally reserved for Karl.
She giggled at my displeasure. God, she was having too much fun with this.
I harshly shoved my foot into my skate, trying to ignore Alison's mocking words, "It's gonna be fine Hails, I promise. Sure, it might be a little awkward, but what's life without a little excitement, right?"
Her overly cheery tone made me want to vomit. "Alison," I huffed out, dragging my gaze up to meet hers, "We don't have to sugarcoat it, today's going to suck. I know that, you know that, hell I'm pretty sure even Coach Brian knows it" I bitched, as I glared at my uncoperative skating sock, "But, I'm going to act like a professional and get this over with. And to help numb the pain, tonight we are going to get so outrageously drunk that I won't even remember this practice"
She crossed her arms an enormous smile taking over her features, "That's my girl"
I rolled my eyes, a small chuckle escaping my lips at her statement, before returning to dutifully lacing up my skates and preparing myself to face my nightmare of a practice.
When I couldn't stall any longer, I sighed to myself yanking my leg warmers over the laces of my skates, and reluctantly stood up from the bench. I looked over at Alison, who sat patiently waiting for me to finish, "Walk with me?" I asked, needing the moral support.
She smiled kindly at me, before joining our arms and giving me a comforting rub on the back, reassuring me in the way only she could. And together, we walked to the death of my dignity.
I felt the cold air fill my lungs, as I looked out on the freshly cleaned ice. A normally beautiful morning was interrupted by the sight of Dean Wilson gliding effortlessly around the rink, skating a few warm-up laps. I couldn't contain the scoff that left my lips, as he executed perfect technique so flawlessly.
Dean was a conceded asshole who truly believed his skating was a blessing to the world.
Dean was also my ex-boyfriend.
I'm not proud of it, but there was a period in my life when I thought I loved him. But, what I didn't know at the time was that Dean is only capable of loving himself.
I felt Ally give my arm a reassuring squeeze, drawing my attention away from the sickeningly pretentious man, "Practice is only two hours today, you can do this" And with her last words of wisdom, Alison took the ice, leaving me by my lonesome.
I sighed stepping into the rink, as I began to skate my warm-up laps. I stretched out my limbs and slowly made my way around the ice, preparing myself for the grueling practice ahead. My attention was soon pulled behind me by the sound of skates cutting wildly through the iced floor. Before I could turn around to see who was approaching, I felt air whip through my ponytail as Dean stopped himself right in front of me.
"Heyyy baby," He cooed, licking his lips like a predator, "It's been a while"
I rolled my eyes as I skated past him, "Dean" was my only greeting.
"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed today Hailey?" He asked, skating backward to catch up with me.
"Nope, just glad I didn't wake up in yours" I retorted, trying my best to avoid eye contact with the man who couldn't seem to take a hint.
Dean gasped, "Well now you're just being rude, hotstuff" He held a hand to his chest in feigned surprise, mocking my words.
The sound of a whistle blowing stopped me from hurling my next insult. I angrily turned my attention to Coach Brian who was now standing at the center of the ice, "Huddle up everyone. Quickly, quickly"
Choosing to ignore Dean's last comment, I pushed off my back skate in the direction of Coach, intending to finish this practice as quickly as possible.
"Alright, we all know what today is," Coach began to say, "Partner's practice. By now you should all know your routines, so I want you all to iron out the difficulties within them. Work on lifts and turns specifically, I'll be skating around and watching. Remember, only some of you will be chosen to be featured in the winter showcase" He threatened, giving us clear instructions for what to expect from the day, "We're getting too close to competition season for you guys to be screwing off, so act like adults and let's get it done" He clapped his hands together twice, indicating the end of his pep talk.
I turned to Dean, an annoyed smile already present on my features, "Alright, let's get this over with" I spat, as I began to skate towards a more secluded section of the ice.
I heard his skates trail behind me, a soft chuckle leaving his lips at my words. For the next hour, the two of us focused on ironing out the details of our near-perfect routine. Duke's winter showcase was a huge deal for skaters. Scouts from all over the world attended searching for the next Tonya Harding, Vasilisa Kaganovskaia, or Nathan Chen. To compete with the greats was a dream the entire team shared, however few would be picked.
While I prayed for the opportunity to perform in the winter showcase, the last person I wanted to do it with was Dean. Unfortunately for me, he was the best male skater on the team.
Focusing back on the task at hand, I glided effortlessly around the arena, preparing myself for our Lasso lift. It was one of the more difficult aspects of our routine, but we had it close to perfect.
I built up some speed, as I directed myself straight towards Dean. I felt him grasp my theighs as he launched my body into the air effortlessly, before gracefully thrusting me above his head with a single arm. I steadied myself as we began to spin, making sure my limbs were positioned where they needed to be.
Our lift was near perfection, that was until Dean managed to stumble on a rough patch in the ice, momentarily losing his balance and causing me to fall.
"AHhh" I let out a yelp, as I began to freefall due to his loose grasp.
Luckily, emergency catches are the first things we learn in partner skating. Dean caught me with ease, holding me close to his body, our breath mingling with the rush of adrenaline coursing through our veins.
I looked up at him, my vision shaky as the nerves coursed through me.
"Thanks" I breathed out harshly, staring at him as we continued to hold each other.
"Yeah," He breathed out, similarly shaken. Had he not caught me, I could have broken just about every single bone in my body from that height.
We slowly started to separate from each other, both of us then declaring that we needed a water break. I shook my head flustered as I began to skate towards the boards, simultaneously searching the ice for Ally in hopes of asking her to join me.
As my skates continued to propel me forward, I kept my gaze focused on the ice behind me, carefully watching Alison's partner work hoping to catch her eye so she could come chat.
However, after today's rotten luck, I should've known better than to split my focus. I attempted to slow myself down as I neared the boards, but by the time I had faced my attention back in front of me, it was too late. I was already tripping over the lip of the rink and heading straight for the rough hardwood floor and a concussion.
As I attempted to brace myself for impact, I held out my hands and shut my eyes tightly. A heartbeat passed, yet still I felt no impact, no pain. I hesitantly opened my eyes and was met with the soft texture of someone's hoodie clenched in between my fists. I blinked a few times, staring at the purple colored faric, noting the intoxicating smell of aftershave and cologne that rippled through the air.
I slowly forced myself to meet the eyes of the person who saved me from a kiss with the floor. A confused look overtook my expression, "Karl?" I asked in a whisper.
A tight-lipped smile made its way onto his face, as he reluctantly nodded at me. I looked down at our position then, as I noticed Karl was supporting 100% of my body weight, holding me with ease as his eyes roamed my face.
Slowly, I gripped his arms to steady myself and stand on my own again, "Are you alright Hailey?" His voice was soft and dripped with honey.
How long had it been since I'd seen him? Two weeks? Three?
I licked my lips nervously wetting them, as I subconsciously squeezed his biceps a bit harder, "Umm, yeah yeah, I'm sorry" I stammered, finally remembering where I was and my embarrassment.
I tried not the think about the way his biceps flexed a bit harder as he helped me stand on my own. Startled by my own mind, I abruptly let go of his jacket stumbling backwards from the confused man.
A concerned look dawned his features, as he cautiously took another step towards me, "Hails," His tone was gentle and comforting, "Are you okay?"
He took another step towards me, attempting to center my focus as my mind continued to spin at the sight of him. I looked back toward my teammates only to realize that I had demanded the attention of the entire rink.
Horror riddled my body as I franticly scanned the crowd that was so unashamedly staring at me. Brian had two fingers pressed to his temple, Alison was biting her lip with a remorseful look painted on her face, and Dean was just staring at me with a puzzled expression.
That's when the whispers began.
"Is that Karl from Mr. Beast?"
"Wait, how does she know him?"
"What is he doing here?"
"She's such a slut"
"Is that why Coach favors her?"
I looked back to Karl, as I felt the panic begin to rise in my chest. Karl was still staring at me cautiously like he was afraid I might break.
Oh god, this can't be happening.
I heard skates begin to cut through the ice as Ally began skating towards me quickly, before abruptly stopping in front of me and turning towards the crowd so her body shielded mine, "What are you all staring at?!" She yelled angrily, "Never seen a girl trip before?! As you were!" She finished the pure command in her voice unnerving.
Most people returned to practice at once, but I could still feel their stares burning into my back.
I glanced up at my friend, as she looked at me with worried stricken blue orbs, "I-I, um," I stumbled a bit backward, suddenly starting to feel the lack of oxygen in my lungs, "I just need a water break..." I felt my back hit the door to the rink's entrance, as I quickly scrambled to push the door open, practically sprinting away from the ice.
I felt the panic start to come on then. I hurriedly began to clunk my way towards the women's locker room in my skates. I felt my breathing stop as I heard their voices in my mind...
"She's such a slut"
"Is that Karl from Mr. Beast?"
"Is that why Coach favors her?"
I burst through the locker room doors, my frustrations overtaking me as I unleashed a fraction of my irritation on the worn wood. I let out a loud groan, practically screaming out my frustration as I ripped the skates off my feet, suddenly beginning to feel claustrophobic.
I threw my skates to the side, running my hands over my face in a stressed motion.
Seriously, could this get any worse?
Right on cue, Alison burst through the doors saying, "What the fuck was that about?"
"I don't knowww" I whined out, hiding my face in the palms of my hands as I began to feel hot tears prick the corners of my eyes.
I felt Alison sit beside me, gently laying a hand on my upper back in reassurance. A moment of silence passed between us, as she contemplated what to say, "Are you okay? I saw you nearly fall with Dean, that kind of fall would shake up anyone, Hails" She spoke softly, her inner therapist showing.
I groaned in frustration at the memory, "Yeah I'm good, I'm so totally fine!" I yelled into my hands.
"Okay.." She trailed off, a clear tone of confusion present in her voice, "So I'm guessing this isn't about Dean?" She made a calculated assumption.
I met her stare with a pathetic look of my own, "No, not really" I admitted honestly.
She nodded understandingly, "So, then what freaked you out so much about seeing Karl?" Alison understood me more than I understood myself sometimes, both a blessing and a curse.
I shook my head as I looked down at my now bare feet, "I don't know, I think it was more so everyone seeing me with Karl..."
When I signed onto Beast Co., Jimmy and I had agreed that I would be kept off-camera. Not only was I completely uninterested in the limelight, but I had too much at stake with my skating career.
Maybe you've heard the term 'All publicity is good publicity', well that does not apply in skating. If competition judges become aware of some sort of "celebrity status" of a contestant, they are ten times more likely to dock your performance solely to avoid being labeled as biased.
"Hey, hey, it's okay Hails," Ally comforted as she began rubbing my back once again, "Karl is the photograph for Duke's hockey team, he could have been here for a variety of reasons. It doesn't matter that the team saw you together, just tell them that you've gotten to know each other through being at the rink so often" She suggested simply.
I nodded my head at her logic, "Yeah, that could work..." However, my optimism was short-lived. I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration as I moaned out, "This would have never happened if I just kept hating Karl like I was supposed to!"
Alison chuckled beside me, "Yeah you're right, you would've just been missing teeth instead"
I rolled my eyes at her, as I reluctantly met her gaze, "I could get veneers, Jimmy's paying me well"
"You're so ridiculous" She scoffed at my dramatic flare.
I looked over at her, a small smile returning to my face, "1/10, how crazy did I look?" A dry humor laced my tone, as the words left my mouth.
She shot a sarcastic smile my way, "I think you should pick out a cute pair of grippy socks"
I scoffed at her, as a giggle bubbled from the back of my throat, "Alright bitch" I rolled my eyes softly, as we fell silent. "Thanks for taking my mind off of things," I said, disrupting our peace.
She smiled at me knowingly, "Of course, what are sisters for?"
I returned her smile wholeheartedly. Ally always seemed to know what was best for me, even if I didn't know myself.
"Lace-up, we gotta finish practice, you can cry later," She said, as she patted me on the back and stood striding towards the rink.
I scoffed at her words, laughing slightly at her attempt to lighten the mood, "I'll meet you on the ice, Als" I said, not wanting to keep her from practice any longer. She nodded in understanding, before pushing her way through the locker room door rejoining the team.
Everyone needs a friend like Alison.
. . .
Practice finished up less dramatically than it began. Luckily, Alison's death glare scared any wandering eyes away from me as I returned to the ice, successfully keeping the team's questions at bay.
"Alright, great practice today I saw a lot of improvement" Brian clapped his hands together scanning the huddle of adults, "I will see you all next Monday, have a safe weekend" He finished up, dismissing us.
Alison and I skated happily towards the edge of the rink, having long forgotten about the drama that occurred earlier in the day. However, the locker room was a painful reminder as our laughter soon fell short at the abrupt silence that consumed the air, as my female teammates turned to stare at me.
I glanced over at Ally nervously, as she put a comforting hand on my shoulder and shot me a small smile before abandoning my side and heading to her locker to gather her things.
I took a deep breath as I buried myself in my locker, trying to gather my belongings as quickly as possible. I should've known that my terrible day wasn't over yet as soon as I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I let out a sigh, already dreading the lie I was about to tell. I turned around slowly to be met with the unimpressed stare of Stacy Bellinger, one of the more confident girls on the team.
"Quick question," She began, with a slight edge to her tone, "When were you gonna spill the tea that you were dating the Karl Jacobs?"
I couldn't help myself, I barked out a laugh at her stupid assumption. She only raised an eyebrow in offense at my reaction, "Sorry, sorry" I said, still chuckling under my breath, "I am definitely not dating Karl" I stated clearly, a slight gag in the back of my throat at the thought.
"Oh really?" She asked, cocking one hip to the side, an unbelieving attitude shining through her poorly masked catty persona, "Then what was he doing at a closed practice?"
My eyebrows rose, as I felt my annoyance build at her dumb questions, "I don't know Stacy," I rolled my eyes at her, "He's the photographer for the hockey team, he's got about a thousand other reasoning to be here that does not include me" I deadpanned, starting to become frustrated with her suspicious statements.
Once again, she was unsatisfied with my answer, "Well he seemed to know you pretty well" She eyed me up and down, a menacing look of confusion on her features.
"Yeah well, we are friends so, I'd hope he knows me well enough to keep me from breaking my face," I said, letting a breath out with the lie.
"Hmph" She grunted, cocking her head to the side, "Alright, then I'm sure you won't mind introducing me then?" She said, a smirk lighting up her devious features.
My heart faltered. I really should have no problem introducing the two, but the absolute last thing I wanted to deal with at work was Stacy's shrill voice gushing about Karl. The thought made my stomach turn.
I sucked on my teeth, my annoyance beginning to become visible, "I'll make sure to ask" I gritted through my teeth, refusing to let her win. I was so done with this stupid conversation. With my last words hanging in the air, I abruptly pulled my skating bag from my locker and pushed passed the girl standing dumbfounded in front of me.
I felt Alison at my side as I pushed my way out the door. We took a few synchronized steps away from the room before Ally whispered, "You did great" While comfortingingly rubbing my arm. As I looked over at her, to give her a small appreciative smile, I saw a quick movement behind her.
Confusion must have been written across my face, as Alison turned her head to stare with me, as Karl approached us with his hands stuffed deeply into his pockets, "Hey uh Alison, mind if I steal Hailey from you for a minute?" He asked awkwardly acknowledging my best friend.
Alison and I exchanged a brief look, as I begged her with my eyes not to leave me. However, Ally had other plans, as an unmistakable look of excitement passed through her features. She quickly whipped her head back in Karl's direction before saying, "Yeah of course Karl," She turned back to me as she said, "I'll see you tonight with a bottle of tequila"
I groaned softly in amusement at her eager attitude, as she bid goodbye and began to walk towards the building's front doors.
I turned my attention back towards Karl who stood patiently waiting, "What's up?" I asked, as casually as I could.
He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously, as he said, "I don't know, you tell me..."
I sighed looking down at my worn Converse, not wanting to meet his stare, "Well, I don't have much to say" I persisted, mumbling the words as I began to rock softly.
I heard him sigh in discontent as I glanced back towards him, "Really?" He said with a disapproving look on his features.
I rolled my eyes at his dramatic behavior, before sighing and admitting defeat, "Thank you," I rolled my eyes, but eventually found the courage to meet his as I said my next words, "Thank you for catching me, I just had a rough practice..."
A sympathetic smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, as he slowly nodded his head, "You know I'll always catch you" He spoke softly, a sly smile slowly spreading across his face.
I rolled my eyes and raised my eyebrows at his corny words, "Oh yeah, Romeo? I'll remember that" I snorted, not taking his ridiculous flirting to heart.
Karl laughed along with me, until we both settled down and he softly said, "But seriously, are you okay? I know you just said you had a hard practice, but still..." He trailed off, his stare unwavering.
I sharply sucked in a breath, "Yeah, yeah," I exhaled, "I'm sorry if I was acting strange earlier... it's just-" I cut myself off, debating how honest I wanted to be with the boy. It was still questionable whether or not I could declare us friends...
"What?" He asked softly, encouraging me to finish my thought.
I lowered my voice before admitting to him, "My team doesn't know that I work for Jimmy... so it's extremely difficult to explain exactly how we know each other so well..." I trailed off, hoping he wouldn't ask for more details.
"Oh..." He said, a look of surprise overtaking his features, "Yeah, I can see how that would be complicated..." He said tightly, putting his hands in his back pockets.
I sucked on my bottom lip with my teeth, "Yeah..." I finished awkwardly.
A moment of silence passed between us, neither of us knowing what to say, before an unanswered question sprung to my mind, "Hey, what are you doing here anyway? The hockey team doesn't have the ice this morning, do they?"
He looked surprised that I had asked, "Umm, no they don't. I was just dropping off some filming equipment I had borrowed for the game this past weekend" He lamented.
"Oh.." I said in understanding. One detail still bothering me about his reasoning, as I glanced down at my watch and noticed it was 9:52 a.m., "But you stayed for two hours?" I asked skeptically.
At this, a look of nervousness dawned his features, as he suddenly became very interested in the floor, "Uh, yeah- I just uh-" He cleared his throat before meeting my eyes once again, "I just wanted to stay, to make sure you were okay, that's all..."
"Oh" I felt the air leave my lungs at his confession, "Y-you didn't have to do that..." I trailed off, unsure of what else I could say. I felt my cheeks begin to burn at his kind gesture, not being used to this side of Karl.
He nodded his head tightly, clearly embarrassed about his choices, "I know, I know, you just uh- you seemed shaken, so yeah..." He finished uncomfortably.
A small smile twitched on my lips as I marveled at the man whose presence I'd secretly missed for the last month. "Thanks," I said earnestly, "Like, really" I finished, trying my hardest with my limited vocabulary to convey how appreciative I was of his concern.
He smiled back at me, "Of course" We stood there for a moment, both staring at each other in a comfortable silence, only listening to the sound of my own hearts thundering. "Well um, I better get going," Karl started abruptly breaking our eye contact.
I seemed to remember where I was then, as I snapped myself back into focus, "Yeah, yeah, I have classes I need to get ready for" I coughed, trying to ease the tension.
"Well, I'll see you soon Hailey" Karl flashed me one last grin, before walking passed me and towards the doors of the building.
"Yeah... see you soon" I whispered softly, mostly to myself as I stared at his retreating figure.
When it comes to Karl, why does everything have to be so confusing?
I rolled my eyes at my complex thoughts, before stomping out of the lobby and back into the frigid North Carolina weather. I swiftly made my way towards my beautiful Toyota Highlander, parked not too far away, my racing mind keeping me plenty distracted from the bitter weather.
After harshly throwing my bag into the backseat of my car, I sat in the driver's seat and slipped my key into the ignition.
Nothing happened.
I felt my eyebrows crinkle in confusion, "What?" I whispered softly to myself.
I tried again, and again, but nothing happened.
"You have got to be kidding meee" I groaned, as I reached for my phone to pull up Alison's contact information, "Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up" I whispered, hearing the line ring out.
I slammed my head onto my steering wheel as I heard, "The Google subscriber you are trying to contact is unavailable right now, ple-"
"Gauhhh," I moaned, quickly hanging up on the voicemail.
As I brought my head up from its resting place against the steering wheel, I noticed a man taking long strides toward his car. I stared out my window at the man who was constantly occupying my mind and glanced at Alison's contact once more.
Closing my eyes softly, I realized this would be my quickest way to warmth, the freezing leather seats further motivating me to quickly find a solution.
"Ughh, fine" I groaned, arguing with myself as I stepped out of the car, "Hey Karl, wait up!" I called, as I watched him spin around on his heel at the sound of my voice.
. . .
the last chapter of the year :D
there's new character collages made for the new character's introduced in this chapter! Go to "Chapter 0: character introduction" to see them!
ik this hoe is long but there are important details in the chapter that will come up later!
hope u enjoyed ;) (12/31/2023)