Taylor's POV
"Taylor!" I look over, and see Braden waving me over. "Come sit here."
I walk over to their table, Braden pushing a guy over. "I saved you a seat." He says, and the other guy, Jake, looks annoyed.
I look over at everyone else, I recognized them from yesterday. Jonathan was sitting a few seats across from me, talking to the Maria girl. I also noticed Kate talking to some guys.
"Did you watch the Chicago game last night?" Braden asks me. I look up, and see that Jonathan's eyes are on me.
"No, I had lots of homework." I say. I was worried that he would start asking me about hockey, I didn't really know that much.
"Maybe we could go to a game sometime!" He suggested, and I put on a fake smile.
"Sounds like fun." I say.
"So, other than hockey, what else do you like to do, Mystery Girl?" he asks.
"Um... I like school." I say honestly, and he laughs.
"Are you smart?" he asks, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"I guess."
"Maybe you could help me sometime. I'm not too good in school." he says.
"Oh, yeah, I could help." I nod.
"You can come to my house. We can study, and other stuff..." he trails off, and I smile.
"Okay..." I say, and he smiles too.
"So what sports do you do, other than play hockey?" Braden asks.
"I played tennis, and I run in track and field." I say, taking a sip of my water.
"Are you any fast?" he asks, eyebrows raised.
"Not bad." I chuckle.
"You should race me one time. I'm pretty fast." He says.
"Okay, you're on." I smile.
"Taylor?" I hear someone call my name, so I turn around. Ms. Houler, the librarian, is standing behind me, a binder in her hand.
"Hi Ms. Houler." I say, confused as to why she'd be here.
"I need your help in the library. Is that alright?" she asks.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be right there." I say. I say bye to Braden, telling him I'd see him at practice.
——
Jonathan's POV
I walk into the changeroom, hearing everyone already talking.
"Bro, you can't, I already have dibs on her." I turn around and see that statement came from Braden.
"That's not fair." Monroe argues back.
"I already asked her out, nice try." they were talking about Taylor. "Go for the Russian Chick." Braden says. I try to ignore him, opening up my locker.
"She's Jon's. Nice try." I turn around, and notice everyone's looking at me now. I just ignore it, taking a seat on the bench to change.
"Jon's, really?" I look up and find Monroe's talking to me. "Weren't you the one who called the girls off limits?" he asks.
"Just drop it." I mutter. I was in a bad mood.
As I'm changing, Tom comes to sit beside me. "Maria? Really?" he asks me.
"All I did was talk to her." I say in my defence.
Tom shrugs. "Braden and Taylor, that's harsh." he says.
"It's not harsh. I don't even care." I say, pulling up my socks.
"If you say so." he says.
"I do." I say, dropping it. When I'm finished, I put on my skates, then walk out. I step onto the ice, skating around a bit to get loose. I notice Coach and Taylor standing at centre ice.
Taylor smiles at me once I approach her. "I need your help with some English questions." I tell her.
"What book?" she asks.
"King Lear. Have you read it?"
She nods. Good. "Can you stay and help me after?" I ask.
She looks around. "Depends. Are you gonna stay and help me, or are you just gonna leave again?" she asks, referring to after Monday's practice.
"I won't leave." I assure her. She nods, and I skate away, not before being called back by her.
"Can you make sure to... not tell anyone that I can't play?" she asks, lowering her voice.
"Why?" I say.
"I don't know. I'm embarrassed." she shrugs, looking down. On Saturday the guys had asked me why Taylor wasn't practicing with us, and I just made up an excuse, so that was good.
"You don't think I'm embarrassed too?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
"Wow. Thanks." she says dryly, and I skate off.
"Let's go, hustle everyone." I call to the guys skating on the ice. "Partner up. We're gonna do some one-on-ones." I say.
As I'm about to skate over to Tom, I'm interrupted. "Do you want to be my partner?" Maria asks me. Her accent is so mesmerizing.
"Yeah, sure." I say. She was a good player, what was the harm?
Both of us take our sticks and grab a puck. We work on stick handling and challenge each other. "So you are the captain?" she asks me.
I nod. "That's me."
"So you're really good?" she asks. I chuckle.
"I'd hope so." I shrug.
"You are. I've seen you play." she smiles. I hope I'm not blushing.
"So, uh, why are you here? In the U.S?" I ask her. She had confirmed my thoughts today at lunch that she was born and raised in Russia.
"It's for a one year exchange program. I'm thinking of staying longer, maybe." she says. Her English was really good, for an exchange student.
"Yeah, you definitely should." I say, passing her the puck.
"Maybe. They have good hockey here." she says.
"Well, you're really good. Better than most people on the team." I tell her.
"I'm trying to be the best." she laughs. "Maybe not as good as you, though." I was trying my hardest to keep my feelings intact, but Maria made it hard. Really hard.
"I definitely think you can do it. You're unique. I've never seen anyone play like you before." I tell her.
"Thanks." she says, a smile taking over her face.
"Sharks!" Coach Jamie yells. "Line up. We're practicing two-on-ones." he says.
Noah takes his place in net, and all of us go to the centre and form two lines. I line up with Maria so we could be on the same line.
When my turn comes, we're up against Gunner. He's a big guy, and a vet, but he's slow. I start with the puck, carrying it up the side. Gunner follows me. I pause, playing with the puck, shooting it hard through his legs to Maria. She shoots it five hole on a one timer.
"Nice," I chuckle, going over to high five her.
When our next turn comes around, Maria starts with the puck. She plays with it a bit, passing it to me. I get down, shooting it at the net. It goes in, bar down. I hear the sound of the puck hitting the cross bar, satisfied that my tricky shot went in.
For my next turn, something got switched around, so I wasn't with Maria, this time I was with Braden. I started with the puck, passing it to him. I passed it with a bit of a bounce, so when it reached Braden, it went over his stick. He sighs as he goes to retrieve it, and Coach Jamie starts yelling at him. Success.
The last thing we do is practice shoot outs. "In the semi-finals last year, we won because of shoot-outs. We don't want to have to go into shoot-outs again, but if it's necessary, we want to win." Coach Jamie tells everyone.
We all line up at centre, this time James takes his place in the net. I assumed this would be a lot easier with a freshman goalie in net. I'm up to shoot first. I take the puck, carrying it up the side. At the last minute, I cut to the centre, launching the puck over the goalie's pad.
Everyone claps as I skate back. "Impressive." Maria smirks.
She's up next. She carries the puck up the left side, skating right up to the goalie. He's about to block her shot, but she quickly flicks it up, over his pad and into the net.
"Nice shot." I tell her as she joins me at the back of the line.
"Thank you." she grins.
I watch as the next few kids shoot, the goalie stopping just three. Some of the new kids even miss the net. Both me and Maria sigh as we watch them. It's good to know I have someone else with me who takes hockey as seriously as I do.
When my turn comes again, I turn to Maria. "What shot should I go for?" I ask.
"Five hole." she says. I nod, taking the puck. I skate down the right, staying close to centre. I pause in front of the net, and James comes up, but I sneak it between his legs at the last minute.
After I get back in line, I watch Maria take her shot. She shoots top shelf, skating back with a smile.
"Okay, we're done for today." Coach Jamie calls shortly after. Everyone turns to look at him. "We practice Friday after school, then we're done for the week. Good work everyone." he says, and everyone skates away.
I follow behind the pack, holding open the door for Maria behind me. "I'll see you tomorrow." she says to me with a smile, pulling me in for a hug. I wasn't expecting that.
"Yeah, see you." I say, watching her walk off to the change room. I skate back to centre ice, where Coach Jamie and Taylor were waiting.
Coach Jamie looks up from his clipboard notes when he hears me. "Maria's good, isn't she?" he asks, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah." I nod. "First line material."
Coach sighs. "You know I can't do that, Jonathan. If I put any new player in front of any of our old guys, they'll freak."
"C'mon, you know she deserves it." I argue.
"Especially because she's a girl..." he starts.
"So what? In hockey, you work hard, and you get rewarded. Just imagine me, Tom, and Maria on the first line." I say, and Coach nods, thinking.
"I don't know, Jon. I'll think about it." he says. "The ice is all yours." he says, leaving me and Taylor alone on the ice. We start by skating a few laps around the rink.
"It's nice to see you happy." she says. I don't answer.
After a bit, I stop, taking Taylor into the centre. "You're getting good at skating." I say.
"Thanks."
"Let's practice skating backwards." I say. She looks at me confusedly, but I demonstrate.
"Wow." she says, once I skate back to her.
"Okay," I say, taking a good look at her. "Feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your back straight. Bend your knees." After I say each instruction, she does so.
"Knees. Bend them." I order again.
"I am!" she protests.
I take both of her hips, pushing them back. "Butt out." I say, and she does. "Bend your knees."
I let go of her, taking in her stance. I place my hands on her shoulders. "Woah, you're too tense. Try relaxing." I say.
"I can't." she admits with a chuckle.
"Just try it. Deep breath." I instruct, and she does so. Her shoulders feel better, so I let her go, staying in front of her.
"Now you're gonna point your toes inwards, then when your feet have spread out enough, angle your heels inwards." I say, and she nods. "Push off of me to start." she does so, giving me a light push as she starts to move back. I watch her looking at her feet, following what I said.
"Look up at me." I say. She does so, just as she hits the boards. "Turn around and try it again. You can push off the boards for support." I tell her, and she does.
"Quick learner." I chuckle as she makes her way back to me. "Skating backwards gets easier with practice." I say, and she nods.
"Anything else?" she asks.
"Yeah." I think... looking at her. "Do you have your phone with you?" I ask.
She nods, taking it out. I snatch it from her, skating to the other side. "Jonathan!" she shouts.
I laugh. "Come get it!" I say. She follows me over to the other side, but right when she's in front of me, I cut behind her, skating away.
"Jonathan, just give me my phone," she whines.
"I told you, you're gonna have to get it." I say.
She groans, following me again, but I cut away, racing down the middle. I place her phone at centre ice, stopping at one end of the rink. She was at the other. She starts skating for it, but once she's halfway there, I break out into a sprint, beating her there.
I laugh as I see the shocked look on her face. "Oh, c'mon." she groans.
"Fine." I say, handing it back to her.
"I'm never giving you anything again." she says, making me laugh.
I skate back to the bench, taking off my skates, watching as Taylor joins me.
"I'm gonna go change." I say, and she nods. "Meet me on the stands?"
I head into the change room, ridding of all my equipment and stuffing it into my bag. I was the only one in here, obviously, for Taylor and I had been skating for about 45 minutes.
When I'm finished, I bring my backpack out and see Taylor sitting up in the stands. She was texting someone, laughing.
"Let's be quick, okay?" I ask her, taking out my book and my binder.
"These are the questions?" she takes out the sheet of paper on top.
"Yep."
"Okay, these are pretty easy." she notes.
"Don't make me feel stupid." I say.
"I won't," she assures, chuckling.
After just fifteen minutes, she's helped me through half of my homework. I was thankful, but I also felt pretty dumb.
"Can't believe you're not being an asshole today." she says.
"Yeah, the whole asshole thing wasn't working out. I had to take a different approach." I say sarcastically, and she chuckles.
"Here, you have to explain Edmund's soliloquy." she says, pointing to the next question.
"I don't know." I shrug.
"C'mon, just think." she says. "Read the words."
"This stuff isn't even English," I say.
She laughs again. "Okay... why do you think he keeps saying 'legitimate'?" she asks.
"I don't know."
"Just read it again, and tell me what you can understand." she says, and I do.
"Something about the brother?" I guess.
"Okay... put that together with the legitimate part." she says.
I nod, reading it again. "Oh, I think I get it. He's comparing the real brother's status in reference to his own?" I say.
"Yes! Good." Taylor says, giving me better words to describe it. After just ten more minutes, we're done.
"Thanks for helping me." I mutter.
"You're welcome!" she emphasizes her words then chuckles, and I guess she was mocking me.
"Do you have a ride home?" I ask.
"Yeah." she nods. Her phone beeps, and my eyes follow the noise, and I can see that Braden was texting her.
"Okay. See you later." I tell her, leaving the rink with my bag.
——
mixed feelings :o how do you guys feel about jonathan+taylor? taylor+braden? jonathan+maria?
so many ships ahhh