S C O T T
"Connor?" I snapped, and instantly, all the noise faded. Everyones' heads whipped towards me and I flushed, "What the hell are you doing here, man?"
Connor grinned and the whole team laughed, making me furrow my eyebrows. Connor had never met the team, nor any of the team members. Yet, when I came out, he was surrounded by them and they were all grinning and laughing. (Apparently not laughing at him but with him).
"Connor's fucking hilarious," one guy I recognized as Jay said, grinning at me. I glared and his grin just widened as he slung an arm around Connor's shoulders, "he just started telling us about your baby stories."
"No," I hissed, glaring at Connor, "no way."
And there really was no way in hell Connor would ever tell my future team my baby stories.
I had been friends with Connor since as long as I could remember. And since we had been friends for so long, that meant he basically knew everything about me and my life. He had been there when I couldn't hold a hockey stick properly, when I had gone through my dorky phase. He even knew I slept with a teddy bear until I was eight. And no - there wasn't a chance he'd be telling those stories.
"Oh come on!" Connor said and all the guys cheered in agreement with him, making me glare even harder at my best friend. Connor just grinned at me, "Oh! I could always tell the story about Mr. Wiggles - "
"Mr. Wiggles?" Jay asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me, "As 'yer future teammates, we deserve to hear this story."
And my heart swelled at that, if I was to be honest. Jay had said they were my future teammates, and that made me extremely happy. I had grown fond of most of the guys on my team, and I loved hearing that. But - no matter how happy I was - no one was going to hear a story about my teddy bear.
I scratched the back of my neck, face flushed bright red, "I - uh. I - we have to go. I'm pretty sure you forgot to feed the cat, Con."
Connor smirked, "We don't have a cat."
I stomped down the steps and pushed my way through the group. I put an arm around Connor's shoulders and led him away, "Then let's go buy one," he opened his mouth to protest but I jerked him to the side, "all right, nice chat. See you guys in a bit."
"I expect to hear the story about Mr. Wiggles next practice!" Jay shouted, and my face flushed even darker red, if possible."
I ducked my head and led Connor quickly through the hallways until we got into the parking lot. I pushed him forward and slid into the drivers seat, a pout on my lips. I wasn't really mad at Connor - he was my best friend and I didn't usually get really pissed off at him. But I was a bit annoyed.
"My car," Connor groaned, grabbing the door to keep me from shutting it, "you asked me to come pick you up."
"That was before you told them about the teddy bear. Now, I'm driving," I said, taking the keys from him.
Connor got in the passenger side and smirked at me, making me shoot a glare back at him. I didn't mind the teammates hearing whatever he said - after a few rough practices, I knew they'd eventually shut up. I just thanked God Elle wasn't at this practice because I couldn't imagine what she would say if she heard what Connor had said.
I backed out of his parking space and Con leaned back in my seat, propping my feet up on the dashboard. Connor was still smirking and all I wanted was to do something to make him stop. I hated it when he had something over me - like the chance to tell my teammates about the stuffed teddy bear that sat on the foot of my bed.
"You know," I said, lips twitching up into a smirk as he slowly started driving across the lot, "I do have that video of you sleeping and mumbling Kelly's name on my phone still."
Connor's eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. Connor talked in his sleep (and drooled, but that was aside the point) and he usually didn't remember anything he said whilst sleeping. But whenever he started mumbling something that caught my interest, I always made sure to videotape it for leverage.
He shook his head and scoffed, "No way. That never even happened."
"It didn't?" I smirked and Connor shook his head again. My foot slowly easing off the break and back onto the gas, "I can always send it to Kelly and she can send it to you, if you'd like. That way you'd know I'm not lying."
"You're definitely bluffing."
I grinned and stopped the car. I unlocked my phone, going to the video that I had kept. I smirked and played it. At first, it was silence. And then you heard Connor's tired voice mumble out Kelly's name once, and then a second time. I laughed and hit the gas, but Connor slapped my back. I shouted and slammed against the breaks, forearms hitting the dashboard. I pulled the keys from the ignition and glared at Con.
He turned and glared at me, "Delete it right now."
"Sure," I agreed, pulling back and rubbing my forearms that slammed into the dash, "as soon as you figure out a way to delete the memory from all the guys' heads about Mr. Wiggles."
"Fine," Connor said. He took off his seat-belt and turned to me, lips twisted up into a mischevious smile. Con cracked his fingers dramatically and nodded, "if you won't give it to me, I'll have to take it myself."
"What - "
Connor lunged across the seats, making me yelp. The upper half of his body landed on my legs and I shouted, pulling off my seat-belt and attempting to pull myself up and away. Connor glared and pushed himself up, knees somehow making their way onto the edge of my seat. I pulled my arm and phone back when Connor reached for it.
"Get off!" I shouted, squirming in my seat as I tried to push Connor away.
"Give up your phone!" he shot back, elbowing me in the chin.
I was a lot stronger than Connor - years of playing hockey had built up muscle for me. But when he had half his body laying on top of mine, and his elbow pinning my one arm against the seat, it was hard to do anything.
I glared and clicked the button on the side of my seat, attempting to push it backwards. Instead, the seat slammed forward and I yelped as Connor's back slammed into the steering wheel. His shoulder honked the horn and his head dug into my neck, making me wheez out. Connor's legs were tangled around mine, and I realized how awful the position looked a minute too late.
Someone knocked on the window and Connor turned his head, cheek and ear poking into my chest. I pushed his head away as best I could and turned, my neck cracking at the awkward angle I was forced into. I blinked and looked over at the blonde girl staring through the windows, lips quirked up into an amused smile.
I yelped again when I realized it was Elle, and attempting to sit up straighter in my seat. It didn't work. Connor's head was pushed up with me and his shoulder pressed into the horn, making it bleep out. I glared and tried to grab his shoulder, but he shouted and his back ended up just pushing more into the wheel.
I managed to stick my hand between the seat and push it back. I leaned forward and Connor fell into my lap, his cheeks flushed red. I rolled my eyes and grabbed him by his shoulders, forcing him back into his seat. I ran a hand through my hair and rolled down the window, trying to even my breathing.
"You guys okay?" Elle smirked and leaned against the edge of the window.
"Totally," I assured, shooting a sideways glare at Connor. I turned back and grinned at Elle, "we're, um, totally fine. Connor's just a dipshit. But, how are you? Did your dad find out?"
"You guys looked like you were in a really comfy position," Elle's smirk widened and I chocked, leaning forward and coughing. She laughed and I leaned back, eyes watery, and glared at her, "but I'm fine. I called my dad and he practically ordered that I come down here right this second before he had a heart-attack."
I grinned, "Good luck with that."
"If I don't make it out alive, have fun with your boyfriend, eh?"
Before I could snap, Elle winked and spun away, making her way towards the entrance of the rink. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes. All I wanted was to go home and sleep.
"You have a boyfriend?" Connor asked, and I opened one eye. He furrowed his eyebrows and then sighed, eyes widening in realization, "Sometimes, your girlfriend really annoys me."
"I'm single!" I groaned, leaning forward and pressing my head against the steering wheel.
The second I got home, I dropped off my hockey bag, changed into the baggiest sweatpants I owned, and made my way over to Tim Hortin's. Connor and I couldn't cook, and neither of us felt like ordering, so I opted to go over to Tim's and buy us food. (Even though I had alread been here for fifteen minutes, sitting on a chair and watching re-runs of hockey games).
I already ordered two coffes and was only halfway through one of the Leafs' games from last year. Despite having already seen it - and watched the way they got absolutely crushed - every time they missed a goal, I found myself groaning and dropping my head against the table in annoyance.
The team I was possibly going to get scouted for had me shaking my head and cursing out every wrong play the met. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one - there was a group of people huddled by the tv, shouting insults and making me snicker.
"Can I get another coffee?" I asked the girl behind the counter, knowing that the second I laid down, I would pass out, no matter how many coffees I had.
After drinking half the coffee, the dinner opened and I looked up, half-expecting Connor to walk through. I told him I would only be fifteen minutes, but I was nearing a hour of being gone. But when I saw Elle walk through, blonde hair down and wavy, a baggy sweater on, my eyes widened slightly. I really hadn't expected her dad to let her out.
When Elle saw me, she grinned and made her way over to my table. I smiled back and pushed the two empty coffee cups aside to make room for her. Elle thanked me and I nodded, pulling my attention away from the game.
"I didn't peg you as a coffee drinker," Elle smiled, tapping the top of one of the empty cups, "you seem like the kind of guy who still drinks Capri Suns."
I rolled my eyes, "So I seem seven?"
"Eight, tops."
I laughed and leaned back in my seat, eyes practically closing on me. Practice had been especially rough today, and I couldn't wait to go home and sleep. We didn't have practice tomorrow, and Connor would be at work. Which meant I could spend the whole day sleeping and watching re-runs of games.
"God this game sucks," Elle muttered, pulling her attention back from the tv. She pursed her lips and shook her head, "my dad took me to that game and so many people threw stuff on the ice. It was pretty funny, actually."
I leaned forward and smirked, "So does that mean you're going to be coming to all of my games?"
"Who said you're even gonna make the team?" this time, Elle smirked and I frowned, shaking my head at her. She grinned at me now, "Never mind. You have the best helper in the world, so there's not a chance you aren't gonna make it."
"Good thing you're humble, innit?"
Elle laughed and stood up, surprising me because she hadn't ordered a single thing. Before I could ask her about it, she cut me off.
"Practice tomorrow, yeah? We haven't had one in a while so it's definitely needed," I groaned loudly, my idea of spending the day sleeping being torn away, "me at the park again. One o'clock if that's good for you."
I knew it didn't really matter whether I said if it was good for me or not. Elle was a strict coach, and she refused to have practice too late or too early. She wanted her practices to be at the perfect time, so even if I complained, she wouldn't change it. She even said I wouldn't know how to pick the perfect time.
"I kind of planned on sleeping - "
"Tomorrow we start off with three laps then," Elle stated, and I sighed, banging my head against the table, "see you tomorrow!"
Another bang.