Chapter Text
There are echoes of people cheering, clapping, and whistling in the stadium; the anticipation for the moment both teams will finally come out on the rink is palpable. The stands are practically vibrating under the bustling energy of the crowd; the loud thumping of the corny hyping anthems isn't enough to drown out their excitement.
Chills of anticipation go through John’s spine as he lets himself bask into the glory of it.
This is the last playoff game of the season to qualify for the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament. They're gathered in the locker room, and Coach is giving out some last advice with the usual passive-aggressive motivational speech to get the team in the right mindset; there's no room for losing this one.
Representatives from their main sponsors and advertisers will be in attendance today. They have been keeping a close eye on the team captain for some time now; everyone is aware of it—John himself acknowledges it as well.
John takes a deep, calming breath as his best friend Lemar mouths some encouraging words at him, battling the poor acoustics of the room—he's sitting on the bench across from John, already geared up to go. They smirk at each other for good measure as one of the officials enters the locker room, telling them it's go time.
They finally step—skate out on the rink and he deeply breathes in the scent of fresh ice.
The ice feels appreciatively crisp and smooth under the blades of John's skates as he inspects it—he quickly hollers for his team to gather around him in a circle before the game starts; it's their own good luck pregame ritual. They're holding each other's shoulders tightly, carelessly butting heads with their helmets on in a cacophony of bonks .
Muffled behind them, the crowd's exhilaration is flagrant by the sound of them rhythmically pounding against the glass surrounding the rink—John can even recognize his girlfriend Olivia's straining voice among the enthusiastic cheers.
The other team is eyeing them anxiously; they all know the UOF Hockey team has a generational reputation to keep—they can't compete against that.
The referee tells them to get back in position for the debuting faceoff, and then the buzzer loudy signals the start of play.
“Didn't know you liked hockey, dude.” Two UOF students sit at the very top of the stands while the match is occurring—they are maintaining a somewhat low profile away from the lively crowd.
“Nothing gets me going like grown men wearing skates and sweating,” Bob deadpans at the young woman. He hands over a filled packet without looking down, his hand carefully concealed by the wooden benches.
Ava hastily grabs it and exchanges some rolled up bills in return. “Do people ever tell you you're a weirdo, Bob?”
He casually grins at her, contrasting with the mild reproach she just gave him. “Only when I'm high,” he responds with a mellow tone.
Someone scores back down on the rink, catching Bobs's attention.
“You're always high though,” she remarks, unimpressed.
“Yeah Ava, exactlyyy…” Bob slowly nods as he watches the UOF team celebrating their goal.
“There's a party tonight at that Stark kid's place, it's pre-planned in case our team wins this. Just a pretext, really,” Ava shares.
Bob redirects his focus back to the other, “can't miss this.”