Chapter Text
The game was tied 2-2 in the third period. Thirty seconds were all that remained. It seemed short, but Alex knew all too well that a lot could happen in thirty seconds. The Los Feliz Phantoms could easily score a goal, especially with both Luke and Julie on the ice. Not only were they the best players on the team, but they also had a strange connection in which they always seemed to know what the other person was going to do. However, The Los Feliz Phantoms didn’t have the puck, the opposing team did.
Twenty seconds. Number 22 on the opposing team tried to pass the puck to Number 43. However, Bobby intercepted it and was now skating down the ice to the goal. About halfway to the net, Bobby passed it off to Luke. It was a smart move, and Luke easily received it. He maneuvered his way down the ice and into the opposing team’s zone. He lined up the puck with the net, and Julie positioned herself right in front of it.
Ten seconds. The shot was all lined up, all Luke had to do now was shoot. Alex listened as the crowd counted down the remaining seconds. His heart raced as he waited on what was going to happen next. Finally, Luke took the shot and missed. Luckily, Julie was right there and found an opening in the net, shooting the puck in with two seconds to spare. Of course, those two seconds couldn’t do much, and cheers were already sounding from the crowd.
Two seconds. The crowd was cheering and The Phantoms were already standing up from the bench, watching as the face off was set up and waiting for the puck to drop. When it finally did, Luke swiped it and the buzzer went off, lighting up with a red light, signaling the end of the game. The Phantoms that were on the bench all rushed out onto the ice, hugging and screaming.
“Hell yeah, we won!” Luke exclaimed, stating the obvious. “We’re going to the playoffs!”
Alex smiled. Los Feliz hadn’t had a sports team go to the playoffs in years. He hoped that this would bring more attention to the hockey team, and, possibly, more funding.
Once the opposing team was off the ice and The Phantoms had decided that their on-ice celebration was over, they went to the locker rooms.
“That was one hell of a game, huh?” Bobby asked Alex when he got in the locker room.
“Yeah, best one yet,” Alex responded.
“Just wait until the next one,” Luke said. “We’ll win, easily.”
“Do we have any idea what team we’re going up against?” Alex asked no one in particular.
“I don’t think it’s been announced yet,” Bobby admitted.
“Yeah,” Reggie said. “But don’t worry, whoever it is, we’ll do great!”
“Better than great,” Luke told them. “We’ll beat them in four games, I’m calling it now.”
“You said that last time,” Alex reminded him. “It took us six.”
“Whatever,” Luke said, rolling his eyes and smiling.
“I say we celebrate,” Reggie said. “What do you guys wanna do?”
“We could go back to my house,” Bobby suggested. “My dad’s out of town.”
“What about Carrie?” Alex asked.
“She won’t mind,” Bobby insisted. “She’ll probably invite the girls on the team anyway.”
Luke nodded. “Sweet!” He turned to the rest of the locker room. “Party at Bobby’s!”
The whole locker room cheered, and within minutes, everyone had cleared out of the locker room. Alex hoped they’d all shower before they went to Bobby’s, otherwise, the house would smell like sweat for weeks.
“Let’s hope they shower,” Bobby said, saying what Alex was thinking and wrinkling his nose in disgust.
Alex smiled and slung his pink hockey bag over his shoulder. Like always, he was surprised at how heavy he was even though he had been playing hockey for years and should know how heavy his equipment was by now.
“I’m gonna go home and shower,” Alex said. “I’ll see you guys soon.”
“See you soon, Lex,” Bobby said as Alex walked out of the locker room. Alex was sure Luke and Reggie waved goodbye, but he didn’t look behind him to check.
-
Alex arrived at Bobby’s around ten. A few people had already shown up including some of the girls on the team. Alex knew this meant that Carrie had invited them. Of course, he didn’t mind, why would he? They were all on the same team, and, to Alex, this meant they were all family. It would have been weird if even one person didn’t show up.
“Hey, Alex,” Carrie greeted Alex when he walked in the door. More greetings soon followed, and Alex smiled and waved.
“Where’s Bobby?” Alex asked.
“He went outside with Reggie just before you got here,” Carrie responded.
Alex nodded. “Was Luke with them?”
Carrie shook her head. “No, he’s been by Julie the whole time.”
Alex smiled. He knew about Luke’s massive crush on Julie. He also knew Luke was too scared to ever tell her.
“If only he’d tell her,” Carrie added, saying what Alex was thinking. “She likes him back, you know.”
Alex didn’t know. “Oh?” he said.
Carrie smiled. “What about you? Any boys you have your eye on?”
Alex shook his head. “No. Not on the team anyway.”
“Some not on the team?” Carrie asked, her eyebrows raised.
Alex laughed. “No, no. I guess that makes me lame, huh?”
“Of course not!” Carrie assured Alex.
“What about you?” Alex asked. “Any girls you like?”
“One,” Carrie sighed and looked over Alex's shoulder. Alex followed her gaze and turned to see who she was looking at.
“Flynn?” Alex asked.
Carrie nodded, then added. “Don’t you dare tell anyone.”
“I won’t,” Alex promised.
“Good,” Carrie told him, giving him a threatening look that said she wouldn’t tolerate her secret being spilled. Not that she needed to, Alex would never do something like that. Besides, she hadn’t told anyone about that one time he had a crush on Luke. He cringed thinking about it now, but he couldn’t deny that Carrie had helped him through it.
Alex heard the door squeak and looked to see who had come inside. He expected it to be someone else from the team that hadn’t arrived yet, but, when the door opened, Bobby and Reggie stepped inside.
“Oh, hey Alex,” Reggie called to him.
“Hey, Reg,” Alex responded.
“Where have you been?” Carrie asked her brother.
“Outside,” Bobby said like it was obvious.
“Well duh,” Carrie said. “I mean where outside.”
“Just outside,” Bobby said.
“Sure,” Carrie said, then turned to Alex. “I’m gonna go talk to Flynn, make sure these two dumbasses don’t do anything stupid.”
Alex laughed and nodded, then turned to Bobby and Reggie. “So what happened?”
Reggie and Bobby looked at each other.
“Nothing,” Bobby said. “We just talked.”
Alex nodded. He knew about their crushes on each other. They had both come to Alex for advice when they realized it. However, neither one had admitted their feelings to the other.
“Okay,” Alex said. He was sure they were just talking, but he also had a feeling half of that talking was awkward flirting.
“Luke’s still with Julie, huh?” Bobby asked.
Alex nodded. “Yeah, he’s been with her since I got here.”
Bobby smiled. “Has he said anything to her yet?”
“Barely,” Alex admitted. “I mean Julie’s talked to him a lot, but he just keeps staring.”
Bobby smiled. “I’m gonna go over there.”
Reggie smiled as well. “I’ll come with you.”
Alex decided that he didn’t want to be alone and followed them over to Luke and Julie. They were talking with Flynn and Carrie, however, they were all doing more staring than talking.
“Hey guys,” Reggie said, walking over to them. “‘Sup?”
“Just talking,” Julie answered. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing,” Bobby responded. “Just wanted to see what was going on over here.”
Alex smiled. He knew it was a lie, but he wasn’t going to say anything about it.
“What were you guys talking about?” Alex asked.
“Just the game next Saturday,” Luke admitted.
“Does anyone know who we’re playing yet?” Flynn asked the group.
Everyone shook their heads, including Julie, Bobby, and Carrie, who would be some of the first to know considering Julie was the captain and Carrie and Bobby’s dad coached the team.
“Dad hasn’t said anything, so I doubt it,” Bobby told the group.
“We’ll find out soon,” Julie reassured everyone.
As if on cue, Carrie and Bobby’s phones both went off, and they pulled them out to look at the notification.
“Oh shit,” Bobby said, looking up at the group and making eye contact with Carrie.
“What is it?” Alex asked.
“Everyone listen up!” Carrie shouted to the entire team. Alex had no idea where all of them were, or if everyone was even here, but that didn’t seem to matter to Carrie, and, within seconds, the house was silent.
“Thank you,” Carrie continued. “The game between Hollywood and Burbank ended, and there’s a winner.”
“Who is it?” Alex heard a voice say from behind him. He recognized it as Kayla’s.
“Hollywood won,” Carrie announced. “We’re playing the Magicians in the playoffs!”
Gasps came from all around the room. Everyone knew about the Magicians. They were practically unbeatable and played dirty. No matter who the Magicians played, someone ended up getting hurt. It wasn’t just a one-time thing or an accident either. There had been multiple reports of their coach telling the players to do whatever it took to win, including hurting the opposing team.
“We’ll be fine, right?” Reggie asked nervously. “We’ll still win, right?”
“Of course we will,” Luke said. “We’ll crush them so fast they won’t know what hit ‘em!”