Chapter Text
His lids drooped slightly as he stared down at his phone, scrolling through different social media. Eyes flickering between short clips of the Ottawa versus Boston game, kicking his feet up onto the metal bar of the stool he sat on. Muttering to himself as player 81 scored a hat trick during the first period, a wink to the camera, a small kiss to his gloved hand.
Show off. He brought the bottle up to his lips, taking a small sip, groaning as the bitter taste hit his tongue before an arm swung over his shoulder, jostling him. The beer sloshed over the bar top as the person laughed, swaying the two of them. He quickly grabbed napkins to clean up the mess.
“Shhaaaaaaaaane.” Rose whined before planting a kiss on his cheek. She was tipsy to say the least. Giggling, she laid her head down on his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of his phone but it instantly went black. “What? I can’t see what you’re saying to ‘Lily?’ Come on Shaney! You’re going to tell me eventually! I already know how big h--”
“Rose, you’re drunk.” He laughed, stopping her. He knew nobody could hear them in the club, he didn’t need anybody in his business. Let alone figure out that he and Ilya were together. That Ilya’s was his boyfriend. He smiled to himself at the thought. It had been only a few months into the new season, Ilya being a centaur and it was amazing. His parents and boyfriend got along so well that he was now the favorite son, and now they can see each other more than ever. “And I was watching highlight reels anyways.”
“Ugh! It’s always hockey with you.” She grabbed his cheeks to force him to look at her. “When are you ever just going let loose and tell me everything?”
“When it’s safe for Lily to come out Rose. I told you that.” She rolled her eyes.
“Hey, where did Miles go?” He took another swig of what was left of his beer. “Probably out on the dance floor, which is where you said you’d meet him. Remember?” Her tongue darted out at him as she pushed into him. “Hey, don’t get mad at me that you forget things when you drink.” Rose leaned over the bar, flagging over the bartender.
“Psh, nonsense. Just means that we need shots.” The bartender nodded, placing two clear shots in front of Shane, his brows furrowing. He shook his head. “Nu-uh Shane. You didn’t drive. Your Lily is also out of town, right? You’re fine. Let loose. We’re sharing an uber anyways. You can even crash at my house if you rather not go back to your hotel.” He looked back down at his phone. There weren’t any new notifications from Ilya. He knew that he might not have any notifications for a few hours. Ilya by now would either be asleep or still out clubbing. Even then, there might not be any because he knew his boyfriend. He knew Ilya would spend time with his old teammates, his old friends. Because he told him too. “Miles isn’t staying at my place tonight” Rose suddenly said. “He’s been staying at his friend’s place so it’ll just be a…girls’ night?”
Shane laughed. Her eyes lighting up with excitement. “So, yes?” He replied to her by picking up the shot, waiting for her to lift hers, a smile on his face. She grinned, matching his movements as they both threw back the shots, Shane wincing as the alcohol burned his throat.
“Fuck, what was that?” He groaned, trying to keep the liquor from coming back up.
“I don’t know. I just told the bartender to give us something strong. Come on, let’s go dance!” Her hands wrapped around his wrist, pulling him from the stool towards the dance floor. He quickly unlocked his phone and shot off a quick text.
--
The energy after the game was electric. Ilya’s head leaned back against the cushion, smiling as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He’s been ignoring Shane’s messages the past hour. Marleau made a bet that he couldn’t make it until 2AM without looking at his phone, but he was itching to see what Montreal Girl was messaging him.
“Roz, is that your phone still?” Cliff asked, his brow lifted as Ilya’s phone buzzed again on the table.
“Da. Heis out with friends tonight. Might have been drinking.” Ilya chuckled, knowing that it is false. He knows his Shane, that he would not break his performance diet to go drinking with Rose. “Yo. Okay, look at your phone then! Maybe she’s drunk texting you!” Wyatt sat down beside Ilya, smiling. “I hear about this Montreal girl and how she makes you all giddy at your phone.”
“Cap used to blush when he looked at his phone constantly here in Boston.” Cliff answered smugly.
“That is lie. I told you. Russians do not blush.” Ilya huffed, snatching his phone up. “And I have told you guys before. I don’t have a Montreal girl. I’ve tried telling you all this before. It’s Montreal boy.” A round of laughter. It’s been a running joke, even back in Boston that Ilya would say that Jane was in fact a man, but no one ever wanted to believe that the playboy was dating a man. It was their loss for not believing him. Now, let me check to make sure there are no nudes. You are not allowed to see.” Wyatt laughed, sitting back as Ilya unlocked his phone, instantly grinning at the messages that flooded his phone. Shane had indeed been drinking and was probably left unsupervised with his phone.
So Rose was the only person that was able to get the Shane Hollander to drink during the season.
“Sooooo? Is your Jane all good?” Cliff asked, sipping his drink. Ilya grinned, locking his phone.
“More than good. Let’s enjoy our night.”
--
“Rossssseee.” Shane slurred, slumped over the booth in the club. His head laid on his arms and his stomach was churning. He wasn’t used to drinking, let alone drinking this much. His head spun as Rose sat beside him, running her fingers slowly over his forearm, grounding him. He flicked through his messages with Ilya, a smile as he read what he wrote shortly after taking more shots with Miles. He didn’t care that he messaged Ilya earlier about his dick. He missed his boyfriend. It had been several weeks since they last saw each other, and they wouldn’t see each other for another week. 13 whole days.
02:12 AM.
Ilya would either be staying the night with Marleau or had gone back to the hotel for the flight back home in the afternoon. He had to slowly calculate the time zones in his head. Ilya might actually be waking up in a couple hours, depending on when they left their own celebrations.
He knew he should be heading back to the hotel soon. Or Rose’s. He had a flight to catch in a few hours, and at this rate, he is going to be hungover and dying on the plane.
“Rose, can. we. go. home. now?” He spoke soft and slow, laying his hand on hers to stop her movements. She peered over and moved her other hand to run through his hair.
“Yeah, we can go back to my place. Let me call the uber.”
Miles soon pulled the two out into the cool Los Angeles air, the air crisp compared to the stuffy club scene. Shane inhaled deeply, tipping his head back to look at the stars as Miles said his goodbye to Rose. When he lowered his head, Miles gave a small head nod toward him before dipping into his own Lyft.
“Ours should be here in a couple minutes. Do you want to let Lily know that you’re leaving for the night?” Rose asked, her fingers typing away on her phone. He let out a small yawn, covering his mouth with his hand.
“Yeah, I probably should. You alright with me staying at your place tonight?”
“Of course. I don’t know how Lily would feel about it, but you’d probably be more comfortable in my guest room than in another hotel room. You’re in enough hotels as it is.” He hummed in agreement as he shot off a quick text, informing Ilya that he was leaving the club to stay with Rose for the night. He had already told him the flight information he had in a few hours which he knew he would regret later from this night of drinking. But he could just sleep on the flight, sunglasses and a hat. He could survive a hangover.
A silver sedan rolled in front of them a moment later as Rose’s phone pinged, informing them that this was their uber. “Gays first.” She giggled, opening the door as Shane shouldered her, laughing along with her. -- “Roz, man, your phone is ringing.” Marleau called out from his kitchen, a frying pan sizzling in his hand. Ilya popped up from the couch, groaning as his knee popped. He crashed at Cliff’s house, choosing the comfort of a friend’s house over listening to his teammate snoring in the hotel room. Wiebe wouldn’t care where they stayed the night, as long as they made the flight back to Ottawa.
“What does Sveta want now? She knows I can’t hang out today.” He grumbled.
“It doesn’t say Sveta. It says Yuna. Isn’t that Hollander’s mom?” Ilya walked a bit faster, grabbing his phone off the counter where it was charging.
“Yes, it must be something for the foundation. She handles a lot of the management stuff for us. Excuse me.” He answered quickly, walking out onto the back porch. “Hello Yuna. You usually do not call me.”
“Hi Ilya, yes, I usually don’t but have you heard from Shane today?” She sounded stressed. Her voice tight over the phone. Ilya gave a small hum and looked down onto his phone through his messages.
“Not since early this morning. Around 2AM west coast. He sent me a message saying he was leaving to stay with Rose. What is happening Yuna?”
“He never got on his flight Ilya. I tried calling him and he isn’t answering his phone.”
“It’s probably nothing Yuna. He probably slept in. He was drunk texting me last night. Let’s give him some time to wake up and rebook a flight, yeah?” Yuna sighed heavily from the receiver. “Yes yes, I know, very unlike our Shane. But he was having fun. I will try and call Rose on insta and—”
“She doesn’t know about you two does she?”
“No. But from what Shane has told me, she has idea. It will be fine. He is fine.” Ilya reassured her. “I will let you know what I find out, okay? I will also be flying out soon and we will play Yahtzee, okay? I will bring David the New Yorker.”
“Okay Ilya. Fly safely. We love you.”
“Love you both.” He ended the call and took in a deep breath, calming his nerves. Alright, Shane didn’t board his flight. Not a big deal. Shane was drunk, Shane stayed up late. He was sleeping in and missed his flight. Right?
He bit his lip, taking another deep breath through his nose before walking back into the house. It now smelled of bacon and eggs, Marleau still standing by the stove, his back to the back door. Ilya quickly sent off a text to Shane before his mind spiraled. There was nothing wrong, despite now the pit in his stomach.
“Everything good with Hollander’s mom?” Cliff asked, plating their breakfast down. Ilya stared down at his phone, not seeing the read message that usually pops up within a minute. Shane was quick to answer his messages. But Yuna did say he wasn’t answering her phone calls either.
“Uh, yeah. Mrs. Hollander couldn’t get in touch with Hollander and wanted to see if I had spoken with him today. We have a meeting later today.” He lied. He hated lying to Cliff about anything regarding Shane, but they were still a secret. Even though Cliff would be accepting, he didn’t want to go against Shane’s wishes to keep everything quiet, for now.
“What time is your flight”
“3 o’clock.” He responded as he brought a slice of bacon to his mouth, chomping down. He heard thumping coming from the other room as a groan echoed. “Is that Hayes just getting up?” As if on cue, Wyatt emerged from the guest room looking like death. He groaned, plopping down on the stool beside Ilya. His eyes narrowed down on the plate of food, snatching up one of Ilya’s bacon. “Aye. Thief.”
“Youhaveenuf” He muttered through a mouthful, a wide smile on his lips. Ilya rolled his eyes as he grabbed another bite of food, watching as Marleau plated more food.
--
“Hey man, come visit anytime. Just don’t kick our asses every time, ‘kay?” Cliff pulled Ilya into a hug as they stood in front of the hotel. Ilya smiled brightly, his chest tight. “It’s great seeing you so happy. Jane better be treating you good up north.”
“They are. Thank you Marly.” Ilya grabbed his bag out of the trunk as Wyatt slammed it, swinging his own bag over his shoulder. “Thank you for housing us last night.”
“No problem.” Just as Cliff was about to say more, Wiebe walked out the double doors, his eyes wide.
“Ilya, come inside quickly. We need to talk.” He motioned the guys inside as Ilya looked puzzled, his phone buzzed. “Don’t answer that. Come on.” As they walked further in, the rest of the Centaurs were standing in the lobby looking flustered and talking. Harris spotted Ilya and walked over, Troy hot on his heels.
“Ilya, have you seen the news yet this morning?”
“No? Should I?” Harris and Troy looked at each other, worried. Ilya’s phone buzzed again.
Harris pulled out his phone and showed Ilya an article.
Actress Rose Landry Missing along side MHL star Shane Hollander.
Ilya’s heart sinks. Another buzz. He pulls it out to see several missed calls from Yuna and then texts messages.