Chapter Text
Kip had tried to be normal about this. He really had, but then THE Gloria Grey, who was sitting almost next to him, started groaning at the ref at the same time as he did. It was that moment when could no longer ignore the fact that there was only one empty seat between him and a literal movie star.
He turned slightly to her, trying to make this not weird and just a friendly almost-seat neighbour chat, when he said "Why did I even try learn the rules of this sport if the refs don't even follow them?"
Gloria Grey turned to him and nodded emphatically. "Tell me about it. It's like when I first learned driving and realised that everyone who's been driving for ages seemingly didn't follow all the rules I had just learned."
Kip chuckled, slightly forced, hoping she wouldn't notice, because he didn't necessaily want famous movie star Gloria Grey to know that he was in his mid-twenties and couldn't actually drive. It had been embarrassing enough to admit it to Scott when it had first come up.
He had to admit, he had been flustered by Gloria's persence ever since she sat down in her seat about twenty minutes earlier. And he wasn't even into women. But Gloria Grey was just… an icon, attraction or no attraction. Kip knew that she was dating Carter Vaughn, Scott's best friend and the player who had just been fouled, however without the ref interfering in any way. Hence the groaning.
Kip was almost certain that if it had been Scott who had been fouled, he would have done more than just groan. Nothing too onbvious, of course, since Kip was supposed to just be a random fan who would get angry on behalf of the team captain. Nothing weird about that, nothing to see here.
Not that Scott made them hide much longer. He was going to come out at the end of the season, so it was really only a few months longer of playing the anonymous fan, instead of attending the games officially as Scott's boyfriend. Kip's friends and his dad already knew, and had done so for about a two years now. One of them would usually acompany Kip to a game, filling Scott's second seat in the stands that was left empty today.
Everyone had been busy, but Kip came to see the game anyway, because they played Boston at home and that team always managed to rile Scott up a little extra. Kip knew it helped Scott to know that he was there for him in the stands, metaphorically having his back.
And speaking of Boston, the team's first line just came dangerously close to scoring, with both Marleau and Rozanov both right up in Eric Bennett's face. He managed to save, though, and both Kip and Gloria Grey started clapping for the goalie's move.
"That was close. Thank god for Benny", she said in his direction and Kip nodded. "His safes are incredible. Other goalies can only dream of having stats as good as his when they're his age", Kip remarked, happily making use of his hockey knowledge when he could. None of his friends really cared that much about players and rules and statistics when they came along.
With Gloria Grey, it seemeed, he could share some of his WAG knowledge, though he hated the abbreviation and couldn't, for obvious reasons, let her know that he was even in that little club whose name he disliked.
"Truer words have never been spoken", she agreed and stretched out her hand over the empty seat between them. "I'm Gloria, and you are?", she casually asked, as if Kip hadn't most likely been super obvious about recognising her from various films and shows she's been in.
But then again, she was also just a fan at a hockey game, and Kip had learned from Scott how nice it was to just be treated like a normal person from time to time, so Kip tried his best as he took her and and shook it. "I'm Kip. Nice to meet you." There, perfectly normal. He acted almost as if he wasn't internally freaking out about this interaction.
Then, the buzzer sounded, announcing the end of the first period and preventing any more conversation as they had to get up and scootch to let other fans pass. Gloria seemed to step outside too, and Kip had to restrain himself to not text Scott that he had just talked to Gloria fucking Grey.
There were two reasons for this. First, Scott would hardly be impressed, since he has surely met her before if she was dating Carter Vaughn. Second, telling Scott he was chatting with his best friend's girlfriend might make him nervous. Scott was coming out to his team soon, yes, but he hadn't yet, and if he told Scott now that he was talking to Gloria, it might mess up his game for tonight. Even if Scott knew he could trust Kip 100%.
And Kip knew that Scott trusted him, but that didn't change anything about the fact that small things like this could fuck with Scott's ability to keep a clear head. Which was why Scott shouldn't be looking at his phone during the first and second break anyway. But apparently, ever since Kip came to see him at MSG, Scott couldn't help it.
That's why Kip sent a Looking good out there on the ice, babe! text, instead of anything else. Kip could still tell Scott about the interaction he'd had with Gloria tonight, when they were both at home and the game was over and hopefully won.
He answered a few other people during the break, even if his battery was already dangerously low from the entire day that he spet at NYU, first teaching, then going to classes himself.
His dad had texted him that he hoped the Admirals would win, and an apology that he couldn't be there tonight (not that Kip was mad at him for that, he was catching up with a few old friends from highschool, after all).
Kyle had vented in the kingfisher staff groupchat that he had been close to yelling at Gus, the owner, over the phone again today (which wasn't a rare occurence) and one of the other TAs that worked at the same department as Kip had texted to let him know that the one undergrad students they had been speculating about for weeks had, in fact, officially dropped out now.
After Kip had answered everyone, he kind of got lost on instagram for a bit, and was then actually surprised when everyone started filing in again. Gloria came back as well, popcorn in hand, and asked, "So, what do you wager? What's gonna happen in the second period. Are the boys gonna be in the lead after this?"
Kip grinned, happy that she took up their thread of conversation again and that he apparently didn't come across as too starstruck to make her uncomfortable. He made a show of thinking about what might happen, but his preferred answer was easy. "I'd say by the end of these 20 minutes, we're gonna be 2-0 in the lead. Hunter scores, Vaughn scores, and Rozanov's attempts will all be blocked by Bennett."
Gloria laughed and nodded as she ate some of her popcorn. "I like that answer. Let's hope you can see the future as well as Benny sees all the pucks coming his way."
When the second period officially started, their conversation came to a halt, because the Admirals teared down towards Boston's goal immediately with a good chance to take the lead. The Boston goalie ended up blocking Scott's shot, but it had been a close call.
When the game became less tense for a moment, Kip dared to ask Gloria about Carter. He knew that they had been seeing each other for months because of Scott, but their relationship had only very recently become public. But now that it was public knowledge, it hopefully wasn't too weird that he was talking to her about her boyfriend on the ice.
"You don't get to see him play often, right?", he asked and Gloria shook her head. "Not really, that's why I appreciate the few weeks in the city while we're filming here. I'll try to come to as many home games as I can. What about you?", she asked, and Kip blinked and felt his heartbeat accelerate. Did she know that he was watching his boyfriend play? Had he given himself away somehow?
When he seemed frozen about her question, she raised an eyebrow and clarified. "Do you have season tickets or...?" Oh, she just wondered if he was a regular at MSG or just a casual fan. Yeah, that made more sense. Kip hoped that she didn't see how the tension was leaving his body as he tried to answer calmly.
"Yeah my... uh, my dad and I have season tickets. We usually go together but he's at somewhat of a highschool reunion today. And everyone else I could take with, uh, friends or boyfriend, are all working, so…", he shrugged at the empty seat between them.
His dad really was the one who accompanied him most to Scott's games these days. With Elena working on the west coast now and all of his close friends but Maria working in nightlife (he himself included, obviously, but he tried to coordinate his shifts around the Admirals' schedule, so he could be at the stadium for home games), George Grady was usually his most reliable seatmate. Because, for obvious reasons, he couldn't take his boyfriend to the game either. He was kind of busy on center ice most of the time.
Not that Kip would complain that this had turned out to be pretty much a father-son activity. His dad had been an Admirals fan long before Kip had even been born, which had made it even more amusing when Kip had first told him that he was dating Scott. He had been a bit starstruck at first, just as Kip was with Gloria right now, but once that had worn off, he'd started treating Scott as the father that Scott thought he would never get to have again. It was actually really fucking adorable, so Kip loved it when they both cheered for Scott from up here.
"That's so cute that you're going to the games with your dad. I remember going to baseball with my dad when I was younger, but now it's been ages since I've last been to a game", Gloria said, and Kip could only imagine how much more unstable her life was with her carreer path. Sure, Scott had to travel a lot for work, but at least he had a home base where he still got to be most of the year. But as an actress, Gloria's work could take her literally anywhere for any amount of time, probably without seeing her family or her boyfriend for much longer periods of time.
Kip was just about to remark something about how hard it must be for her and Carter to constantly travel, probably missing each other all the time, when he spotted that some people a few rows below them were starting to take photos and presumably also videos of Gloria. He turned to gage her reaction, and she didn't seem uncomfortable per se, but also not all too happy.
"Do you want my cap? I also have a scarf somewhere, just the sunglasses is what I'm missing", he joked, because the weather lately had definitely not required him to bring sunglasses anywhere. They were firmly in the raincoats and umbrellas season.
"Thanks, but once I've been spotted it's kind of over anyway. Can't wait to see what the internet has to say about this. It's not like people haven't already found out that I'm dating Carter", she said with a shrug, and Kip wished he could ask her about that. But he couldn't, not without getting too personal and not without maybe letting her in on something that nobody was yet allowed know. Kip's own secret about daing a player.
Would it be a problem, he thought suddenly, to be spotted at the game with Gloria? Would people see a connection? But then again, why would they? Gloria was the movie star at an Admirals game. Kip was just some guy who happened to sit close to her, but nobody would actually pay attention to him. Maybe retrospectively, if people looked at the pictures again at the end of the season when Scott came out, but not right now. They should be safe. Still, Kip sank a bit deeper in his seat, almost out of instinct.
To his surprise, Gloria apologised for the photos being taken. "Sorry, I guess it's gonna be like that for the next few home games when I'm around and those seats right next to me are yours." She sighed, and added, "I guess I could have also just sat in the WAG lounge, but I'm not quite ready to deal with all of that just yet."
Kip frowned, unsure what exactly she was referring to. Would she find it weird if he asked? He was supposed to just be a fan, after all, and he didn't want to seem to interested into what could be his possible future, too. He tried to take the vague route by just asking, "What do you mean?"
Gloria shrugged helplessly. "Off the record? I just don't really vibe with the term I guess. Or what it implies. It might sound arrogant, so please don't tell this to anyone, but just because I'm dating Carter, I don't want to suddenly be reduced to being 'Carter Vaughn's girlfriend' when I have a whole carreer of my own."
Kip nodded, actually relieved that Gloria, too, didn't seem to be fully on board with the whole WAG stuff. Although for different reasons. And, again, it wasn't like he could tell her that he related, so he said, "Yeah, that makes sense. You're still your own person, after all."
Scott had talked to him about this before. That once he would come out and they were seen together, the media would take an interest in him, and all they would see in Kip was Scott Hunter's boyfriend. Which was obviously very reductive. But just as Scott was willing to come out for Kip so that their relationship could last, so was Kip okay with being reduced to the boyfriend of role until the media eventually lost interest.
Kip saw that Gloria was about to reply to what he had said, but in that moment, Scott actually did manage to get past Boston's defence and goalie, catapulting the Admirals into the lead. Most people in the stadium were on their feet, and so were Kip and Gloria, forgetting the harsh realities of media attention and being seen as a (only) WAG for the moment.
In the end of the second period, Kip's predictions had turned out to be right, with one of Carter Vaughn's shots going past Boston's defences as well, whereas Rozanov had tried and failed to get past Eric Bennett, and then later spent two minutes in the penalty box, just before the buzzer went again.
"You actually calling the outcome of this period correctly is crazy", Gloria told him as they both left their seats for the break. Kip shrugged. "Well, they're just both very likely goal scorers, and it's not like I would have seen the penalty against Rozanov coming."
"So for the third period, you're also gonna start predicting that?", Gloria asked jokingly and Kip shrugged again. "Sure, just don't come for me when I'm wrong", he grinned and went into direction of the restrooms. Now, he obviously wanted to get it right, so he spent some time in the stall scrolling through stats, almost using up his phone battery to figure out how the game might end.
Kip ended up announcing to Gloria that he thought Rozanov would come back strong after the break and his penalty, and that he would score within the first five minutes of the third period. Then, a fight would likely break out between either Rozanov or Marleau and one of the Admirals' defenders, sending one of the Admirals' players into the penalty box. The Boston Bears wouldn't, however, tie the game in power play. Instead, Scott would score again and the game would be won with a score of 3-1.
He was actually shocked as these very things then happened before his very eyes. To be fair, with a few tweaks, such as both Marleau and Jalo both being sent out for two minutes after Rozanov scored. This made the situation much less dangerous, because there weren't actually more opponents on the ice.
And while Scott did score again to get them to the predicted 3-1, there had, for a brief moment, been cheers for a 4-1, but the goal was then disallowed because of goaltender interference. All in all, Kip obviously hadn't predicted everything, but still a fair amount of things that made Gloria lightly shake his arm and exclaim that, "You need to start betting on these things! That was insane!"
Kip shrugged, because clearly he hadn't predicted all of it, even if he was still surprised how much he did actually get right. Not that he was about to tell Gloria that. Kip was, after all, but a common grad student, who would gladly take his two minutes of fame if Gloria Grey decided that he seemed to have incredible prediction skills. She'd forget about it and him soon enough anyway, so he enjoyed being perceived as cool by a movie star while it lasted.
They were still standing, clapping, and cheering for the end result and watching as the players lined up to shake each others' hands. It was kind of odd, standing here next to Gloria while their boyfriends made their way across the ice side by side as well. Maybe next season, Kip and Gloria could officially meet and both openly cheer for their boyfriends. It was a nice thought that made him smile, and Kip wanted to reach for his phone and text Scott about how much he loved him and how proud he was of him, when Gloria turned to him again.
"This was nice. You're a really good seatmate Kip, couldn't have gotten anyone better", she flashed him a smile, and Kip was sure now she was just being polite, but then after she gathered up her things, she turned again. "Actually, I'm going out with Carter and a few of the guys after this. You wanna tag along? You have to be cool though. Not too much fanboying", she winked at him. "But I think Carter is going to love your prediction skills. He's superstitious like that, might think it'll be good luck or something."
Kip paused, unsure what to say. He must have actually made a good impression if she was willing to bring him along. Which was nice. And actually, he'd love to meet some of Scott's teammates but… What if Scott was there too? Would it freak him out if he hadn't told the team and Kip would just randomly show up? Kip was convinced that they were past that by now, but still, could he just show up at an afterparty like this? Should he ask Scott? Or warn him?
Probably, but he should also answer Gloria, because he really didn't want to pass up that opportunity. "Uh yeah, I mean that would be great. Let me just uh, text my boyfriend. I'll quickly let him know that I'm going out after the game", and maybe let him know that they might just both be headed to the same place, he mentally added as he got his phone out.
He made it through the first text that read Are you going out with Carter after the game? and was about to write that Because I‘ve somehow met Gloria Grey who is going to bring me along to meet him, but his phone died mid-text.
Shit, now he had absolutely no means of warning Scott that they might be going to the same party. And most likely had to introduce themselves to each other as if they hadn't known each other for years. Again.