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Gabe Perreault had counted Will Smith amongst his closest friends for many years by the time the summer of 2026 rolled around.
In a Will Smith trivia competition, Gabe was positive he would take first prize. They had chemistry on the ice after their many years as linemates and a true bond off the ice, forged by their time as roommates, often lying in darkened dorm rooms talking about the intricacies of their pasts and their hopes and dreams for the future. Nothing about Will could surprise Gabe.
Although no longer playing together, Will was still intertwined in the fabric of Gabe’s life. They spent the off-seasons orbiting around each other with comfortable familiarity. Dinners and drinks and trips and training sessions; it was a time to reconnect and pretend they were eighteen again. All the boys, for old times’ sake. Throughout the season, their relationship consisted of texts and snaps and comments and chirps from differing cities, but it didn’t matter. When they inevitably met up for an off-day dinner when they overlapped on the road, it was like no time had passed.
If Gabe was being honest, since that Judi Jupiter interview hit his FYP, it was kind of hard to escape Will even if he wanted to. Whenever he opened social media, he was met with giggling videos of Will and Macklin Celebrini rolling around like littermates for the world to fawn over. Gabe secretly loved it; the world’s interest in his best friend meant he had endless hours of chirping material, and a way to feel connected to his best buddy from miles away.
Suuuuuure, the edits of him as a scorned ex-lover, pining away as Macklin stole his girl, were a little off the mark, but all parties had a sense of humor, so he could accept them for what they were: wishful thinking from the Heated Rivalry generation.
Much to the dismay of sleuths on the internet, Gabe did not have some secretly harbored beef with Macklin Celebrini. Sure, the elbow to the skull played into the narrative a little too well, but that was truly just misplaced hockey noise. He had known Macklin for years; he was your typical hockey dude with the talent turned way up. Gabe didn’t know him super well, but if he was good enough for Will, he would certainly be good enough for Gabe.
——
As an adopted Bostonian, the sting of missing the playoffs this year was soothed slightly by the opportunity to reunite with the boys earlier than planned to enjoy a messy MarMon like they were freshmen again.
Gabe was sure the first sound he heard as his eyes opened that morning was the cool crack of a can, really setting the scene for what was to come.
“Rise and shine, my little sleeping beauties!” Leno sang through the shared apartment as he marched around like a kid on Christmas, eagerly coaxing the chaos to begin.
As late additions to the fun, Gabe found himself squished onto a sectional, top-and-tailing with Will. The joy of growing up in the hockey world meant that you almost went pro in the art of falling asleep anywhere, be it a bus, a stray stadium seat, or a musty hotel bed, so he didn’t mind too much.
“Morning, Smitty!” Gabe chirped as he used the gap between his toes to yank the cellphone Will had been aggressively typing into for the last five minutes clean out of his hands and throw it with a thunk onto a stray pillow.
“Fucking stop!” Will laughed as he slapped Gabe’s shin in annoyance before stretching out to grab the phone and instantly returning to tapping away at its screen.
Gabe sat there for a moment, studying his best friend. Blond hair pushed back beneath a backwards snapback Gabe could have sworn he hadn’t slept in, brows pulled tightly together as he stared intently at the phone propped just inches from his face.
“Are you good, bud?”
“What?” Will offered without even lifting his gaze. “Oh, sorry, yeah, it’s just Mack. Long story… but nah, I’m all good.”
After a few more taps, he tossed his phone back onto the stray pillow and finally met Gabe’s studying gaze with a lazy smile.
“You sure?”
“Positive.” He began untangling himself from his couch cocoon and heading toward the bathroom. “I’m gonna shower. Let’s get this day going, boys!”
Gabe glanced over at Will’s phone as it lit up every few seconds with texts from Mack and shook his head, not wanting to think about what type of nonsense the infamous Willmack rambled about first thing in the morning.
———
“Ughhh, my liver hurts!” Gabe whined as he fell into a chair at a random tavern a handful of hours later.
“That’s pathetic, Gabriel…” Leno tutted with the disappointment of a father as he scooted a shot of tequila over in defiance.
“Poor baaaaaby…” Will offered with a loving face wash before scooping up his own tequila shot and throwing it back, earning him a back slap from apparent frat ringleader Ryan Leonard.
A cheesy smile and salute were offered to the table before he dove back into his phone.
Gabe chucked an eye roll at Leno before choking back his shot, much to his own dismay.
“Are you cool if Mack stops by?” Will queried the table. “He’s nearby and wanted to come say hey.”
The group all offered varying comments of affirmation, as Gabe couldn’t help but notice the calm smile that settled across Will’s face as he shot off another text before looping an arm around Leno’s shoulder and hoisting himself up to head to the bar.
Gabe fell into comfortable conversation with Voter as he leaned back against his chair, watching Will and Leno order drinks and throw their heads back in raucous laughter. Three girls seemed to materialize out of thin air, absorbed into the conversation with charming ease as Will signaled to include three more drinks in his order.
Gabe couldn’t help but laugh at the familiar sights before him. Crowding around Boston bars trying to order booze and flirt with stray college girls felt like 2024 in a nutshell. Will’s lazy smirk and Leno’s mischievous eyes took up residence on their faces as they both threw Gabe a knowing glance.
Will’s head cocked slightly at one of the girls, a subtle offer for Gabe to join them, but he brushed it off in favor of providing a running commentary about the unfolding mating ritual to Voter.
After five minutes of cheesy frat-boy banter, the girls seemed well and truly charmed, as if anybody would bet against the handsome face of Will Smith! Gabe rolled his eyes as Will threw him a knowing glance while red fingernails traced lines up and down his bicep.
The table erupted in knowing laughter.
Hook. Line and Sinker.
But when Gabe looked back over, Will was gone.
Gabe’s first reaction was that he’d scooped up the eager brunette and whisked her away to some quiet corner, but a quick head count showed Ryan Leonard surrounded by all three of the Love Island contestants, looking like a cat who truly got the cream.
As Gabe did a quick sweep of the bar, it didn’t take long to spot the back of Will’s head, or clock the toned forearms wrapped around his waist as his back shook with laughter at whoever had plastered themselves to Will’s front.
Moments later Will returned to the table, a stumbling Celebrini in tow.
“Sit…” Will plonked him down in the chair next to Gabe with authority before heading back toward the bar.
The table engulfed Mack in conversation, peppering in some light BU ribbing for good measure while pouring praise on his record-breaking season. He smiled lazily and nattered away drunkenly as Gabe chuckled at his inebriation, suddenly finding his own liver didn’t feel quite so sore.
Will returned moments later, placing a water under Mack’s nose and resting a soothing hand at the nape of his neck. Gabe wasn’t shocked by the casual touching; it wasn’t completely out of place in the tactile world of a hockey locker room. But his eyes couldn’t help but notice the way Will’s slender fingers slipped beneath the collar of Mack’s hoodie, lazily scratching at his hairline with a soothing affection that felt more private than Gabe would have expected.
“Booooooo!” Mack whined as he slurped back the offending water, earning him an eye roll from Will.
“Smitty… you coming back?” Leno prodded his chin into Will’s shoulder in an attempt to wind his wingman back into the fray.
“Nah, you got it…” Will shooed him off, watching Mack finish his water with a dramatized “Ahhh” before scooping up the glass and heading back to the bar for Aqua Round Two.
“How have you been, Gabe?” Macklin offered with a hiccupped giggle, Gabe’s antenna remained firmly up and switched on.
The rest of the day faded by in a blur of Wonder Bread jackets, High Noon cans, and light bullying amongst the boys. Girls ebbed and flowed through the group, but nobody really seemed to stick around for long.
The sun was well and truly set by the time the group spilled into the parking lot, electing to take the festivities back to the share house before things got too much messier. As Gabe exited the door, flourishing a wave at his new lifelong friends he wouldn’t remember the next day, his eyes caught sight of Will and Mack huddled close off to the side as headcounts were rattled off in the distance to figure out how many Ubers needed to be ordered.
Will’s fingers rolled the fabric of Mack’s hoodie pocket as Mack muttered quietly to him with almost pleading eyes. Gabe knew he shouldn’t stare, but somehow he couldn’t look away, watching as Mack softly brushed his nails across Will’s forearm with comfortable familiarity.
Leno piggybacking onto his spine broke Gabe’s concentration as they stumbled around the parking lot like idiots.
“Hey guys, I’m actually going to head off…” Will cut into the chaos as the first load of guys piled into the first Uber.
“Wait, what? Where are you going?” Leno asked, confused. “Aren’t you staying at the boys’ place tonight?”
Gabe noticed Mack throwing a drunken wave in their general direction as he shuffled toward his ordered Uber, leaving the door propped open as he slid across the back seat.
“Uhm, maybe… I’ll let you know… or, like, I’ll just see you tomorrow… let’s get lunch… or maybe dinner?” Will rambled noncommittally as he dapped everyone up and strolled casually toward Mack’s Uber before disappearing into the night.
----
wcpsrlgp
Leno: GABRIEL, it’s time to change the chat name! Our namesake is no longer, alert the media!
Gabe: ???
Will: 🙄
Gabe: wtf are we talking about?
Leno: Ask our friend wsmith2.
Will: You are so fucking dramatic.
Gabe: Wait, wait, wait. RIP wcpsmrc? Nooooo, my parents.
Leno: Trouble in the bro-borhood?
Gabe: Did he have an affair? Catch him secretly signing into spcmrc behind your back?
Leno: …Crosby?
Gabe: 👍🏻
Leno: Haha, nice.
Will: 🖕🏻
———
Fourth of July on the Cape has very quickly become one of Gabe’s favorite times of the year.
It’s a hodgepodge of friends and family, soaking up the sun, laughing over a few drinks, and almost killing each other over hyper-competitive wiffle ball competitions. The stress of the previous hockey season has faded enough, and the pressure of the upcoming one has yet to arrive, so the mood always feels lighter and airier.
This year, though, Gabe can’t help but feel that Operation: Happy Camper hasn’t quite hit home with Will.
“Are you all good, man?” Gabe queried as he watched Will stare absentmindedly into his whiskey, swirling it aimlessly around the large melting ice cube as they sat perched in matching Adirondacks overlooking the busy street.
“Yeah, man, just got lost people-watching, my bad….” he offered with a shrug. “I think I need to find a girl tonight.”
Gabe watched Will throw back a mouthful of his drink in surprise. Will Smith had never had any problem “finding a girl,” but typically he went about it with an air of unbothered ease that seemed to lure girls in like catnip. He didn’t go out looking for girls; he went out to have fun, and his nonchalance and charm dropped any girl he glanced at directly into his lap.
“Really? What’s the occasion?”
Will shot him a confused look, as if being a red-blooded twenty-one-year-old wasn’t enough, before softening his eyes slightly, pausing momentarily as if torn between answers.
“I’m really sad, and I think getting my dick sucked would help.”
He downed the rest of his drink before standing up and heading toward the bar, leaving Gabe utterly confused about the aforementioned sadness that he couldn’t quite place the origin of.
Will didn't give him much time to wonder though as he made fast work of well and truly committing o the bit.
First there was Blondie in the short yellow sundress, sandwiched between Will’s thighs as he perched on a barstool in the corner, working her way frantically down his jawline.
The next time Gabe happened to glance over in Will’s direction, he was slung over a curly-haired brunette, taking drunken cheek-kissing selfies like they were on their honeymoon.
As the boys sauntered on to the next bar, a whole new pool of fish opened up, and Will was sampling them all.
Gabe couldn’t remember ever seeing Will this frantic. This wasn’t horniness; this was something else, and the words really sad seemed to swim around Gabe’s brain as he watched Will make a move on Grace’s oldest friend, much to his sister’s utter disgust.
“Will! Cool it!” she scolded as she scooped her friend out of his grasp and steered her away.
Gabe was certain there was nothing about Will he didn’t know, but this behavior felt off. He couldn’t pin down this version of his friend.
Making the executive decision to pick up the last remaining scraps of Will’s local golden-boy dignity from the slutty grasps of his own behavior, he approached Will as he ordered another round for a copper-haired beauty slung tightly beneath his right arm.
“Bud, can you come and walk with me for a sec? I’m not feeling great…” Gabe lied as he conjured up his strongest Mack-Celebrini-esque puppy-dog eyes, which always seemed to get quick results out of one Mr. Will Smith.
Will gave him a suspicious once-over.
“Leno is by the door, can’t he—”
But before the sentence could be fully formed, Gabe was yanking his arm toward the exit, throwing Mystery Girl Number Forty-Three an apologetic look and a promise that he might be right back.
They walked in silence for a block and a half, weaving through fellow vacationers in town for the holiday until they were far enough away to plop down on a stray stone wall overlooking the darkening beach.
“Did you drink too much?” Will offered, giving him a light rub between the shoulder blades as he flopped down next to Gabe.
“Nah, man, I’m fine…. How are you doing?”
Will cocked an eyebrow in confusion before realization washed over his face and he began to stand back up.
“Wait, Will, sit and chat to me.” Gabe grasped his arm in an effort to keep him still. “Please, man… something is off.”
Will stared at him for a moment. Two moments. Like he was torn between two opposing instincts: whether to fight or flee.
Thankfully for Gabe, he sat back down calmly and turned his attention to the fascinating biological makeup of his own fingernail beds.
Gabe’s mind scattered, trying to find the least threatening approach possible.
“How’s your summer been?”
“Fine.”
“Have you spent much time on the ice?”
“Not yet. In the gym mainly.”
“Any training camps planned?”
“I’m not really sure.”
“I thought you were heading up to Vanc—”
“What are we doing here, Gabe?” Will cut him off with a frustrated huff, the beating around the bush obviously starting to wear thin.
“I’m just trying to figure out what’s so off with you tonight. It’s like you’re trying to hit some kind of make-out quota.”
Will huffed dramatically at the accusation.
“I’m twenty-one years old, I’m single, I’m a professional athlete worth millions of dollars in the prime of my life. What do you expect?”
Gabe couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the stereotypical bullshit rolling off Will’s tongue. This wasn’t Will. Sure, Will liked to flirt and casually date, but he wasn’t the stereotypical NHL player of fifteen years ago, destined to sleep with a new girl in every city, cheat on his wife, and not give a fuck.
“That’s fine then, but let’s talk about being really sad.” Gabe kicked the conversational door open, urging Will to open it a little further, even though he almost groaned at the very thought of having to unpack that.
“I don’t know why I said that… I’m fine.”
“Are you sad, Will?”
Will blinked at him slowly, blue eyes swimming with… something.
“I’ve been happier, but I’m fine….”
“And the make-out Olympics?”
“I think I want to fall in love.”
Gabe couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “And love is hidden behind the tonsils of every girl in Massachusetts, orrrrr?”
Will rolled his eyes with a chuckle.
“Seemed like a good place to start….”
Gabe studied his best friend as he stared out toward the beach. He could understand wanting companionship; they were in a very rocky industry. It wasn’t uncommon to marry young: a bunch of men who had spent their whole lives working toward a singular goal, desperate to lock down a sense of familiarity in an ever-changing NHL landscape.
It’s hard to find stability when you’re always on the move. It’s hard to have a physical home, so they find it in the heart of another person, a sense that no matter what hotel room you spend the night in, your home is waiting at the other end of the phone line.
“I understand, man, I really do…. It would be nice to have a person.”
He watched Will chew at his lip like he was desperately trying to decide how much more to share.
“But maybe take a breather, okay? You don’t need to find her tonight. What would Colleen say if she learned her son was slutting it up all over the Cape?”
Will laughed at the idea but nodded nonetheless.
“No, you’re right, you’re right…. I don’t know what’s gotten into me tonight. Thanks for pulling my head in.”
Will snaked an arm around Gabe’s shoulders and pulled him in for a brotherly head ruffle.
“I got you, man.”
He clawed himself away from Will’s grip, the sound of crashing waves and distant festivities lapping at their feet.
“How’s Celebrini been going?” Gabe lobbed into the air, secretly curious to see how it might land.
Will’s shoulders tensed slightly at the question, holding for a moment before he responded.
“Uhm, good, yeah. Training hard. You know him….”
Gabe nodded in agreement at the famously generational work ethic.
“Do you talk much during the off-season?”
“Sometimes…. I dunno… it’s weird.”
Gabe studied Will’s impenetrable expression as he continued his approach like an anxious hunter afraid to spook his target.
“Weird how?”
“We are just… we just… it’s hard to explain. We spend so much time together that sometimes being apart makes things weird. Long-distance friendships can be hard.”
“Hey, man, I get it. Look at all of us boys, we used to literally sleep four feet from each other, and now we spend most of the year ping-ponging around the country.”
He offered Will a knowing smile.
Will volleyed one right back, nodding slowly.
“Sort of like that, yeah….”
He broke his gaze to look back toward the ocean.
“But also different.”
Before Gabe could push any further, Will was standing up and dusting stray dirt from the back of his jeans, throwing a hand out to hoist Gabe up with him.
“Come on, man, let’s head back over. I promise to keep it in my pants.”
Gabe rolled his eyes as they wandered back toward the fray in comfortable silence.
----
The first week of July passed in a blur of sunburns and hard seltzers. Gabe was enjoying the quality time reunited with his closest old friends, goofing around in the gym like they were back in the development program or roaming around Boston like they were back in college, but the sinking feeling beneath it all was that something still seemed off with Will.
When he brought it up to Leno one evening, whilst Will was holed up in his room scrolling Raya and following random girls on Instagram, Leno offered an inquisitive look and a shrug.
“Maybe a little off? I dunno, man, maybe he’s just adjusting a bit to his new life.”
He chewed aimlessly at his straw as he pondered.
“Like, we’re all in a similar boat, I guess. It’s a lot of adjustment, but the magnifying glass has really been on him this year. The Show is a mind-fuck enough, and he’s dealing with all that and also the extra attention of…” Ryan offered dramatic spirit fingers. “Willmack.”
Gabe rolled his eyes whilst simultaneously nodding in agreement.
“Has he said anything to you about Mack recently?”
Ryan pondered for a second or two.
“Not really, actually, but every time I open TikTok I see Celebrini locked the fuck in on the ice in Vancouver. I think my dude may live at the rink. I’m sure it’s nothing…”
Leno offered the thought with a shrug before tossing his beer can across the room toward the recycling.
“Kobe!” he bellowed as it ricocheted off the wall and scooted beneath the couch.
———
Gabe was posted up on the couch at their shared summer accommodation when Will got home one warm Friday night. It was still relatively early, and Will had been out on his third Raya date of the week. Nobody seemed to be sticking, but at least this one had made it to date number two.
“How was golf?” Gabe asked warmly as Will flopped down on the other end of the couch, popping his hat off and rubbing his hands down his lightly sunburnt face.
“Yeah, good… I like her, I think,” he offered with a half-hearted smile in the typical cool, calm, and collected fashion that Gabe didn’t fully believe.
Gabe internally applauded the effort. He had watched Will throw himself fully into his quest for love these past few weeks: concerts and baseball games and golf outings and fancy dinners. He’d even met one girl for an 8 a.m. game of tennis over an hour’s drive away on a Sunday. Gabe applauded the hustle, yet couldn’t help but feel there was something missing.
“That’s good, man. I’m glad you’re enjoying your off-season,” Gabe offered honestly.
“Yeah, I think I’m gonna start upping my skate days though. Time to probably lock in a bit more, ya know.”
Gabe nodded along, also feeling that hunger to start really pushing his conditioning.
“Yeah, man, I know. Me too. Mack’s been beasting this off-season, huh? Every time I see stuff about him, he’s at the rink.” Gabe studied Will’s expression. “You head to Van next week for camp, don’t you?”
Will shook his head, fingernails being sawed down between his teeth.
“Nah. I told him I’m gonna give it a miss. I think he invited an old friend from the Steel to fill my spot.”
Gabe frowned at the evasive tone softly lacing Will’s words. He couldn’t help but think of the countless TikTok clips of Willmack antics all season, or back to the soft eyes and gentle caresses on Marathon Monday, or to Will’s sad expression on the streets of the Cape.
“Wait, really? Maybe a trip west will do you some good. You’re about to run out of girls on the East Coast…”
Will laughed but shook his head nonetheless.
“I don’t want to distract him. He’s pretty dialed right now.” Will shrugged as he reached for the remote to flip over to Netflix now that the baseball game Gabe had been watching had come to an end.
“Well, I think it’d be a good idea. Hell, maybe I should hit him up and get an invite. I think I need to get my ass kicked a little before next season, have him sprinkle some of his generational NHL-cover pixie dust on me too.”
Will cocked an eyebrow at the thought. What was meant solely as a joke seemed to have piqued his interest.
“Would you wanna come?”
“To Vancouver? Yeah, I’m down. I’ve got some training lined up in August, but I was just planning on doing my own thing for the next few weeks, so I’m free.”
Will’s face seemed to soften as he pondered, Gabe desperately studying his eyes for clues to his thoughts before a radiant smile spread across his lips.
“I think that’s a sick idea. Maybe not this current round, as my spot’s already been given away, but next week maybe? I’ll chat to Mack and see if he can squeeze us both in.”
For the first time in what felt like weeks, Gabe watched as Will tapped furiously away at his phone screen, shooting off a text to Mack, and 2.4 seconds later he was beaming at the response.
“Pack your skates, Gabo. Macklin Celebrini is going to train your ass into the ground!”
—-
Two short weeks later, Will Smith and his emotional-support brother had touched down in Canada.
“I told him we could Uber… but he insisted…” Will offered apologetically as they waited on the curb for Mack to collect them and their stacks of luggage and equipment.
“Oh, no dramas…” Gabe offered as he kicked some pebbles around on the footpath, while also not failing to notice how jittery Will had suddenly become. The whole flight, Will had seemed mildly on edge, but now Gabe would have sworn he was actually vibrating beside him.
“You good?”
Will snapped his head away from staring intently at the approaching vehicles to throw Gabe a look of surprise.
“Yeah, man, I’m chillin’,” Will offered with the voice crack of someone who was definitely not chillin'.
A few minutes later, Gabe saw Macklin approaching the curb, beaming through the windshield at them both. Gabe glanced at Will and saw a smile sitting in his eyes for the first time in weeks before storing that information firmly in his brain and hoisting up his equipment bag as he headed toward the trunk.
“What’s up, Celebrini?” Gabe yelled at the younger Canadian as he began Tetris-ing bags into the trunk, stopping for a moment to glance through the front of the car and see that Mack had jumped out to embrace Will at the curb.
He couldn’t help but notice how they seemed to melt into each other, like they could both finally relax against the other, each muttering chirps and desperately failing to hide the huge smiles that gave it all away.
The drive to the Airbnb felt more akin to being hurled down a white-water rapid without a boat for Gabe as Will and Mack volleyed stories back and forth, ribbing and joking and laughing and chirping each other at a mile a minute. Gabe barely followed the fast-flowing conversation as they dropped topics midway through in favor of new inside jokes, but he couldn’t help but notice the way Will’s side profile seemed to radiate across the center console.
With Will’s reluctance to talk about Mack these past few weeks, Gabe had figured they must have been in a fight or something, and he’d mentally braced himself for a frosty reunion, but the energy in the car was as warm as rekindled sunlight.
As they pulled up to the house Mack had rented for the summer, for himself and his revolving door of hockey visitors, Gabe watched as Mack shoved Will softly into a bush as they wrestled to be first through the front door whilst covered in layers of luggage like two overzealous pack mules.
He did have to wonder how long it would take them to notice if he snuck off and hid. His money was on three to five business days. But the knot unclenching in his chest from seeing his best friend’s smile fully return made it impossible to care.
Mack gave them a quick tour, setting them up in neighboring bedrooms before they congregated around the kitchen counter for a quick run-through of the training schedule for the next few days.
“But don’t worry, we can still do some fun shit. Cole has a boat, so we can fish, or there are some good hikes. My parents want you all to come around for dinner one night, or we can go out and just roam around…” Mack offered as a consolation prize for the grueling training plan.
“Sounds good! I also have Gabe with me, so if you have stuff to do, that’s all good. We can go and do our own thing…” Will offered casually, and Gabe couldn’t help but notice the way Mack’s face dropped at the suggestion.
“Oh… yeah… you guys are welcome to do your own thing. Sorry, I don’t want to force an itinerary on you or anything crazy.”
Gabe’s eyes flicked between the two faces before him like he was center court at Wimbledon, a little confused about what exactly was unfolding.
“No, no, I want you to come with us… but only if you can. I’m sure you’re super busy, so just… no pressure…” Will backpedaled as Mack offered him a somewhat pained smile.
“No, I’m totally free. I just want to spend time with you…” His earnest expression bored into Will from across the island. “Both… both of you!”
Gabe nodded knowingly at the closed-mouth smile Mack threw in his direction. He was almost certain that if the earth swallowed him whole, neither party would bat an eye, but alas, here he was.
———
Gabe had never been privy to the inner workings of a Willmack practice before, yet now he found himself front row to the show: the constant head bumps, stick taps, and playful shoves as they glided around together like the only swans on a single lake.
Gabe stood off to the side chatting to Gavin McKenna about the upcoming season as he watched Will grin widely at a circling Mack. For some reason, watching them made his chest warm.
Gabe Perreault considered himself president of the Will Smith fan club, and after weeks of worrying silently that something was afoot, he couldn’t help the contentment settling over him as he watched his best friend’s stress seemingly unravel before his own eyes.
“They’re really connected, huh?” Gavin offered as he clocked Gabe’s studying gaze.
“Yeah… definitely…” Gabe replied with a small smile, unwilling to share too much of his best friend’s lore with a relative stranger.
“Do you have anyone on the Rangers like that? Must be sick to go through all this with someone.”
“Yeah, we have some good guys. It’s similar… but also different…”
Gabe thought back to Will’s comment on the Cape, that Mack was different, that Mack was special to Will, maybe in ways he didn’t even truly understand.
But Gabe was president and CEO of the Will Smith fan club.
And he understood completely.
——
“How’s your summer been so far, Celebrini?” Gabe asked as they sat across from each other on the shady deck of their temporary home later that afternoon.
“Yeah, not bad, man. A little full-on with Worlds and then jumping right back into training, though,” he offered, taking a swig of his protein shake.
“Captaining Crosby and then landing the Chel cover is a crazy run,” Gabe added for good measure, causing a blush to rise on Mack’s ever-humble cheeks.
“Yeah, that was sick, I can’t even lie. Super surreal….”
“Have you had a chance to relax much? Or is it just pedal to the metal all off-season?”
Mack’s blush seemed to deepen, Gabe suddenly unsure if he’d struck a nerve.
“I have fun!” he offered defensively.
“Nah, man, I’m sure you do. You’re just so dialed in. I envy the focus. Maybe my game would be a little closer to yours if I didn’t spend so much time kicked back with the boys through May and June,” Gabe offered with a chuckle, catching a glint in Mack’s eyes.
“Yeah, how has your summer been? Have you guys been up to much?”
Gabe couldn’t help but notice the inclusion of Will in the question.
“Yeah, it’s been really good. A few trips, lots of time at the beach, probably a little too much alcohol if I’m being honest, but it’s been good to unwind.”
Mack gave him a knowing nod, letting the silence grow between them.
“How has Will been these past few weeks?”
“Fine….”
Gabe was torn between loyalty and honesty.
“Sort of…. He’s been a little funny.”
That felt fair. Honest. Without crossing over into gossip.
“Yeah…. He hasn’t really been in touch much. I’m not sure why. Has he been busy?”
Gabe couldn’t help but notice the subtle sadness in Mack’s eyes.
“Yeah, sort of. He’s been dating quite a bit, so I guess his free time has been a little zapped….”
Mack’s eyebrows rose in slight surprise.
“Oh, really? He didn’t mention that….”
“Yeah, just casual, you know? Summer flings, nothing serious….”
Gabe didn’t think it was fair to divulge Will’s quest for love, so he let the conversation fizzle out between them.
“That makes sense, I guess…. He’s probably just been too busy….”
Gabe couldn’t help but feel like Mack was talking primarily to himself, blanketing himself in soft reassurance that his friend hadn’t left him behind.
Gabe offered him a reassuring nod.
“You know how he is. Side-quest king of the NHL. Too busy baking banana bread on TikTok….” Gabe offered with a laugh, earning an eye roll from Mack through his own laughter.
“Yeah, man. My little brother let me know I’d been dumped from our joint account one day…. Ruthless, huh?” Mack chuckled sarcastically.
“Damn, didn’t he give you a heads-up?”
“Nope.” Mack only half-smiled at the memory. “Kicked my shit out in the rain and changed the locks, and then ghosted me for a few weeks….”
Gabe couldn’t help but sense the underlying honesty in the confession. Mack’s attempt at joking banter seemed to sting.
“Anyway… not important.”
He gathered the stray cans from the table as he rose to head back into the house.
—-
A few hours later, Gabe found himself under festoon lights on the deck of the Celebrini residence in North Vancouver. He liked the home instantly; it felt welcoming and stable for a family so known for constantly moving.
Rick greeted the boys with a warm smile, and Robyn engulfed them all in welcoming hugs, holding Will for just a beat longer, an extra squeeze, an additional pat on the back.
Charlie Celebrini was almost shocking to see up close, Mack’s entire face reflected back at him as she greeted the group with a small wave. RJ had been skating with them earlier that day, offering daps of familiarity, and Aiden yelled a greeting from across the lawn as he frantically pooper-scooped before company arrived.
Gabe couldn’t help but notice the way Mack held Will’s wrist loosely in his grasp as he led them toward the back deck, swiping a carrot from his mom’s chopping board along the way and earning himself a playful spatula swat.
Conversation bubbled around the table jovially. Gabe wasn’t sure what to expect from the famously competitive family, but somehow this felt right. Mack could be a superstar yet remain famously humble because of the roots here that tethered him to the earth.
Gabe watched Will charm the Celebrini collective as they all shared embarrassing Mack stories, much to his displeasure.
“Okay, I can’t sit here and listen to this anymore…” Mack shot up as Rick keeled over at the memory of Macklin lying about the rink’s opening hours, causing Robyn to be questioned by police for trespassing with her heavily padded six-year-old.
“Will, help me clean up!” he pleaded.
“Weird way to treat a guest, Mackie!” Will volleyed back.
“Gabe is a guest. You are a pain in the ass, and I don’t trust you sitting here sharing my secrets when I leave the room.”
He tutted matter-of-factly, all but yanking Will out of his chair and shoving a stack of dirty plates into his hands to carry to the sink.
“So, Gabe, you and Will have known each other for a while, yeah? You’re a BC boy?” Rick turned his attention toward him.
“Yeah, I am. Sorry, I know, enemy territory!” He put his hands up in Aiden’s general direction. “But we were on the development team together before that. Smit and I go way back.”
“He’s a good egg,” Robyn offered with shining eyes, and Gabe couldn’t help but nod along.
“One of the best.”
“I’m so glad Mack has him. He can be so serious sometimes. I think Will has been a really positive influence,” Rick offered kindly. “It’s a special relationship.”
A knowingness seemed to settle around the table as Mack and Will’s laughter wafted out of the open kitchen window while they bickered over the correct way to load a dishwasher.
“Yeah, for sure.” Gabe thought back to Will on the Cape. “Will has lots of friends, but Mack is different.”
Robyn’s eyes glittered slightly under the fairy lights as the table seemed to all nod in silent agreement.
As Will rejoined the table, only slightly drenched from a “freak water-sprayer accident,” conversation shifted to the rest of the summer.
Training plans and development schedules, Aiden’s plans to head back to Boston, and Charlie’s upcoming tennis comps all rattled around the table.
“You guys work so hard. Don’t forget to enjoy your summer as you go, big season ahead,” Rick offered his sage warning.
“Oh, we’ve had plenty of relaxation time,” Will offered reassuringly. “My family have a place in Cape Cod, and we make it a relaxation hub through the summer.”
“Oh yeah! Mack had mentioned that! I’m actually surprised Mack has been home so much this summer!” Robyn offered with a laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s been great to have him to ourselves, but the way he was speaking back in May, I thought he’d be lost to the Cape all summer!”
Gabe caught the look of guilt that washed across Will’s face.
“Oh yeah… we spoke about it. He’s been super busy. Worlds and PR stuff and obligations and…” Will overexplained as Mack reappeared, juggling a large fruit salad and a tub of vanilla ice cream.
Gabe watched the Celebrinis shuffle around, handing out spoons and bowls as Will sank slightly in his seat.
———
When they returned home later that evening, Gabe was overly stuffed with Celebrini home cooking, Mack was buzzing from quality time with his favorite people (and Gabe), and Will was… well, Gabe wasn’t really sure.
As Mack headed off for a shower, Gabe joined Will outside for a cheeky hard seltzer on the deck.
“You all good, bud?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah, I’m…” He paused as he looked out across the yard. “Actually, no. Maybe I’m not…”
Gabe watched Will closely, leaving the silence for him to fill with whatever was plaguing his mind.
“Back in April, when Mack was in Boston, we made all these plans for the summer. We were going to do a road trip and spend weekends on the Cape. He wanted to ‘shut it down’ for a few weeks, really log off for a bit and get out of his hockey brain. He wanted to spend time with me, just the two of us.”
Gabe nodded along through mouthfuls of seltzer.
“I started making all these plans, but after he headed home to Vancouver with Aiden for a few days to catch up with his family, he called to say they’d offered him the captaincy at Worlds and he felt like he had to take the opportunity.”
Will focused his gaze on the stars as months of bottled-up thoughts bubbled over the edge.
“He asked if he could move the dates back. He’d give me June and most of July, but he had this event in Toronto and World Cup games he needed to attend, a birthday celebration with his family, and video-game promo, photoshoots and interviews scattered across the weeks. Could we make it work around those commitments?”
Gabe watched as Will cracked another seltzer, fingers tapping against the side of the can.
“I just wanted to spend time with him,” he whispered softly.
Gabe’s heart twisted at the sadness in his voice.
“I felt like we’d finally have some time together to just… be. I dunno, disengage from hockey a bit, but it felt like Mack couldn’t log off from the obligation of being Macklin Celebrini….”
The silence lingered for a moment before he continued.
“So I threw it in the too-hard basket, told him not to bother, that we’d try again next year. Then I went on some one-man mission to find someone who had time for me, which is so fucking stupid. He carved out six weeks and I threw a tantrum because he couldn’t give me eight.”
Will whipped his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair.
“He didn’t even get mad when I stopped responding as much. He just sort of… locked in. Spent every moment at the rink working on bettering his game while his parents apparently watched on, wondering when he was going to log off and enjoy some time off….”
That same guilty expression settled over Will’s features.
“He means so much to me, man…”
Gabe felt tears prick at his waterline as Will’s voice shook with the confession he’d been waiting to hear.
“Hey, it’s still early days. Plenty of summer left on the table,” Gabe offered reassuringly.
“We fly back to Boston tomorrow….”
“So?” Gabe offered with a casual shrug. “Plans can change.”
—-
As Gabe shuffled out of his room the next morning, half asleep and desperately thirsty, his eyes caught sight of a stray piece of printer paper sitting on the island.
It contained a crudely drawn calendar of the next two months.
The days were littered with color-coded notes.
Dinner with KK and Megan.
Training together.
Elevated Cupcake Experience.
Golf trip.
Training together.
Breakfast with Grace.
Cape Code.
Halifax.
House-hunting trip to SJ.
Camp!
Gabe’s eyes scanned the page, a smile creeping across his lips as they caught sight of the calendar’s owners through the kitchen window.
Will was perched on the edge of the balcony railing, feet dangling over the yard, as Mack stood bracketed behind him, looped around his middle and holding him steady. Safe and content.
Will’s head fell back onto Mack’s shoulder as he tilted his face toward the morning sun, and Gabe couldn’t help the way his heart twisted at the happiness washing across his features.
In an effort not to interrupt, he scooped up his freshly poured coffee and quietly retreated to his bedroom to pack his bags for that afternoon’s flight.
A little while later, Gabe heard a light tapping at his bedroom door.
“Come in!” he yelled as he rubbed his damp hair with a towel.
“All packed?” Will asked as he flopped dramatically onto Gabe’s unmade bed.
“Yep, almost ready.”
“Hey, I’m actually going to bump my flight by a few days, spend a bit more time here. Mack’s gonna head back east with me on Saturday… just a—”
“Change of plans?” Gabe offered with a knowing smirk.
“Something like that…” Will replied with a soft chuckle and a full, toothy grin.
Gabe couldn’t help but flop lovingly across his back, causing Will to groan beneath the weight of the full-body tackle.
“I’m proud of you, man… I love you….” Gabe ruffled the blond hair beneath him. “And I’m in your corner one hundred percent.”
After one more quick squeeze, Gabe rolled off and started pulling his luggage toward the door.
“Don’t hurt the nation’s sweetheart, Romeo… may not live to tell the tale!”
Gabe threw Will a quick wink and dodged the pillow flying at his face.
“Later, Smitty… CELEBRINI, I’M LEAVING, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?”
———
Ryan Leonard changed the chat name to “wgabeleno2994”
Ryan: WE ARE SO BACK BABY!
Gabe: 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Ryan: 
Will: 🙄
Leno: 94 million dollars later and Daddy’s allowed to come home.
Gabe: 😂😂😂😂
Will: 🙄🙄
Leno: Love you, sugar babe!
Will: ❤️
———
“Perreault!”
Gabe looked up at the Shoulder Check event staff member wielding a clipboard and beelining across the room toward him.
“We’re going to go ahead and switch your team for the event to replace Will Smith…”
“Smitty’s not coming?” Gabe’s eyebrows rose instinctively. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t have much info. He sent his apologies late last night that he wouldn’t be able to make it down. Something super important had come up” She offered a small shrug.
Gabe reached for his phone, desperate to make sure Will was okay, but no messages remained unread.
Odd.
Before hitting the call button, he paused for a beat, scrolling down to the group chat he’d made with Mack and Will back in Vancouver. In an effort not to get lost on the Grouse Grind, they’d shared their locations and, well…
Gabe couldn’t help the smile that nearly split his cheeks in half.
MC and WS.
Two dots hovering over the same spot in Cape Cod.
As the president, CEO, CFO, COO, and founding member of the Will Smith fan club, Gabe couldn’t help but approve.