According to Plan

Chapter 3: I Will Climb You

She didn't hear from him again for the rest of the school year, up until summer, when he moved back, she still barely saw him.

Her first year of high school passed, and she barely saw him. She wasn't surprised, he had committed to the Foxside Colts, so he was kind of busy now.

She couldn't be mad. This was why he left, and now he had to work to prove himself. He needed to focus and keep up with all of the other goaltenders he was going up against during all the various camps he went to.

This thought didn't make it hurt any less when she saw him going in and out of his house with his swimming bags while not replying to any of her messages or posting photos online while leaving her on read.

She had given up pretty quickly after their short encounter back in December. He wanted nothing to do with her, and she would just have to live with that.

Leo eventually became a small thought in the back of her mind as she became closer with Jake. He had stayed in the band because it looked good on his university applications next to doing hockey. She wasn't sure why he needed a good resume. As her sister had explained to her in excruciating detail, all of the junior league players had scholarships. Once they had the grades, they could go to any school in Canada, but she didn't question it. He seemed to be having fun, and she liked having him there.

The band director was intense as ever, but he made it fun. He was good at the sax, even if he could never keep track of his reed. She always had one in her case, just in case. She had bought one for him specifically, but he always found it in the nick of time, so it continued to sit in her case. It was good to have just in case anyways.

On top of being in band together, Jake began to ask her to run errands with him. He had to get some basic stuff that wasn't provided for him by the league but had no clue what to buy. So Ms. Whitehorn suggested that he took a friend after school.

He brought it up while they were in band, and she offered to go with him. Her sister could just pick her up later.

"Really? I was just gonna ask Matt, but that would be great. We can go straight after school." He said as his reed dangled from the corner of his mouth.

She nodded. "Of course, no problem."

And it became a weekly thing. They would go out, shop for a bit, then get Timmies after. It was a great system they had. She helped him shop and kept him company, then he bought her food—a win-win.

*****

Eventually, Jake started tagging along with her friends since "he was tired of seeing his smelly teammates and Ivy's sass killed him," so eventually, they became inseparable.

She helped him with his homework (well, she read over his papers for grammar. She had no idea what was going on in his Human Development course and really didn't want to know), and he helped her with hers. They read plays together, he read over her work, and he helped her build a rocket for her tech class.

They both worked to ensure that their homework was done before they did anything else. Jake understood how important school was to her, and he made sure she was good before making plans. It was comforting to know that he always had her back.

They fell into a comfortable routine with each other. School and band during the week, shopping on Sundays after his game, then hanging out at home, or catching a late movie if he was in the city for the weekend. Leo was far from her mind, as Jake had become her best friend, and she was happy. It was a calm, predictable routine.

She went to as many games as she could to support Jake and his team as much as she could. It was always fun, as the team was doing well through the whole season. He invited her to the party he had with the conference cup. It was surreal hanging out with all the people she had been watching through the glass all season, but most of them were nice enough. There was some drunk karaoke, and other Jake kept hitting his head on the low hanging lap that Nick had in his basement, but getting to hang out with Jake was always fun. It was a fun night before losing to Erie in 5 games.