~Pucker face~ Charlie Conway

Chapter three: Time isn't really change

About a month and a half had gone by, and nothing much had changed. A few of the boys like Dean, Fulton, Dwayne and Ken were acting a bit more respectful towards me, but the rest still had a stick up their butts when I was around. I seriously didn't know why having me around was such a problem. I played by the rules, did everything asked of me, stayed silent even when I was just dying to talk. My opinion wasn't needed. Simply put by Conway, I wasn't needed.

This rivalry between Charlie and I made me dread every team activity. Whether it be going out to dinner, class, even practice. At practice we were beginning to start a structured training plan. On Thursday's we did game simulations with two different lines. Conway made it super obvious he wanted to steal a win from me, so he would always send one of his friends to bump me out or steal the puck himself. Even when we were on the same team in the sims, he would refuse to pass to me.

Often, I was alone. Really, I didn't mind that Connie and Julie stuck with the team. Before I arrived, they all got along peacefully, trying to get them to choose me was extremely selfish. I didn't want to believe there were sides, but there were, and they couldn't just be ignored.

After another month, I had captured the attention of the Varsity team. Some of them were just class A assholes, but others were sweet. A mixed bunch. I stayed after practice often to get some extra practice in, and sometimes they watched. There were two rinks in the complex, and the separate teams both had one. Although, the Varsity rink was newer, and nicer.

The time I dreaded spending with the JV team turned into enjoyable hours with the Varsity boys. Scott 'Scooter' Holland was honestly super sweet, he just didn't want anyone to know it. The rest of them warmed up to me eventually. We ate meals and played around together in the rink on Sundays as when none of us had practice. I saw the stern face of Captain Conway less and less.
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Finally, Halloween night was upon us. I sat eating a Sandwich at the Varsity table in the dining hall, reading a book assigned for one of my classes. Romeo & Juliet.

"You know they both die right?" Scooter asked, setting his bag on the ground, and taking a seat next to me.

"Yeah of course I know that, I mean it's Romeo and Juliet. Who hasn't heard the story?" I said laughing and setting it down.

"True."

More of the boys sat down and began talking loudly.

"Hey guys! You hear about the Halloween bash in the Quad tonight? It's also costumes, so I better be scared out of my shorts." A boy named Logan mentioned.

"Is that a challenge?" Another guy named Brian asked.

"Sure." Logan said, making us all laugh a little bit.

Scott turned to me with a smiling face and raised his eyebrows. He wanted to propose something. Excitement was practically leaking out of his ears. At this rate, if I didn't ask what he was thinking, he would just explode.

"Okay, what's up with the dopey expression?"

He finally let out a huge breath and began to explain his plan.

"....So I just had the brilliant idea that we dress up as Romeo and Juliet. Now I know Halloween's scary, but I don't want to be a mummy or skeleton, something more elaborate. We can borrow costumes from the theatre program, the teacher loves me. Whatcha think?"

I could feel my cheeks getting a bit hot at the idea. It kind of felt like a couples costume. But if he was so keen on the idea, why not?

"Y'know what? Sure. Let's do it!" I said giving him a fist bump.

We both got up and left, heading towards the theatre room.

Charlie's POV

Sloane was still on the hockey team, but it seems she calmed down a bit. She wasn't talking to any of us as much. Regardless, her antics still annoyed me. She did things her own way during drills, and wouldn't stop pulling a steal from her own teammates to score during game simulation. But as soon as her personality withdrew from the JV team, it seemed like it joined Varsity.

Sloane never came to JV team gatherings anymore, and hung out with Scott and his buddies instead. I couldn't believe Scooter even accepted her, she was annoying on another level. This was better, and worse. Better because she was out of my way, but worse because maybe they'd take her to Varsity and not someone more deserving. It's not like there's that big of a difference in talent between the two anyways, but of course by the name, Varsity sounds cooler.

She hung out with Varsity everyday, sat with them for meals and started playing with them on the weekends. Today, she and Scott walked off together during lunch to go do who knows what. I had a feeling something was going to hit the fan soon enough, but what it would be? I'm not sure.

Sloane's POV

As we arrived in the costumes closet for theatre, Scott and I dug through bins of Romeo and Juliet costumes. Finally, we found some that would fit. They looked a bit more modern, and a little less Shakespearean, but it didn't matter. Most people would get it.

"Oh I found it!" I said, digging through one of the bins, finally striking gold.

"Let me see!" Scott yelled from across the room where he was also looking for a costume.

"Not until tonight! Pick me up at 7!" I yelled, scampering away with my dress

It was a Saturday, so hockey came first. I was a little stressed because I had to find somewhere to fit homework in between hockey, getting ready for the bash, and the bash itself. Nothing beats the feeling of a good challenge.

When I stepped foot on the ice like I do everyday, Charlie, Adam, and Luis immediately came over to me. Just my luck, triple trouble.

"We know what you're doing." Adam said starting it off.

"Yeah, and it's not going to work. Flirting with Holland isn't going to get you off JV." Luis added.

"WHAT?! All of you. Get out of my way." I yelled roughly at them, but nobody budged. Charlie began talking, I supposed it would be another 'I'm right, you're wrong, I'm big, you're little.' Lecture. He couldn't grab hold of me and talk me into a weak position again. It wasn't fair. I pushed Charlie to the side and skated to the exit towards the locker room. I couldn't deal with this today. Even when I tried to not interact with them, they came to me. Julie, immediately noticing the altercation, chased after me.

"Sloane! What is going on with you?" She demanded

I didn't want to cause problems. Charlie and the rest of the guys were all golden in their eyes. He obviously wasn't in mine, but I knew there was good to him. Only one thing standing in the way of me seeing that was envy. Cocky Conway was completely jealous.

"It's nothing! I just don't think I should skate today.....my ankle hurts." I said, trying to excuse myself.

"Yeah, okay, but why'd you push Charlie?" She asked.

"I was just playing around. I wasn't harming him, promise."

Pulling all my gear off, I threw it in my bag and left. Going back to my dorm I wrote my parents a letter.

Dear mom and dad,

Sorry it's been a bit. I've been quite busy with hockey. I met some new people and have been hanging with the Varsity team. Tonight's Halloween, so I hope you're passing out some treats to the neighborhood kids. I miss home a lot right now. It just occurred to me that I miss my old team too. It's great here, but there's some things you'll never take for granted. Only about 1.5 months until winter break when I get to see you again! Write back with Halloween costume details and what the best one was.

Love you,
Lonnie

Why was navigating feelings and high school so hard?