Queen II Barzal

Chapter Nineteen: Tyler

 One of the medics gave me ice and a towel to wipe my blood. He looked at my head where I got hit.

"You're a tough-ass kid," He said to me, wiping my brow with another towel. "You'll be fine, though, it's nothing serious,"

"Thanks," I said, chucking the ice to the side of the bench.

I waited my time in the box which took for fucking ever. When I finally got out, I got a quick pass from Nick. He wasn't usually on my line, so I'm not used to playing with him. I passed it back before he found Leon. Leon passed it back to Nick as I skated to the net. Nick took a slapshot and I was there for the rebound. I took my shot and it hit the back of the net. The buzzer sounded as I raised my arms.

"Fuck yeah!" I yelled bringing the score up 1-0.

The guys crowd around me giving me fist bumps. I head to the bench where I get more congrats from my teammates.

The game went into overtime and Asshole was still out. I started my shift fast and skated to the puck. I had it grazing my stick. I passed it to Chris. He passed it back quickly. I looked to the other side of me, which was Danny with fresh legs. I passed it to him and he took the chance to take the slapshot. It hit the goaltender's pad and I was there for the rebound. I swatted at the puck, trying to hit it in the back of the net. Apparently, I was getting a little too close to their goaltender, so one of the guys from the other team knocked me over. He was about my dad's height, maybe taller. The dude was ginormous and towered over me as I got up. Danny was about his height and pushed him. This led to a fistfight between Danny and that guy with their gloves dropped. Their fight wasn't as intense as mine with Asshole. They only got one punch each before they were separated.

In the next shift, Nick scored which brought the bench up, cheering. A great way to start the season with a win.

After the game, Nick and I went to dinner. We usually went out just the two of us after practice or something. I've become more and more comfortable around him.

"That was a pretty big fight you had in the first period," Nick looked at me across the table and smiled.

"It was nothing," I assured him.

"What even happened?" He asked.

"He was being an asshole," I said. "It's what assholes do,"

Nick laughed.

"That was a pretty good goal you had, winning us the game," I changed the subject.

"Thanks," He said. "You too, that goal was fucking amazing,"

"Thanks," I smiled, taking a sip of my water.

"How's the new school treating ya?" He asked.

"It's not too bad," I said. "Chris showed me around but I'm still getting lost,"

"You still get lost in the Thunderbirds' locker room," He laughed.

"Hey, it's kinda big," I said. "There's lockers and, uh, showers..."

He laughed again, this time taking a french fry that was on the plate in the center of the table.

"Hey, you've been here longer than I have," I took a french fry.

"But I didn't get lost on the first day," He joked.

"How do you not get lost on the first day?" I asked.

"Cuz I'm good with directions... and locker rooms," He said with a slight laugh.

The waitress brought burgers to our table to celebrate our first victory.