Hockey Imagines

Hate Hockey | Jack Hughes

#86, Center for the New Jersey Devils
Word Count: 2.6 K

Request for @selwolfqueenjscd

"We have the first hockey game of the season tonight."

"Sounds interesting." Actually, it sounds horrible, if I'm going to be honest. But Anna is the only friend I have here, and if she wants to go to this game tonight, I'll go. I have a really hard time making friends, so I'm holding on tight to this one.

"Do you wanna go? It'd be fun. The awesome part is that it's not even a school event, it's a national one. The guys here don't play school hockey, but they play for the development team in town."

"That does sound cool." I admit. "Sure, let's go."

Anna grins happily. "Sounds awesome. Do you want me to pick you up?"

We make plans and then head in different directions since lunch is over.

I'm incredibly grateful for Anna. I've only lived in Plymouth, Michigan for six months, but since the first day, Anna has been incredibly kind and welcoming. I'm glad that she took a chance on being friends with me and actually likes spending time with me.

Later that night, Anna picks me up and we go to the game. We decided we'll just eat at the game during one of the intermissions, so we go straight to the arena, which conveniently is in town.

I'm not a hockey fan. I used to be. Both my brothers played for a team where we used to live, and one of them is playing college hockey and one's playing in the NHL now.

Not that anyone around here knows that. And I want to keep it that way. I don't want everyone to suddenly like me just because of my brothers.

"We got really good seats tonight." Anna tells me excitedly. We're at center ice, just a couple rows up from the glass.

I almost feel comforted by being here. It feels almost like home. And hockey hasn't made me feel like this in so long. Not since freshman year. Not since. . .

Anna nudges me. "You see that guy? The one with the shorter hair, number 6?"

I nod. "Yeah. He's pretty cute." I admit.

"I know, right? That's Jack Hughes. His brother goes to University of Michigan, and he's already been drafted. The word on the street is that New Jersey is going to take Jack as the number one pick." She explains. "Now, he's cute. But my personal favorite?" She points to number 19, a guy with short, dark hair and a big smile. "That's Alex. I've met him a couple times, he's a really sweet guy."

"He seems like it." I agree. But for some reason I'm still stuck on Jack. "What else do you know about Jack?"

Anna gives me a knowing look but doesn't question it. "He's a nice guy, mainly hangs out with his teammates." She shrugs. "From what I've heard, he's decently smart. His little brother is also expected to go pretty high in give draft, but we have a few years until then. Oh, and his parents are pretty well known in the hockey world."

"Interesting."

"Very." She agrees.

The arena goes quiet as the announcer tells everyone to stand for the national anthem. We do so, and not long after, the game is in full swing.

Jack definitely seems to be the star of the team, as do two kids with the last names Caufield and Zegras. The entire team it really good, and I have no doubt that they'll probably be taken early in the draft.

I make a mental note to ask my brothers to see what they know about them later on.

The game ends with the development program winning 6-2, and Anna and I linger for a bit before leaving.