𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐞 | 𝐧. 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫

𝟐 | 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨

The clock was winding down in the third period and the energy was intense. The fans were loud as the puck and men from both teams moved down the ice. A few minutes before, the Philadelphia Flyers had managed to tie up the game and now we were fighting to break that tie before having to go into overtime. Once we make it to the net, Nate Bastian passes the puck to Jack Hughes who then passes it over to me, and in a matter of seconds, moving my stick back with as much force as I could muster, I hit the puck and it meets the back of the net. All the Devils fans around us shoot up from their seats and the guys meet me by the boards, squeezing me into a big hug. The fans at the other side of the glass bang loudly trying to get our attention and the energy is beyond electric.

In a line, the whole team skates towards our goalie tapping his helmet and heading back to the locker room after the stars of the game were presented. The guys are buzzing in the locker room as we all take off our gear to prepare for interviewers to come in. "Nico, are we heading to Mo's after this?" Bastian says as he sits next to me. Usually after a win, Nate Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Kevin Bahl, Jonas Sigenthaler, rookie Jack Hughes, and I go out to celebrate. Jack is the baby of the team and we've spent the season helping him get comfortable with being in the league. Not that long ago I was a rookie myself and I know how important it is to have a friend and someone to confide in when you're away from your family.

~

Finally, after completing a few post-game interviews, I meet the guys outside of the arena and we decide to walk to Mo's. The sidewalks are full of people laughing and talking and every couple of people we pass greet us and congratulate us for the win. The Newark streets were bright with all the lights coming out of each business. "What are we getting once we get there?" Bratt asks once we get closer to reaching our destination. "We could get a few drinks and some food, but for Jacky here," I pat Jack's shoulder jokingly, "he'll be getting soda rather than drinks." Jack laughs at my rundown of what we'd be getting. He knows we never want him to feel excluded from our celebrations so we make sure to treat him like an adult, but of course, we make sure he doesn't drink seeing as he's underage.

Walking into Mo's the lights are bright and everyone's head turns and starts cheering and clapping for us. This place was known to be a popular hangout spot for Devil's fans seeing as we're close to the Prudential Center. Since coming to Jersey, Devils fans have proven time and time again how amazing they are. The guys and I bro hug and greet a few of the people as we walk over to our usual booth towards the back. "There's a lot of people here tonight. Let's get to celebrating boys!" The guys all cheer at the commencement of our celebration.

Fifteen minutes after our server brought us a tray of drinks, Nate, Jesper, and Kevin wanted a few beers. "Nico, can you go ask Steph for a few beers?" The guys and I usually have a designated person who is in charge of ordering each time we go out, and tonight is my turn. "Sure I'll be right back." Getting up and walking over to the counter, I spot a singular empty seat next to a girl with long brunette hair. The closer I got to the counter, the stronger the smell of her distinctive perfume became. "Hey Steph, can I get a few beers for me and the guys?" Steph nods her head and heads off to get the beers. Knowing it might take her a while, I take a seat next to the girl and turn to start some small talk.

The first thing I notice before even speaking a word is that she has a nose piercing and beautiful brown eyes. She's very pretty, but I don't think I've ever seen her around here before. "Hey, I've never seen you around here before. I'm Nico." She goes on to introduce herself as Gabi and laughs as she sticks her hand out, which I shake. Gabi tells me she's never been here before, but that she came with her best friend. We are only able to talk for a few minutes before Steph reappears with a few beers for me to take back the guys.

For some reason, I feel the need to come back once I take the beers to the boys to continue my conversation with Gabi. Once I make it back to the table, I slide the beers to the guys who asked for one, except for Jack of course, and pass him a soda sent by Steph. "Hey Nico, who were you talking to over there?" Jesper asks before taking a sip of beer and looking back at me. Before I knew it, all of the guys were staring, waiting for me to tell them who I'd been talking to. "Her name is Gabi and she seems like a nice girl." The guys all nod and almost telepathically have a conversation.

"Nico, listen, go back over there and keep talking to her. We'll be here once you're done talking to Gabi." The guys smile and send me off and back to where I was previously sat next to Gabi. Once I announce that I'm back, Gabi smiles. "Are your friends okay with you being over here talking to a random girl when you're supposed to be celebrating?" She seems a little curious and unsure if the guys would be okay with me being over here with her.

"Yeah if anything the guys encouraged me to come back and kicked me out of the table. I spend a lot of time with them anyway when we travel and practice so they won't miss me." After that, we both end up spending time together, with a lot of laughter and conversations being shared between us. Sometime later, Gabi's best friend comes over and she tells Gabi that it's time to go home. They're both walking away and before I can even think, I run after her. "Hey Gabi wait!" Gabi stops quickly and turns around with a questioning look on her face.

"Would you maybe... um... like to exchange numbers?" I'm scratching the back of my neck a little nervous for what Gabi might say. "Yeah sure, Nico." We both take out our phones and we swap them to put in our numbers. My hands are a little shaky typing in my number since this is the most I've talked to a girl since coming to Jersey.

We take our respective phones back, "Maybe I'll see you around?" Looking at Gabi it looks like she's a little nervous, but in my head, I'm hoping I do see her around sometime. Shaking my head, "Yeah of course. Have a safe trip home." She slightly nods her head giving me one last look before turning around and heading towards her best friend. I watch her leave and head back to the boys.

Once I come into view they start clapping and cheering. "Aww, our Nico boy is all grown up." I smack Jesper behind the head and all the guys react in laughter. "How did it go? Is she as nice as you thought she was?" I spend the rest of our time at Mo's telling the guys about Gabi. They try making fun of me the whole time, but after a while, they are also hoping that at some point I will see Gabi around again to talk more with her or to at least even hang out.

~
𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞

Hey, lovely people I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's a short one, but it's a little look into Nico's mind when he and Gabi met. The next one will be better I promise!

Have a great day or night wherever you are ♡