When the Ice Breaks

XXXIV

Stella

My head bobbed up and down to the beat of the music playing through my headphones. I sat alone in the back of the changing room, preparing myself. This was it—my final high school championship. We had only found out yesterday that we would be playing against Clarke, which sent my blood boiling, but I knew I couldn't let it get to me.

I slowly breathed and closed my eyes, allowing my head to clear as if nothing but hockey were on my mind. "Run, skate, shoot, block, defend. Run, skate, shoot, defend, block. Run, skate, shoot, block, defend. Run, skate, shoot, defend, block."

I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, and walked out of the room. The rest of my team knew I was ready, and we walked out to the arena as they called our school's name.

My ears instantly rang as the cheers were deafening. They began calling rosters until finally, my name was called. I skated on the ice and took in the sounds. It was one thing to have your school cheering for you. It was another thing. My eyes scanned the crowd until they found my family. Both my older brothers, along with the twins and my mom, sat in the stands. My eyes kept scanning the crowd before they fell on Isabel.

Her gaze immediately met mine. They stared at me, and it was like everything else zoned out. She mouthed to me, and it was like I could actually hear her voice. "Baby, you got this. You're a star; you're my star," she mouthed. I took a deep breath as I took in her words.

I refocused on the ref as she read aloud the rules. My ears listened as my eyes hardened on Clarke. She looked back at me with lifeless eyes. We knew what this meant. This was going to show who was willing to give it all. The ref instructed everyone to take their positions, and the game was off with a bang.

The buzzer signaled another penalty against me. "Fuck," I screamed as I entered the box. I threw my mask off, and sweat came flying out. It was 2-1, and we were down. Their defense was all over me any time I had the puck. And Clarke would find a way to ram me into any wall any chance she got. I sighed as I watched my team struggle to escape their strong defense. 

My coach walked over to me and asked, "Any ideas, Bowers? We have ten minutes left, and I just..." She spoke softly. I nodded and thought. I had an idea, and it was risky, but if it worked, we would win. I told my coach, and she seemed uneasy but agreed. As my time in the box ended, Coach called for a timeout, and we told the team the plan.

"Are you insane? We ran those plays once in practice, and that was for emergencies only," Megan said. I nodded, "I know. But we have no choice; we have to win. Just follow what happened in practice, okay? If all else fails," I trailed off. "We'll look for you, Stella. You won't let us down," a sophomore said. I stared blankly, and the buzzer signaled it was time to resume. 

Bodies slammed immediately together as Megan went straight up the middle. I was making my way down the ice behind her when Clarke came and rammed my side. "When yall loose, I am going to fuck the shit outta that pretty little girlfriend of yours. Just like before," she said in my ear. 

It was like all the blood in my body was boiling as I skirted to a stop. Fighting was allowed as long as it was just with hands. I skated as if I was going to fight, and her team slowly began coming towards me when the crowd erupted. They all turned to see Megan successfully making her shot in the goal. "Maybe focus on the game instead of my girl," I replied.

There was one minute left on the clock, and I had been skating, avoiding defenders for three minutes. Megan was crowded, and she looked up until she found my eyes. This was it. She passed the puck to me, and I quickly caught it.

I weaved through defenders, many of whom knocked into me, causing me to almost lose my balance. The clock was ticking away, and I saw two defenders coming barreling at me. I hit the puck with as much force as I could as they both knocked into me, knocking me flat on my back. 

Everything was quiet until the crowd screamed, and purple confetti began falling. My team skated over and helped me up. I looked at the scoreboard, and it read 3-2. We had won—four years in a row. I watched as Clarke's team fell and cried while my team celebrated. I felt my face getting wet as they threw Gatorade on me. "You fuking did it Stella!" Four years," Megan screamed. I nodded and sighed. 

After the initial celebration ended, they began the ceremony, during which we were presented with our rings and trophies. The coach continued her speech,"...and this next young lady is something like no other. In all my years of coaching, I've never seen a player like her. With that, please welcome your MVP for the fourth year in a row, Stella Elizabeth Bowers."

I blushed at my full name being called and walked up to receive my trophy. I smiled as I held it up, and the crowd erupted in cheers. I looked for Isabel but couldn't find her. I looked until I was whisked away. I knew exactly what was coming next.

I was now in a championship shirt, sweats, a coat, boots, and ski goggles. Megan sped as we headed to Isabel's house, which was somehow hosting the after-party. I didn't question it; I was now one champagne deep, and another was being popped open. 

My mind wasn't thinking about much. Hokcey was beyond it, and I could only think about Isabel. We arrived about 1 hour later, and it seemed the party had been on swing for a while. When I walked in, everyone cheered and high-fived me as I walked through to get another drink. When I entered a kitchen, I was all too familiar with it. I went to the counter and did eight shots with some of the boy's hockey team. My face was hot, and I missed my girl badly. I exited the kitchen, slowly walking around looking for her. 

I was beyond drunk right now and wasn't done drinking. I bent down to pick up a beer when a warm hand snaked around my waist. I smiled and turned and saw Isabel looking back at me. She looked so good. She always looked good, but it felt different, as if my whole body reacted to her. 

Her face was flushed, and her hair was wild. I knew she was drunk by the way she was touching me. Her hands were raising my waist, playing at the waistband. I looked around as we stood in the middle of the party. Everyone was focused on their world or too drunk to notice us. "Izzy baby," I said. She smiled lazily, "I got you a gift," she said. Before I could reply, she pulled a small box from her back. I opened it, and it was a gold chain with coordinates. "These are the coordinates to the stadium where you showed the world how great you are four times in a row," she said, smiling at me. I looked at her and couldn't find the words to express my feelings.

"I could kiss you right now," I said, laughing. She walked closer, "So do it then," she replied. My eyes bulged, "But.. I thought?" "Fuck Stel, are you gonna kiss me or not," she said harshly.

Without another second, my hand was on her neck, pulling her into my lips. They met and softly and quickly moved against hers. She pulled me close, and I dug my nails into her neck, which made her gasp, allowing me to slide my tongue into her mouth. I sucked on it softly as she pulled me tighter. I heard wolf whistles behind me as I lifted my other hand to flip them off. 

Isabel removed her lips from mine, smiling all lopsided. She looked like she had something to say. "What?" I asked. She smiled and said, "I love you, Stella Bowers." 

 AN: hehe, yay!! Also yall shits about to hit the fucking fan so hears was waring. ALSO THANK YOU SM FOR 7K READS LIKE WTF I LOVE YALL!!!