jump then fall | charlie conway

00 | prolouge.

For as long as anyone could remember, Taylor had been Dwayne's shadow. Separated by only eleven long months the two did everything together, they learned to swim at age of two, they learned to play the guitar at age of four, how to ride a bike at six, how to drive at ten, but the one thing that set them apart from the regular milestones was hockey.

Austin wasn't a cold place so it wasn't ideal for the two to play such a sport. Yet, here seven year old Taylor was staring up at her older brother through all her padding.

"Do I look professional?" The girl asked as her brother tried to stop himself from laughing.

"Yeah, yur' lookin' real tough in that getup," he encouraged as the two walked out of the locker room, following all of the other pee-wees to the ice.

"It's chilly, Dane," the girl shivered as she clung to his side.

"It's ice, Tay," he nodded. "It's gon' be cold,"

"I don't like the cold," she muttered.

~

"I still don't like the cold," the bright eyes girl muttered as she zipped down the ice, barreling towards the goal. She could practically hear her heartbeat as if synced up with the timer.

The puck hit her stick once. Eighty seconds

Twice. Six seconds.

And on the third, once she finally got the goalie where she wanted him, she grinned.  Four seconds. "What're you looking at me like that for? I ain't got it,"

She watched the goalies face flush with realization as she heard the crack of her brothers stick. The buzzer blared as her teammates all crowds around Dwayne.

Just like that her team has secured yet another Lone Star State Championship. Her brother beamed at her as he rushed over to her, tugging his helmet off. "How in the hell did you know that wa' gone' work?" He smiled confused.

"I didn't," she mumbled. Her cheeks were flushed. She didn't like when she had the attention of entire audiences and Dwayne knew that.

"Robertson!" Their coach called from across the ice.

Both of the kids turned their heads. "Which one, sir?" Dwayne asked.

"Both of yous," he called back. "I got someone I want you to meet,"

"'Right," he brother nodded as the two began to skate side by side towards the exit.

~

The girl sat with her mouth hanging open as she watched a grin spread across her brothers face.

"Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Don Tibbles laughed holding his hands up in surrender. "We still need your parents permission,"

"You don't gotta worry 'bout that sir, 'course they'll say yes," Dwayne glanced over at his sister, his eyes were twinkling as he grinned ear to ear.

"So let me get this straight," Taylor shook her hands. "You want Dwayne and I," she gestured between her brother and herself. Her suppressed accent making an appeareance. "To fly from here, as in Austin, Texas, to Minnesota, meet people we've never met, fly with them to California and play in the Junior Olympics," she emphasized the last two words. "And hope we don't embarrass the entire country?"

"Essentially," the man, her new coach Gordon Bombay, nodded. "But we'd also love if you could captain the team,"

The girl didn't think her jaw could drop any lower yet somehow she knew it did. "What?" She practically screeched. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Dwayne's smile falter.

"I've seen your skills on and off the ice over the last couple of games and having you as our captain could completely change the way my team plays," the man smiled. "You have the rare ability to make split second descisions work and I've seen how you can make even the other team work for you,"

~

The rest of the meeting was a blur, Mr. Tibbles coming to her house the day after meeting with her parents to discuss the adults aspects of it was completely forgotten, if it hadn't been for Dwayne debriefing in her room as she packed the essentials.

She sat laying on her hotel bed staring at white popcorn design, questioning everything that had ever gotten her to this point. She wondered about these mysterious Minnesota miracle hockey stars and their coach. Eventually her mind wondered to her co-capatain, Charlie Conway. According to what she could find out from the brief news paper article was that he was a year older than her and had been captain of the ducks since their start at District Five.

A knock on her door jolted her out of her thoughts. She knew it was time to go and meet her new team. She could feel the butterflies erupting in her stomach as she bent down to grab her hockey bag. She opened the door coming face to face with her brother in his bright orange Crockett jersey. Tibbles had given the girl a different jersey. Apparently it was one from another team in Texas. The faded stars logo across the front, beside it a small white C.

"You ready?" He asked looking down at his sister, a smile on his face.

"As I'll ever be," she returned his smile.

With that the two siblings walked across the lobby and towards their future, a small black limo parked in front of the hotel.

~

Aphrodite speaks!!!!

Guys I love Taylor and I am going to finish this in like a month

Balancing school and softball has gotten easier but here we are

I'm actually writing this in study hall lol

I hope you enjoyed

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Comment!