Love in the Shadows ~ Dean Portman x OC

Ch. 35: Someone

Pov: Dean Portman, September 4th, 1995, Minneapolis, Minnesota

"They should be right through that door" Bombay points me towards the Duck's locker room just before the end of the second period.
"Thanks Coach. For everything" We shake hands as he hands me my scholarship.

Unfortunately with the crowd, it's hard to get across the arena so I am still going through people when I hear the announcement: "Ok and now, it's a great pleasure to introduce our special, surprise, in between period guest, from her '1 4 the Fans' Tour, and former player on Team USA Junior Hockey, Maple Hart!"

I stop dead in my tracks as my focus shifts from the locker room door to the ice and like an oasis in the desert, there she is. Glowing and beaming like an angelic stained glass window, cascading colors and vibrance on every surface it touches. I stare at her, unmoving as if she'll notice me if I twitch even an inch as the music starts. I don't recognize her beat until I remember her words

"Ok well this [new song] is about you so I think you definitely love it"

It's the one she wrote about me. After everything had happened and with work, I never got the chance to listen to it. I latch onto the bleachers knowing the Ducks can wait a minute or two

"Way back in ole Minnesota
I still see your face
Your heart worn on your sleeve and a
Dream to get outta this place"

"Hard shell with scars all around it
I could feel your pain
I tried and tried to crack it, but
It was all in vain"

"You were a mountain to climb
But damn I will climb it
If it means I will find
What's layin' deep within it"

"I know you couldn't reveal the
Things that you secretly feel but
I hoped your ice shield would melt
'Cause of the warm love I felt"

"On the ice I felt a connection
Was it a dream?
A man like you could look my way
That was what it seemed"

"I was out and you stayed by my side
I looked in your eyes
I don't remember much that night
Except for your smile"

"You were a mountain to climb
But damn I will climb it
If it means I will find
What's layin' deep within it"

"I know you couldn't reveal the
Things that you secretly feel but
I hoped your ice shield would melt
'Cause of the warm love I felt"

"Don't you leave me
I can hardly breathe
If your not near me
Holding me close"

"Don't you lie to me
That you didn't like me
Don't you like me?
I love you too"

This line. Those words. They were written before everything. She loves me. She loved me. I love her. And I didn't say it to her but she said it to the world. I ruined everything

"You were a mountain to climb
But damn I will climb it
If it means I will find
What's layin' deep within it"

"I know we couldn't reveal the
Things that we secretly feel but
I felt your 'walls start to fall
From the greatest love of all"

The crowd erupts in cheers and screams. I then notice the Ducks from the sidelines, cheering along with the crowd. She looks over at them and smiles and waves. I see it in her eyes, she scans through them, she's looking for something. Someone

She doesn't find it, clearly, and with a defeated look, goes into the stands. I sneak past her section, still stuck in the crowd as I make my way to the locker room.