✔ SLAPSHOT ✖ irwin au

twenty-two.

k a r r i s

✖

We were getting slaughtered.

Brampcrest Academy came onto our home turf to do major damage and they certainly were doing so. I always knew the Brampcrest hockey team were phenomenal players, but this time around, it was absolute insanity. Willowridge were struggling as they tried their hardest to steal pucks, execute plays they've practiced for hours, and win a game they so desperately wanted.

"Damnit!" Coach Benson bellowed, rubbing his forehead with his hand in frustration. I could see both fear and anxiety etched in his redden face as he watched Calum get slammed against the barricade and drop onto the ice like Skrillex dropping the bass.

Even though Calum and I didn't talk anymore, he still had a tiny place in my heart -- which sucked because I knew I was nothing to him. I was concerned for him regardless, hoping he wasn't too injured. But when I watched Calum get up from the ice and shoot Coach Benson a thumbs up, I knew he was going to be okay.

Brampcrest were in the lead by two points and they were doing everything in their power to keep it that way. Even the refs seemed to be on their side, which became a more frustrating aspect of the game. Several of Brampcrest players should've been benched, should've been penalized for playing dirty. But every time they'd ransack themselves into our players, or trip us from hooking, the refs were conveniently looking in another direction.

It was nuckin' stupid!

And what was just as stupid, were my innate anxious nerves. I had a close eye on our boys who were getting assassinated on the ice, but in watching our players meant seeing a certain Brampcrest player, notorious for things only he and I knew: Sebastian Grey, number 9.

Sebastian moved across the rink at top speed. He played with aggression and anger, as he skated circles around Willowridge. He was a predator and our boys were his prey, playing with his food before voraciously digging in. A cocky smirk would appear on Sebastian's face every time he made a goal, and it was his sick vendetta to make sure Ashton knew what he was up against.

I didn't blame Ashton at all when he decided to pummel Sebastian to the ice. I didn't mind at all that one of the best players on the Willowridge team was flagged with a penalty and had to be benched for five minutes while we played a man short. What I did care about however, was the eerie grin Sebastian flashed as his daunting eyes bore deeply into him. I swallowed, shivered, and felt my stomach drop a thousand feet. My entire body went cold and my skin prickled, peppered with goosebumps.

"Whoa! Karris!"

"She's on the ground!"

"Call a time out!"

I didn't realize I had collapsed. My vision went black for a millisecond and when everyone reappeared, I was looking at legs and skates. Confusion dripped from my face as I gazed up, finding the entire hockey team surrounding me with concerned expressions.

"Get her up! Get her up!"

I didn't have time to react or to open my mouth to speak before a pair of arms lifted me off of the ground. One arm around my back and the other beneath my legs, I was cradled with ease. I don't know why I thought it was Calum at first -- probably because he used to defend me and there was a part of me that wished he still would. But when I caught glimpse of the dark haired boy, I realized that it wasn't he who held me so protectively.

"God Karebear, can you not be such a spaz?" Ashton's eyebrows were furrowed, staring at me as he shook his head in disapproval. His facial expression was brimming with annoyance, but his hazel eyes on the other hand were glazed with something else.