Jack had been banging on the hotel door for about 10 minutes before he gave up and went to breakfast, inside Hanna stuffed her face with snacks and sat in the bath tub filled with boiling water.
Shouting the lyrics to the song on the radio a sudden loud thumping interrupted her from the other side of the wall. "Hey, Miss Canada, you suck at singing, shut up!" Yelled Jesse, as Hanna learned his name was, from the other side of the wall.
In response she turned up the volume on the radio and sung even louder. But then it happened. She heard him laugh. Like an angel descending from heaven the sound graced her ears and she stopped singing all together.
How was it possible that just his laugh was enough to make her absolutely speechless and forget the words to her favorite song?
She sat in silence for a little before she remembered, she had practice. That's why Jack was banging on the door 30 minutes ago. Hopping out the the porcelain tub she swung the bathroom door open. The door hit against the wall, paint cracking onto the floor in a flurry. She rushed to get changed and bolted right outside once she did.
Her shirt was on backwards and her pants were scrunched in weird places, but she didn't care. With her shoes in her hand she ran for the elevator.
The elevator ride seemed long, and Hanna was in such a panic she forgot her phone. She assumed she had hundreds of calls from her brothers and... father.
Preparing for the worst as she stepped into the rink she was shocked to see no one on the ice. The arena was completely empty. Making a quick break for the locker room she immediately regretted stepping in there the moment she did. Her father stood in the front of the room with everyone on the benches fully dressed in their hockey uniforms.
"Nice of you to join us," her father stated sarcastically with a trace of venom behind the words. Although he said 'nice of you to join us' Hanna knew he actually meant 'your forty five minutes late and so very dead'.
Hanna took in a deep breath and slowly walked over to her locker, just as she was about to put on her equipment her father cut in "no, you won't be needing that." Hanna shot him a confused glance before he clarified "you will be running those five miles you owe me."
The moment Coach left the room Hanna flung herself to Jack, fists up, ready to dismember him limb by limb. "Jack! I am so going to kill you, why did you rat on me?"
"Better get those five miles done sis," Stryker said sadly, leaving the locker room with the rest of the team following behind sadly. Hanna pounded on the locker in frustration before running out of the arena.
"Stupid-stupid-stupid," she muttered to herself over and over in anger "why are you so stupid?"
"I don't know, I ask myself that all the time," a voice cut in as she was rounding the corner of the building, but it wasn't just any voice, of course it was his.
She glanced at him and rolled her eyes "don't you got something better to do, you know, rather than stalk me all the time." She groaned and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"What's got you all upset?"
"It's just coach is- you know what? Never mind you wouldn't understand." She looked at her sneakers and he gave a bit of a frown. "You ever feel like a complete failure Adam? Like you can never do anything right; like you can't even breathe right."
When he didn't respond, because he didn't know how to, she cut in again "of course you don't, how could someone as perfect as you ever do anything wrong."
She kicked the rock forward and went to start running before he grabbed her shoulder.
"A few years ago I used to play for a team called the Hawks, they were real good in the rink too. But the league drew new lines for districts and I got put with a real.. original.. hockey team. The Ducks." He smiled reminiscing, "my dad was real mad, said that he rather me not play hockey at all than play for that team. And my first practice was the worst- everyone hated me, except for maybe Charlie and Coach Bombay, but I just felt like no matter what I did it would never be right. That I could never do anything that could get me to fit in."
"So what happened?" Hanna questioned.
"What happened? Well you've been here for a few days, you tell me. I got a crew of amazing friends, I'm here in Los Angeles, California and I'm talking to Miss Canada over here. I think things are going pretty good."
Hanna smiled at him and tightened her ponytail out of pure habit. "Glad that makes one of us, but I'm not as luck as you. I don't ever get happy endings like that, Adam."
"Well then maybe you should start making your own happy endings, now," before Hanna could ask what he meant he quickly leaned in. His lips tasted sweet and were soft compared to her chapped, lipgloss covered lips.
But neither of them seemed to mind.
Pulling away just as quickly as they leaned in Hanna blushed a deep scarlet, scrambling to regain her normal expression. "I-I'll see yo-you around.. I guess."
"Bye Hanna," he said so quietly she almost didn't hear him. Hanna didn't turn around and ran fast in the other direction, talk about awkward.
