Equal Ice // Harry Styles AU

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Gabrielle’s POV

“Hurry up,” Bella told me,

“I don’t want to be here when the hockey guys get here for their practice,”

“I’m going as fast as I can,” I told her as I continued to take off my skate and put everything into my bag.

I probably could’ve gone a bit faster than the speed as I was actually going, but I just didn’t feel like it. I didn’t want to admit to myself that the reason I was going slow was because I kind of wanted to see Harry, even if I knew I wasn’t going to get to say anything to him. Just as I was about to stand up, the hockey boys came bursting through the door.

“Goldie you really need to learn how to get out of the rink on time,” I heard, knowing it was Zack without even having to look up,

“I’m tired of seeing you your obnoxious friend every time we come to practice,” he said.

I just stayed quiet as I always did, and I was surprised to see that Bella did too. She usually would already be talking back to them, trying to add on to the argument waiting to happen that Zack always started. You’d think us being less responsive to his trying to bother us would get him to stop some, but it only encourages him even more to try to get a rise out of us.

As he continued to say some more things that I wasn’t listening to in attempts to bother us, I guess Bella had finally had enough, and said something that shut him up. As that continued, I looked over at Harry, and once he saw me, he gave me a small smile. I returned it subtly, and then quickly looked away, not wanting to draw any attention.

“Come one Gabi, let’s go,” Bella eventually said a few moments later.

I picked my bag up from the bleachers, and then walked with Bella out of the rink.

“I honestly despise those punks,” Bella said as we walked out into the lobby.

“I know, me too,” I agreed.

“They despise us also,”

“I don’t know about all of them,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked her, hoping she wasn’t leading to where I thought she was.

“Don’t act dumb, I saw the new guy smiling at you,” she said.

How does she notice everything, I want to ask, but I knew I probably shouldn’t because it wouldn’t drift the conversation in a good direction.

“Are sure he was smiling at me? He could’ve just been slightly laughing at something stupid thing that Zack said,” I offered.

“Yeah, sure, first the staring at you now the smiling. I don’t know what’s going on in this situation, but I want it to stop, you do not need to be associated with him,” she told me.

“I’m not associated with him,” I said back.

“I never said you were, but you being so quick to defend yourself makes me think that you are. They’re bad news Gabi, all of them,”

“You don’t even know him,” I told her.

“Oh and you do?”

“No,” I quickly said,

“But he doesn’t seem like one to be rude to us,”

“Actually knowing something and seeming to know something, are two different things,”

“I don’t get why you care so much, you wouldn’t even hate the hockey players if it wasn’t for me,” I said.

“That’s not true,” she fired back.