Breaking The Ice

Different Parents

TJ's POV

I stumbled into the kitchen with my eyes barely open, feeling like I could sleep for about three days straight, and flipped on the coffee maker. The boys had insisted we go out again last night, giving me some bullshit about celebrating some holiday I'd never heard of, and before I knew it I was wasted and it was 4am. I knew there was a reason I didn't go out as often as most people, because it always threw off my routine and I spent the next day feeling like complete shit.

Now that I thought of it, I had no idea how I even got to my bed because I distinctly remembered falling asleep on the couch shortly after we got home. One of the boys must have carried me to my bed, and they were all so drunk it was a miracle they didn't drop me on the way. I chuckled to myself at the thought, right before an extremely loud noise pierced my ear.

"Morning!" A British accent yelled right next to my ear, and I jumped about a foot in the air.

Harry just chuckled as he reached past me and hit the button on the kettle, obviously amused with himself while he puttered around the kitchen making himself a cup of tea while I clutched my chest and tried to stop my head from pounding.

"Good to see you haven't become less annoying over night, that would have been a real shame." I laughed lightly.

"A tragedy, really." He smirked. "What you doing up so early?"

It had been a week since the night I'd made an idiot of myself at the bar with Harry, and things seemed to have been going quite well between us since then. Of course, we both still loved to irritate each other on purpose, but I think we'd come to an understanding that we were both just playing around and neither of us really meant anything by it.

We both seemed to be far more committed to our training than most of the team, running into each other at the gym most mornings or in the evening before bed, and since we had the same major we had quite a few classes together. We ended up walking home together a couple of times, and we were slowly starting to become more comfortable around each other.

"I have to work in an hour. It's gonna be a rough one." I sighed, dreading my day of waiting on strangers at the diner a few blocks from campus.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a job." Harry said, obviously surprised.

"Gotta pay the bills."

He looked confused for a second, before shaking his head as if to rid himself of whatever thought it was he had, before he threw two pieces of bread in the toaster. I poured myself a cup of coffee once it was ready, drinking it in like it would pump life back into my body as I leaned against the counter and tried to wake myself up.

"What you got going on today?" I asked.

"Nothin too crazy." He shrugged. "Probably go for a run in a bit, maybe do some grocery shopping. I promised my aunt I'd stop by there later for a visit."

"Nice."

"Kinda sucks we don't have practice today, I'd really like to get back on the ice." He sighed.

"Yeah, you could really use the practice. You're horrible." I chuckled as he rolled his eyes at me, and I pondered whether or not I would eventually regret what I was about to offer.

But, in the spirit of starting fresh with him, I figured I'd give it a shot.

"What time you think you'll be back from your Aunt's?" I asked.

"I dunno, she'll probably make me stay for dinner since apparently my entire family thinks I can't feed or do anything for myself." He scoffed.

"Well, you should be thankful they care so much." I said simply, noting that it wasn't the first time Harry had spoken of his family as though they annoyed him. "We should all be so lucky."