AAOOOSC! United

"I Was The Only Witness"

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
July 8, 2017
Night

The interior of Connor's home is deluged with darkness. Sitting at the end of the surface is Connor, who has a drastic shadow across his face from a cyan-coloured light glowing in front of him.

The light in front of him is coming from his thought projection, which has the appearance of a hologram: Thin, glowing, translucent lines creating a map along with text and simple imagery.

Connor has his eyes fixated on the projection, reflecting the cyan-coloured light as they dart from one side to the other. He mutters faded phrases under his breath as more words pop up in front of him and the images move around:

"And then I can do this..." He pauses as he stares at the projection. "...but then that would happen, no..."

An image of the Stanley Cup flies from one side of the projection to another.

Connor lets out a short exhale. "Maybe I can go over here and..." His voice fades as he watches a cut-out of himself whizz to New York. "No, they won't do anything—"

Knock, knock, knock!

The projection immediately disperses, dropping the room back into its warm, dim lighting. Connor straightens up, his eyes widen.

"Who is it...?" He then holds still as he feels the surge of his powers flow around his head and eyes.

A mental image of the one knocking vividly forms in his head.

Connor's eyebrows then knit with confusion as he shifts his focus away from the image. "Auston Matthews?"

The front door flies open, revealing Connor in a white T-shirt and his dress pants, belt, and socks in the doorway. He has a surprised expression on his face.

"Auston!" he exclaims warmly, clutching onto the door above his head.

Standing outside on the porch in the dark is Auston, who still has his formal attire on. A smirk is etched on his face as his hands are stuffed in his pants' pockets.

"McDavid," he replies back smoothly. "Greetings."

Connor plops himself against the doorjamb, crossing his arms. "What brings you here?" He raises his eyebrows with interest.

"Do you like to work alone or in a group?" Auston cocks an eyebrow, holding his subtle, amused expression.

Shock grows across Connor's face gradually as he processes Auston's hint. "Wait..." He straightens up, dropping his arms. "You want to work with me?"

"If you'd like me to work with you."

A fiendish grin grows on Connor's face. "Oh-hoh." He rubs his hands together in eagerness. "You know what I'm working for, eh?"

Auston slides up to him, gazing deeply into his eyes. "The whole NHL. In your hands," he rumbles lowly.

Connor leans back with a satisfied smile. "That's right. So you were listening."

"That's what one tends to do when they're at the back of the party with nothing else to do." He shrugs, also leaning away.

"You know what?" Connor nods his head behind his shoulder. "Come on in. We got some discussing to do." He then turns around and disappears into the house's darkness.

Auston steps after him, following him through the shadows.

He then arrives at the dimly-lit countertop just as Connor is settling himself back in his place.