when the ice melts // jack hughes

part ten

The week went by fast.

There were often times where cam had to leave work early, so he could go to practice. I found out that he always went to the gym before he came to work every morning, which probably explained why he always came straight from the shower.
"Doesn't that exhaust you?" I had asked during work yesterday when he was telling me about his gym schedule. "Coming here from the gym?" Cam just shrugged, his eyebrows raised as his shoulders went up. "You get used to it and stuff, also it makes lifting produce easier.." Cameron joked, he pulled up the sleeve of his sweatshirt and flexed his arm. I shoved him and laughed, "dork." Even though he did have muscles.
It was true,
Cameron really was in shape.

I sat in front of the vanity in my room, trying to figure out what to do with my hair. At the moment, it just kind of hung just below my shoulders. My hair was a really dark brown, it was also quite thick. I decided to just straighten it and have it down, parting it on the left side. I applied some foundation, fixing my dark undereyes with some concealer and adding some mascara. I slid into black leggings and threw on my maroon-coloured Giants hoodie. I got into my black Converse Hightops and went outside. I took my car keys out of my pocket and unlocked my car. I sat in my car and checked my phone.

New message from 'Cam 🙄😏'
5:23 PM

Thinkin bout you :))
cheer loud

Always.

I hope I'll be able to focus ;)

Mm. Flirty today, are we?

Shut up.

I turned off my phone and started the engine of my car. I looked into the rear view mirror and noticed that my cheeks were flushed. Damnit, I thought.
"C'mon you lazy-ass." I honked my car horn at my brother, who was still inside getting ready. The front door of our house was open, and I could see him tying his shoes. I had invited him along because he was a hockey fan, too. He'd actually been a Giants fan since he had started skating, which was like, nine years ago. I had started hockey two years ago, whereas he started when he was ten.
It was okay, I caught onto the sport easily and I got better the more I played.

"Okay, let's go!" Trey jumped into the passenger seat in the front of my car. He was wearing his Ty Ronning jersey, and his chocolatey-brown curls were pulled back into his Giants hat. I felt left out wearing only a Giants hoodie, so I made a mental note to pick up some more Giants stuff in their team store after the game.
"I still can't believe the Cameron Koehler works at our cafe. The Cameron Koehler, and you act like it's no big deal. You two are even friends." Trey rolled his eyes. He had found out about Cameron not too long ago. The only reason he even found out was because he actually took a damn break from his video games. I swear, you wanna talk about a disappointment? Let's talk Trey Jonston, nineteen and spends his free time playing video games. I say free time because he spends a majority of his time watching, playing, and researching hockey. He doesn't work, he doesn't go out with friends. He gets money through babysitting. Babysitting. My mom still pays him for it.
"It really isn't a big deal.. Cam's an ordinary guy, I don't see the hype." That was a lie. I was hype about him in a totally different way. "Right, tell that to me if he ever gets into the top 100 for draft scouting." Trey shook his head.

The Langley Events Centre was a short drive. The arena was in, well, Langley. I found a place in the parking lot for my car and we got out. Trey stopped to tie the laces of his Vans while I searched my backpack for the tickets.
"Bingo," I pulled out two tickets, "We're sitting in section E."
Trey grabbed his ticket and scanned over it for more information on our seating.
"Dude, we're near the glass!" He exclaimed. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the entrance.

There were a lot of people here. Lucky for us, the line for entry wasn't too long. "Have a good time, you too." The lady at security winked towards Trey and I after scanning our tickets. I opened my mouth to shout 'we're siblings!', but Trey was too busy laughing, so I let it go.

"Alrighty," Trey let go of my hand as we entered the arena. "There's section E," he pointed to the section that was across the arena from where we were. "I'm gonna go get us some food and pop, so you go sit down." Trey turned back to me once more, "oh, and don't distract Cameron." He winked before running off, leaving me by myself.

I made my way to our seats, passing a lot of different people with a mix of Vancouver and Seattle jerseys. Hockey fans were like one big family, everyone waved and high-fived each other. It was such a good feeling, almost as if you were part of the team you were cheering for.

I eyed my seats, debating if I wanted to sit down or go down to the glass. There was half an hour till the game started, and the teams were warming up. "Screw it," I pulled my backpack straps over my shoulders and ran down the steps of the arena. I quickly spotted Cameron near the net and had to hold myself back from waving and shouting. I took a deep breath, "calm down," I whispered to myself. "you don't wanna distract him," but it was too late. Cam had spotted me and was already stick-handling in front of the glass. I exaggerated an eye roll, earning a smirk from him. A teammate shoved Cam and pretended to want to fight. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I knew I was probably the topic of their conversation.

Suddenly I spotted Jordan

and he looked ready to crush Cam's bones.

I don't know why, but the fact that I was falling for my ex's biggest competition satisfied me.

It gave me power.

Jordan was stretching near the neutral ice. We made eye contact, lucky for me, it was only for a second. I felt this chill come upon me, knowing Jordan probably had Cameron on his hit list.

And the fact that Cam's number on the list has probably gone up because I associate with him made me feel worse.

I noticed that the players were getting off the ice, so I left the glass.
I found my seat and sat down.
"Five minutes till game time," Trey sat down beside me. He handed me a can of coke and a hot dog wrapped in tinfoil. "it's gonna be a big deal, Via. It's home opener." I nodded, unwrapping the tinfoil from my hot dog. "I know, and I'm excited for it." I turn my focus towards the ice, taking a bite of my food.
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