Post Olympic

Sauerkraut and Ireland

So I've said something like let's get this going for three chapters in a row now. I'm not sure when everything takes off, but it happens somewhere. 

oooooh boy alright

-rabid

hey, and if you want music, comment for it, 'cause shit do I have some slaps that work well with this story - - - - - - - i'm serious, it's got a spotify playlist (uh oh)

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"I'm your coach." I respond.

"They picked you up off the street." He says. My insides flare.

"I played for the olympic team."

"No, you didn't. I looked you up. You were kicked off for drug use." I roll my eyes.

"I was framed, and I was cleared."

"But you didn't go back to college." He pushes.

"Do I need to tell you my life story?" I snap. Sauerkraut's ears perk in my peripheral vision and I see him hold back just a bit, coming up against Ireland.

"Lay off." He growls at the redhead.

"I can fight my own battles, Sauerkraut." I say. He raises his eyebrows at me.

"You don't always have to," He responds, but his tone isn't light like his words are. His tone is the same low that it was when he told Ireland to lay off, even, deep, and menacing. He pushes Ireland's back, forcing him forward in the clump of people. "What I'm saying is that you don't have to be alone anymore."

"Jeez, stop treating me like a kicked puppy. I've been alone forever, this isn't different." I say. He gives me that sad and disappointed look that I hate. "Don't give me that look."

"What look?"

"The pity look." I eye him.

"I," He pauses and I see thoughts cross his face in a rather unsettling manor. "Sorry,"

We walk side by side back up into the building, but I eventually have to ask a question that I've wanted to ask since I found out that one of their top paid players is still living in the arena. In the dingy little apartments, nonetheless.

"Why do you still live at the rink?" I ask. The team is starting to split off to go do their after workout things, cafeteria, physical therapy, a multitude of things.

"What do you mean?"

"You're tied for top paid on this team and you still live in the dingy apartments upstairs,"

He pauses for a second. "Maybe I like the dingy apartment."

"The shower requires a wedge to run and the electricity doesn't necessarily stay on all the time." I noticed that when I woke up this morning and the lights dimmed when I turned on more than one.

"It's not that I love the apartment, I just haven't had the time to move out. Plus, I won't be around long, they're forcing me out for renovations at the end of November."

"Cool." I mumble. He opens the door to a small gym where several guys are already working. "Do you know if they have a computer I can use around here?" I ask.

"Yeah, there should be at least a few over in the offices that you can borrow for a while." I nod and he nods back, then we spin on our heels and walk away from each other. I need to hate him, he's probably a jerk to girls, and worse, he's on the team, it would look awful if I got a crush on him, but I can't deny that he's dazzling.

I find Hadley on the way down the hall to the offices. "Hey, can I borrow a computer, or something of the sort?" I ask.

"Yeah, actually, you should have an office down there, I'm pretty sure it's number eighteen, actually." I look past him down the hallway.