𝐂𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑, a.b.

(THIRTY FOUR)

    "You got him good, what can I say?" Harvey smiled as she wiped the blood off of her elbow. When Charlie pushed her backwards, her pads pinched her skin and cut her elbow. It was a small cut, but it still bled. "How do you always manage to get hurt, babe?" The girl shrugged her shoulders as Adam grabbed the now bloody napkin from her hand and threw it in the trash.

    "Adam?" He walked closer to her and pulled her close to him, hugging her. "Do you think they'll forgive us? Like, they'll be our friends again?" He pulled away from her and looked down at her, moving a strand of her hair behind her ear.

    "They can't stay mad at us forever. It's not like we asked to be on varsity, we just did good and Orion saw." Sh nodded her head in response as she put her head back against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

After Harvey and Adam took their nap, she walked into her room to see Julie and Connie, crying in each other's arms. She threw her bags on the floor and jumped onto the bed, hugging the girls. She didn't care about what happened, she just wanted the two girls to be okay.

    "Harv?" The girl pulled away and watched as her two best friends wiped their tears. "Hans died today." Harvey sat there, frozen and unable to move. When Harvey had first arrived in Minnesota for the goodwill games and practice, The Ducks had introduced her and Luis to Hans. He always made jokes and made them laugh. "Harvey?" She felt one of the girls shaking her as she pulled out of her own thoughts. She didn't pay attention to the girls, she just ran out of the room. Harvey ran towards the boys' rooms and quickly knocked on Adam and Guy's room. As she wiped her tears from her face, Guy opened the door.

    "Hey Harv. Hey, what's wrong?" Harvey shook her head and chuckled a bit.

    "You might wanna go check on Connie. She's in my room with Julie." Guy made his way out of his room, leaving Harvey alone with Adam. "Adam?" He quickly looked up and smiled, but it soon turned into a frown when he saw his girlfriend crying. "Hans, uhm, he died."

..........

    "Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." Harvey and the team stood there, watching as people and family cried over the loss of Hans. Harvey held onto Adam's hand as she stood in silence, not wanting it to be true, but knowing it was. At the funeral, everyone acted as if they had forgotten about the whole varsity-JV rivalry and they acted as friends. When they were finished with the prayer, Harvey lifted her head and saw their old coach with tears in his eyes, afraid to say anything or he might burst into tears. In all honesty, Harvey felt the same way, and not just because of Hans' death, but because she had so many emotions built up, she could just explode.    

    "Excuse me, one second." Harvey watched as he slowly unfolded an old green and purple ducks' jersey, slightly smiling as he did. He placed it on the casket and stood back in his spot. "Every time you touch the ice, remember, it was Hans who taught you how to fly." Harvey heard Charlie from where she stood and saw him holding back tears. She squeezed Adam's hand, making him look at her and motioned towards Charlie. Adam nodded, understanding what she was doing and let go of her hand as she walked towards Charlie, tears stains on her cheek. She lightly tapped his shoulder and when he looked at her, she pulled him into a hug, letting him cry. Harvey was surprised he didn't push her away, but was glad none the less. Charlie hated showing his emotions, and Harvey knew that. She pulled him away from everyone and pulled him towards a tree.

    "Keep going, Char. Let it out. I'm the only one here, it's okay." She sat him down next to her under the tree and let him cry on her shoulder, no matter how much they fought in the previous weeks. "Charlie, it's okay to cry." That's what he did, he sat there and cried to his old best friend.

    "Harvey, I'm sorry." He lifted his head off of her shoulders and looked at her. "I was mad when I called you a preppy, or when I said you were one of them. I didn't mean it." She smiled and pulled him into a hug.

    "I get it, and I'm sorry for decking you in the face. It's bruising up nicely, Spazway." His cheek was a light purple already, making her chuckle as she stuck her hand out towards the boy. "Friends?" He looked at her and shook his head, making the girl frown and slowly pull her hand away. Charlie grabbed her hand and pulled it towards him, shaking it.

    "Best friends." She said it back to him as they both stood up and made their way back to their friends. "You know, I'm surprised you know how to punch like that." Harvey chuckled a bit as Ms. Conway walked up to Charlie, hugging him.

    "Hey, you two okay now?" Harvey's eyes met Adam's as she nodded her head and grabbed his hand, pulling them away from the mother and son.

    "Wanna go watch movies or something?" Adam looked at her and shook his head. "A nap?" He nodded his head as the two walked towards Guy's mom's car.

    "A nap sounds nice."