Nico's POV

My ice skates tore across the slashed up ice, sending tiny flakes of the rink up into the air in my wake. I reached my stick out, just barely reaching the smooth black puck and pulling it closer to me. I was closer to the goal now, and I had a perfect side shot. I geared up to shoot, but before the puck could go shooting into the green netting of the goal I was slammed into the wall, and the puck was stolen from me. 

My assailant was scrawny, with greasy locks of white blonde hair sticking out of his helmet and plastered to his forehead and hollow, sunken cheeks. He reminded me a little bit of a rat, with bones pointing out of his skin. Like a five year old, he stuck his tongue out at me when he passed. I could feel my ears heat up, and I'm sure my cheeks were flushed with anger. I wasn't the best player on my team, but if you were going to steal from me, you had to at be mature about it. 

I was skating lazily now, waiting for the puck to come back around to me. I searched for the boy who had been so immature, but I couldn't see him amid the mass of bodies squabbling over the puck at the other side of the rink. The only person who caught my eye was a boy who, like me, was watching the action happen on the other side of the rink, waiting for his time to shine. He was tall, a few inches taller than me, with strung hands holding onto his stick loosely. His wavy blonde hair stuck out of his helmet, the color reminding me of sun beams, as did his smile. It was a small half smile that had crept onto his face as he watched the action but even so, it shone brightly on his tan, freckled face. As he skated to meet the puck, I caught a glimpse of the number on the back of his jersey. Fourteen. I would have to remember that.

Will's POV

Number four was hot. I knew that I should be paying more attention to the game, but I couldn't help thinking it. I even might have caught him staring at me once or twice. His face was as pale as the moon, and his skinny body seemed to be swallowed up by the enormous uniform he was wearing. His eyes were melted chocolate and I could just see thick black hair underneath his helmet. Then I got the puck and had to stop looking at him. 

I skated toward their goal, number four hot on my trail. He was fast, there was no doubt about that. I was ten yards away from the goal when he skated in front of me, battling for the puck. I tried to concentrate on the game, and on all the yelling from my teammates, but I kept getting lost in his eyes. Maybe I was imagining it, but I think that he was fighting to keep a blush from creeping onto his face. 

When I lost the puck to number four, I heard a chorus of groans, both from my teammates and from my disappointed fans. Number four sent the puck flying across the rink to one of his teammates but before he could get it in, the halftime buzzer rang. I loosened my grip on my stick as I followed my teammates off of the rink. 

"Come on, Will, what was that back there?" Our team captain, Octavian, yelled once we were out of earshot of the spectators. No one liked Octavian much. He was always to mean, but that was why our coach liked him so much. He said we needed to be aggressive like Octavian, although sometimes he was too aggressive. 

"I don't know," I shrugged, looking away. I wasn't about to tell him that I missed out on an easy shot because I was crushing on a player from the other team. Octavian groaned, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms. 

"Well, don't do it again. We're tied right now, but you could have put us in the lead if you had made that shot. 

"Yes, Octavian," I muttered. I got a few pitying glances from my teammates, but no one said a word. 

"Does anyone else have any complaints?" Octavian called out, looking at the team. He stared at us reproachfully, as if daring him to say a thing. There was some shuffling of feet but otherwise no one said a word. "Perfect!" Octavian said. "Get ready for the second half and this time," he looked right at me. "Don't mess up.

Nico's POV

I had the puck close to me, and I kept it moving as I skated up the court toward the goal. There was only ten minutes left in the game and so far we were tied. I knew that this could be a crucial shot. As before, I geared up to take the shot, but the scrawny blonde boy rammed into me from behind. I slammed into the wall and slid down it until I could feel the icy coldness of the rink on my cheek. I could hear whistles, and someone asking me if I was alright. Groggily, I got to my feet. I wiped my finger underneath my nose and felt a thin stream of blood running out of it. 

Percy, one of my teammates, stated out from out team's bench, putting an arm around my waist so that I didn't fall. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You don't have a concussion, do you?" I shook my head. 

"No, I'm fine. I'm just slightly in pain from being shoved to the ice by some jerk from the other team." Percy chuckled and handed me a tissue. 

"Pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second." 

"Thanks," I said as we skated off the ice. On the opposite side of the rink, I could see the guy who slammed into me leaving the ice as well, his head hanging a bit. I could faintly hear his coach start to yell at him. At least this wasn't all bad, I thought. 

Even though I wasn't badly hurt, my coach wouldn't let me play for the rest of the game. It wasn't too bad, however, because number fourteen was on for all of it. He was good, I observed, able to send the puck nearly the entire rink before the air stopped it. Too soon, the game was over. I skated out and joined my team at the end of the line to shake hands with the other team. When I shook hands with the overly aggressive boy, he narrowed his eyes and nearly crushed my hand with his strong grip. When number fourteen and I shook hands, I felt a small spark of electricity pass through our fingertips. We looked into each others eyes for a millisecond before we were jostled along by the line. The connection broke. 

Will's POV

Our bus was running late, by at least an hour, so I split away from the rest of my team and sneaked into the boys locker room, hoping to find number four. I did, but I had to miss Octavian getting yelled at. At least everyone else got to be entertained. 

He had changed out of his uniform and was now wearing a baggy pair of sweatpants, a loose tee shirt and an united pair of black and white converse with a small tear in the canvas at the bottom. His black hair was tousled at the top of his head, and he was examining a small cut on his cheek. He hadn't noticed me come in, but I cleared my throat and he whirled around. 

"Sorry about you getting hurt back there," I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. 

"Yeah, who was that guy?" Number four asked. I should probably ask him what his name was. 

"Oh, Octavian? Yeah, he's a real jerk." I saw him tug on his shoulder uncomfortably. "Does that hurt?" He nodded, his face scrunched up in pain. "Can I see it?" 

"Are you good at this stuff?" He asked cautiously. 

"Pretty good. I'm studying to become a doctor." Number four hesitated for a minute, but eventually nodded. I came closer to him and gently pulled his sleeve off of his shoulder. 

"I'm Nico, by the way," he said. 

"Will," I responded. "Nice to meet you, Nico." 

"Nice to meet you, too." 

I ran my hand across his shoulder, feeling goosebumps on his skin. I glanced at him and he looked away, but it was obvious he was blushing. I probably was, too. 

"It's nothing major, but you definitely pulled it pretty bad. Keep it on ice for a few days, and you should be fine." 

Thanks," he said, carefully pulling his sleeve back over his shoulder. We stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, neither of us knowing what to say. I wanted to ask for his number, but I didn't know how. 

"I- I think I dropped my number," Nico said at last, avoiding my eyes. "Could I have yours?" I started to laugh, and the blush on Nico's cheek turned maroon. "Don't laugh. I know you have to go soon, and it's the only pick up line I know." 

"Sure," I said. I gave him mine and he gave me his. We stared at each other, both of us wanting to kiss but neither of us knowing how to start it. 

"Will! Wherever you are if you're not out here in the next minute and a half, we're leaving without you!" Octavian's angry voice bellowed through the building, and Nico and I both laughed. 

"I should probably go," I said, motioning awkwardly toward the door. 

"Wait!" Nico called. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and I'm pretty sure my blush just about matched his. "I'll text you, okay?" Breathlessly, I nodded. He pushed me out the door. "Go! I don't want you to be late for your bus." I waved goodbye to him as the door closed and he was cut from my vision. I was sad to see him go, but he said he'd text me. Besides, we play them again this season, so we'll just have to see what happens the next game.

Hi guys! Sorry for the late update(again) but since Tuesday is Valentines Day I'm going to be publishing an extra one then. Anyway, I hope you liked this one!

Nina