S C O T T

Jay was piss drunk.

The 'celebration' had been going on for a few hours, and Jay was absolutely hammered. He was sitting on the floor and kept yelling at the tv. There was an old hockey game playing, and he was trying to shout 'advice' to the players on screen. And then he turned and started complaining to us when they didn't listen.

Elle was sitting on the couch behind Jay, and, every time he turned back to the tv, she smacked him in the back of the head with a pillow. I was sitting behind Elle (sandwiched in between her body and Edi's feet, since he was sprawled out on the couch), and, every time she went to hit Jay, I poked her sides and watched as Elle busted out into laughter, the pillow half-lifted in her grip.

I leaned back in the couch, grinning at Connor. He was laying on the floor with Kelly, who had shown up the second Connor had texted her and told her we were having a party. But I didn't mind, because Kelly's head was on Con's shoulder and they were both laughing at something on his phone. I just hoped today would be the day he grew a pair and asked her out.

"No!" Jay whined, leaning backwards and resting his head on the couch. He groaned and pushed himself forward, "This game sucks!"

"Shut the fuck up, Jay," Edi muttered, voice muffled since his face was burried in the pillows. I snorted and Edi pushed himself up, blue eyes narrowed at Jay, "I swear to God I'll throw you out the goddamn window."

Connor turned and grinned at Edi, "I threatened to do that to Scott before!"

Connor and Edi started diving into a conversation about all the threats they used on their friends (it was sad how many Con used on me), and I sighed, leaning back in the couch. Elle leaned back, too, her head resting on my arm.

Elle reached over and plucked the bag of popcorn off my late. I pouted and reached for it back and she shook her head, pulling it in close to her. I grinned and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, attempting to grab the bag. Elle just laughed and and pushed her shoulder against my arm, locking it against the couch.

"How much you wanna bet I can get a piece of popcorn stuck in Jay's hair?"

I laughed and looked over at Jay. He was sitting up, his dark hair ridiculously fluffy and pushed back. Quirking an eyebrow, I turned back to Elle and sent her a challenging look, shaking my head at her.

"Nope," I said, stretching out my legs and accidentally hitting Con, "I don't think you can do it."

"Be prepared to eat your words, Wilson," Elle shot back, and I made another feeble attempt to snatch the bag of popcorn out of her hands.

"I was ready to eat my popcorn," I mumbled, pushing Elle's shoulder off my arm. I opted to just leave my arm on her shoulder, and Elle kept herself pressed against my side, "but I'll be okay seeing you eat your words, too."

"Fine," Elle stated, turning to me. Her face was right next to mine and I had to practically pry my eyes from her lips, "if I miss, you get your popcorn back. If I make it out, you don't. Deal?"

"Deal."

I smirked and watched as Elle plucked one piece out of the bag. Jay was sitting still and she leaned forward, setting up for her decent throw. Elle brought her hand back to flick the popcorn and I coughed loudly. I grinned in amusement when she ended up just flicking the piece up in surprise. She turned and shot me an annoyed look and I smiled innocently.

I shrugged at her accusing look, "Oops," reaching forward, I snatched the bag from her hands and happily dropped it on my lap, "I guess I get the bag."

Elle pouted up at me, and I just grinned back at her, "Just give me a handful," I scoffed and Elle sighed, flashing me a sad smile, "Please? I mean, Jay drank everything and Edi's practically got a castle of chips surrounding him. I deserve this."

I sighed and nodded, dumping a handful into Elle's palm. I turned to see what Connor was saying (I heard something about Miguel and my room, and I had to make sure he wasn't telling the boxer story), but I only got to turn halfway before feeling something drop into my hair. Swiftly, I ran my fingers through my wavy hair and watched as popcorn fell to the couch.

I turned to Elle and glared, "You know what? That was a waste and mean. I'm offended."

Jay whipped around at this, his brown eyes wide. Sitting up, Jay wiggled a finger at me and nodded in agreement, "I'm offended too, Scotty."

I didn't get a chance to tell Jay to never call me Scotty, because Elle interjected with a, "Why are you offended, Jay?"

Jay crossed his arms and stuck out his bottom lip, looking absolutely ridiculous, "Scott didn't even bother to offer me any popcorn," shaking his head at me, Jay muttered out, "you're an asshole." before turning back to the game.

I ruffled my hair quickly to make sure there was no popcorn left and turned back to Elle, "How does drunk Jay manage to be more annoying than a sober Connor?"

Connor spun towards me, eyes narrowed. Connor had only had one beer, but he was a ridiculous light-weight and I'm sure he was already buzzed, "I heard that," he put a hand to his heart, mocking pain, "and it hurt. That hurt."

"Love you, Connor!"

Connor grinned and flashed me a thumbs up, "Back at'cha, Scotty!"

I didn't get a chance to reply to that, either, because my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I frowned and pulled it, pulling my arm off of Elle's shoulder and telling her I'd be back in a minute. Not bothering to check the caller ID, I accepted the call and walked down the hallway, slipping into my room and pulling the door shut.

"Hello?" I asked, glaring at Miguel who was perched on top of a pile of clothes on my bed.

"Scott!" Coach Monroe's voice greeted me, "I was almost sure I had messed up your number again this time."

I forced out a laugh and clenched my free hand. I knew exactly what this call was for - this was the call to tell me whether or not I would ever be showing up for another Marlies practice again. This was the call to let me know if all of my hard work had paid off and if my dreams would come true or not. This was the call.

"No," I said, trying to swallow down my nerves, "you've got me."

I knew I had done well during the practices, but every little mistake flashed through my mind. Like, in the beginning when some of my turns had been sloppy, or when I had tripped on the ice and busted up my nose. (I still blamed Elle for that). Every little mistake ran through my mind and I took a nervous breath.

It'll be okay, I thought, pinching the bridge of my nose and taking a couple deep, calming breaths. It would be okay, no matter what happened. I had worked my ass off, and I could proudly say that I had given it my all.

"Good," Monroe said, and I couldn't help but smile when I heard something fall on the floor and him curse, "I'm gonna need you to come in tomorrow and pick up a couple of forms, plus I need to know what jersey number you want."

"What?" I choked out, because he hadn't exactly said I had made the team, but that's what his words insinuated, "I made it?"

Monroe snorted like he couldn't believe I had actually asked that question, "Of course, Scott, that's why I told you to come in tomorrow and pick up the forms and your jersey. Unless that's a problem?"

A ridiculously huge smile broke out on my faces and I couldn't help but stumble over my words when I spoke out next. I just couldn't help it; I was so fucking ecstatic, and couldn't even stop myself from grinning widely.

"N-no, that's amazing," I spoke out fastly, "thank you so, so much! I'll, um.. I'll see you tomorrow, Coach. Thank you!"

Coach Monroe called back a, 'no problem, good job,' before hanging up. I leaned my forehead against the door before loudly whooping, not caring when the lady living in the apartment above us started stomping her feet and yelling for me to shut up. I just grinned and whooped even louder that time before quickly opening my door and sprinting back into the living room.

Edi was up and cheering, his phone abandoned on the couch. I watched as Jay piggy-backed Kelly around the room (Connor was definitely glaring at him), cheering and saying he needed another beer. I grinned and Edi practically pounced across the room to give me a hug and congratulate me.

Connor was up in seconds, throwing himself at me. I laughed and hugged my best friend back, laughing at his choruses of, 'you did it!' 'my best friend's a hockey player!' and, 'does this prove that you have a hockey player butt, yet?' I laughed and Connor ruffled my hair before pulling away and walking over to Kelly.

Connor winked at me and Jay put Kelly down on the floor. I watched in amusement as Con tapped her shoulder and mumbled something to her. Kelly nodded happily and Connor wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her down the hall. I whooped at that, too, because Con had finally grown a pair.

Elle stood up and walked over to me. I turned and saw that Edi was awkwardly hanging onto Jay's back for dear life as Jay sprinted around the living room, cheering in excitement and yelling at the lady upstairs to shove a hockey stick where one should never go.

"I made it," I whispered to Elle, and a huge grin broke out on her face.

I wrapped my arms around Elle's waist and pulled her towards me. She rested her head against my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist, both of us standing like that for a few minutes. Elle pulled back, and I kept my arms loosely wrapped around her waist. She smiled up at me, green eyes sparkling.

"Good job," she said, leaning forward to flick my cheek, "I still expect that practice jersey, you know."

"I couldn't imagine giving it to anyone else," I admitted, because Elle did look good in that jersey and she practically wore in more than me. It was basically hers, "you do look, you know. Really, really good in it."

Despite the fact that Edi was now sprawled out on the floor with Jay above him, asking him if he could see how many fingers he held up, it felt like the perfect moment. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against Elle's, my hands travelling up from her waist slowly.

Elle's hands rested on my shoulders and I pulled back lightly, keeping our faces close. I grinned at Elle and she smiled up at me. It was then I decided that, if Con had the balls, so did I. I didn't need to Jay to ask out Elle for me; I was perfectly capable of doing it and I really, really did want to ask her out.

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" I asked, shooting her a grin despite the blush on my cheeks, "Like, a real one. Where we both know it's actually a date."

Elle nodded and grinned up at me, "I definitely do."

I knew that I definitely wanted to go on a date with Elle, too.