Taylor crossed her arms and glared across the table at her uncle, who crossed his arms and glared right back.

"You look like Clara when you are mad." She commented.

"Stop changing the subject." Her uncle snapped, glaring at her.

They were in the booth, the boys out on the ice, supposedly skating, but mostly watching her. They were supposed to be doing drills, and the only one who was actively avoiding Taylor's gaze was Nasir, presumably still annoyed with their argument from the grocery store. Taylor tilted her head. "I don't know why you want me here, you told Jacob to bring me in, and yet you haven't actually given me a reason to be. You have five seconds or else I'm walking out. Right now."

Her uncle groaned. "You look like your mom when you are mad."

Taylor made a face. "Stop changing the subject."

"Fine, I'll give," Her uncle huffed. "I need you to come back."

Taylor let out a disbelieving laugh. "No."

Her uncle looked like he was in pain trying to ask this. "Please. I need you to come back. We can't play Fort Qui without you there. We can't really do anything without you."

Taylor shrugged. "That isn't my problem anymore. If you only asked me here to come back to the team as first aider, then I'm going to go."

She stood, snatching her bag and making a move to leave. Her uncle stood as well, rounding the table to stop her from leaving.

"Come on, the team needs you."

"That sucks for them then."

Her uncle groaned. "Please Taylor, I'm literally begging you. We are so close to beating Fort Qui and making it into the playoffs. I just need a first aider to qualify for the game."

Taylor sighed, running a hand over the soft fabric of her sleeves. "I don't want to come back."

"You don't have to talk to them, you don't even have to look at them, I just desperately need you to come back. I don't want to let the boys down. I'll even hire someone from Fort Mcmurray for playoffs, but I need you to just do the game in the new year."

Taylor's nose scrunched up. "One game."

Her uncle nodded rapidly. "One game, no talking or looking needed."

Taylor let out a low breath and glanced briefly out at the ice. They weren't even trying to hide their gazes now, all of them blatantly staring over at her.

Taylor let out an unhappy noise. "Fine. I'll do it, but that's it. One game, and one game only."

Her uncle let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you, Taylor. Thank you so much."

Taylor nodded briefly and stepped out of the booth. "Just text me the date."

Her uncle gave her a relieved smile, and she felt a sense of guilt rising at the stress and worry she had caused him, especially so close to Christmas, but she let it settle, and stepped out of the booth, heading to the exit, ignoring the upset look on Nasir's face.

~~~

Taylor popped her gum once. "This is literal bullshit. I can't believe this is something I wrote."

Aubrey tilted her head to look over Taylor's shoulder at the essay for English that was slowly appearing on her computer. "You misspelt serpent."

Taylor rolled her eyes and made the fix, groaning at her essay, which was causing her both physical and mental discomfort. "I want to die."

"Me too," Clara responded, sitting next to them. She pulled out her own computer and sat next to her at the table in the library. "Did my dad ask you?"

Taylor snapped her gaze to the girl next to her. "You knew?"

"He told me yesterday morning," She shrugged. "He needs you a lot. So did you say yes?"

Taylor sighed. "He told me I only had to do one game. So, fingers' crossed that no one gets hurt, and then I'm done with hockey."

Aubrey quirked a brow. "You do realize that you are going to have to eventually address your problems."

"Who died and made you the doomsday sentencer?" Clara asked.

Aubrey gave her a dry laugh. "Anyway, are you nervous about it?"

Taylor shrugged. "Of course I'm nervous. I've just resigned that I'm not going to talk to any of them."

Clara and Aubrey exchanged a glance. "Is that really your game plan?" Clara asked. "You could just look super hot and make Nasir jealous."

"It's the middle of fucking winter, Clara. I am not wearing anything except jeans and a sweatshirt."

"Just remember it's a good backup."

Taylor shook her head and stood. "I'll be back, I just have to go return this." She gestured loosely with the leatherbound book that she had picked up a few weeks ago.

Aubrey shot finger guns at her and Taylor turned, walking out of their secluded section of the library and towards the front desk, only to bump into someone and drop her book.

"Second time in what, four days?"

Taylor winced at the voice and looked up at Nasir, who had his glasses on and was looking down skeptically at her through them.

"Sorry," She mumbled.

Nasir knelt and picked up the book, and reached out, handing it to her. Taylor tried to ignore the way her stomach jumped as their fingers brushed together. "Here."

"Thanks."

They stood there a moment longer, only a book's width between them. Neither of them made a motion to move, and Taylor sighed slightly, inhaling the soft scent of him.

"Did you accept Coach's offer?" He blurted out, keeping his voice low.

Taylor nodded. "One game. That's all I'm doing."

He nodded. "The team will miss you."

Taylor let out a low breath. "That's too bad for the team,"

Nijah, her long hair braided and a toque tucked onto her head, came bounding up. "Hi, Taylor!"

"Hey, kiddo."

Taylor made a move to pass Nasir and he obliged her, allowing her to pass towards the front desk.

"Is that your girlfriend Nasir?" Nijah's voice had a cheeky tone to it. "I like her, you should tell Mom and Dad."

"That isn't my girlfriend," Taylor heard Nasir murmur back, trying to keep his voice low enough so that Taylor wouldn't hear him, but failing.

"That's too bad. She should be."

"What makes you think that?" Nasir asked.

Nijah let out a cackle that sounded more like a witch than anything else. "The way you two were looking at each other sure makes me think that."

Nasir's voice had lowered enough that Taylor couldn't hear his response, and she risked a look back at them. Nasir had knelt in front of her and appeared to be gently scolding Nijah.

He glanced her direction, and once he realized that Taylor had heard the conversation, his face lit up with embarrassment.

Taylor turned, and scrambled forwards to the front desk, hiding her embarrassed face as she set the book on the counter and made it back to the corner where she had been hiding wit her friends.

"What happened to you in the exuberantly long time it took you to return that book?" Clara asked. "Did you climb Mount Everest while you were at it?"

"Hilarious," Taylor snapped. "No. I literally ran into Nasir."

Aubrey let out a snicker. "You just cannot escape him."

Taylor slouched in her chair, her ears heating up as she recalled the conversation Nasir and Nijah had had. She hadn't been staring at him that obviously. Or, at least she hoped.

~~~

"I hope everyone has a wonderful and excellent Christmas holiday! I will see you after the break!"

Taylor waved good-bye to her last block teacher and stepped out into the hallway, filled with kids ready to head for Christmas.

"I can't believe Christmas is here already," Aubrey marvelled. "You'd think we had just started grade eleven, and here we are, about to head into a new year."

Taylor nodded, and rolled her neck, sliding past a group of grade nines all clumped at one locker. "I'm happy it's finally a break though, we deserve it."

Clara hopped in line behind them, balancing her binder in one arm and her computer case in the other. "I'll miss you all."

Taylor pouted as they stopped and she opened her locker. "I'm going to miss you all too."

She tugged out her coat and her keys and shoved her binder back in.

"It'll be two blissful weeks of avoiding all our problems," Aubrey teased, poking Taylor in the side. "You can sleep in and send us dumb pictures of you wearing the itchy knitted sweaters that your grandma makes you, and I can send you pictures of my dogs, and Clara can send memes. It'll be great."

Taylor nodded. "Two blissful weeks of freedom, and then you leave for Italy, and I work my last game of hockey. We can do this."

Aubrey chuckled. "Love you both, I'll see you guys after the holidays."

Clara waved and turned to vanish as well. "I'll probably see you at some point, but until then, have fun with Grandma and Grandpa."

Taylor nodded and gave her thumbs up. "Bye, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!"

Taylor turned and walked down the hallway, trying to suppress her grin. She had always loved Christmas.

She stepped out in the chilly air and half jogged to the truck, unlocking it with the button on the key and getting in and starting it.

She kept her fingers in her sleeves as she sat there waiting for Jacob. Finally, twenty minutes later, when the entirety of student parking had left already, he appeared out the back door, walking alone.

He ran to the truck and hopped in beside her, plopping his bag on the floor.

"What took you so long?" Taylor asked, tugging on her seatbelt and pulling out of the parking lot. When he didn't respond, she glanced his direction.

He was running his palms up and down his thighs, and there was an abundant nervous air around him. His eyes were tense.

"Jacob?" Taylor questioned, turning onto the road. "What took you so long?"

"Taylor, I want to tell you something."

Taylor snapped her gaze to Jacob. He was usually so confident and excitable, but here he was, nervous and nearly stuttering.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked, somewhat frightened at the tone of his voice.

"Promise me that you won't tell anyone?"

Taylor nodded. "Swear on the ghosts."

Jacob clenched his hands into nervous fists. "I've been sitting on this for a while, and I've been trying to figure out how to tell someone, and I decided today that I couldn't hide this part of me anymore."

Taylor nodded slowly, still unsure of where this conversation was going. "Okay, you're safe in here, and I won't even tell Mom."

Jacob nodded, before taking in a deep breath and blurting out. "I'm gay."

Taylor blinked once in surprise and twisted to glance at him. He was avoiding her gaze, keeping his gaze on his palms and squirming slightly.

"Okay, you are still my brother and this doesn't change anything," Taylor told him. "I still love you, and thank you for telling me."

Jacob let out a relieved sigh. "So you aren't mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" Taylor asked. "It's a part of you, and I understand why you didn't tell anyone until now, what with where we live."

Jacob nodded and leaned back in the seat, a soft smile of relief on his face. "Thank you for letting me tell you."

Taylor tilted her head slightly. "Wait, quick question, when Isaac offered to set you up with his sister, you refused so quickly, was that why?"

Jacob nodded. "Yes, and that person you heard me with in early September."

Taylor's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god, were you with your boyfriend?"

Jacob laughed and nodded. "Yes. That was my boyfriend."

"Who is it?" Taylor asked. "Wait, actually, no. Don't tell me that."

"I wasn't going to tell you anyway. He hasn't told anyone yet and is still working up to it," Jacob's face was steadily relaxing. "I just wanted to tell someone, to let someone else know about this side of me."

Taylor hummed. "Well, thank you for telling me, and I'm happy you're happy, and I'm honoured that I'm the first person that you told."

Jacob nodded in response, letting out another heavy relieved sigh. Taylor turned and pulled into the driveway, and stopped before leaning across the center console of the car, and hugged him.

Jacob smiled into her shoulder, squeezing her tightly.