POV’s Tate

I took a deep breath as I walked outside the Evergreen University Hockey Center. Outside, the weather was absolutely perfect; summer was just starting to give in to fall. There was a slight breeze in the air, but the sun still warmed my face as I took a sip of my iced coffee.

I hadn’t been to the rink in a while, and I’d nearly forgotten how the cafe inside–Skating Sina’s–made some of the best coffee on campus. It made me glad that Eren had needed a ride home from hockey practice since his car was getting detailed. Since I was driving here anyway, I’d also given Mikasa a ride, since her figure skating session was scheduled for the block right after Eren’s practice. The Hockey Center has three rinks, so it tends to get especially crowded around this time. Both the Men’s and Women’s hockey teams have practice, and the figure skating soloists and pairs schedule their time slots for both in the mornings and after class.

Eren takes 2,000 years to get ready after practice, so I’d taken it upon myself to pop in and grab a coffee. The only downside to Skating Sina’s is that they have really shitty lids. They constantly pop open, so they’re literally pointless. Still, for coffee this tasty, it's worth it. It was even worth potentially running into Caleb.

We’d been talking throughout August and early September, but… let’s just say he’s a great guy, but it wasn’t going to work out between us. I’ve been slowly trying to distance myself from him, but he hasn’t really gotten the memo yet. He keeps trying to call me and fix things between us, but there’s nothing he can say or do. It isn’t up to him. It wasn’t really up to me either…

Anyways, he also happens to play for the Scouts, so running in to grab this coffee could have ended with a really awkward encounter. Thankfully, hockey players take their sweet ass time getting out of those locker rooms. Who knows what ridiculous things they’re busy chatting about in there?

I’d once asked Eren, but he told me it was just guy talk. Whatever that means.

The parking lot was starting to calm down. Everyone who had a practice slot coming up was already here, and all the hockey players still hadn’t left yet. My car was parked towards the back since I’d pulled in around rush hour. I slowly began to stroll over to my distant black Jeep, chewing on my paper straw.

All my classes for the day were done, so all I had left for today was to finish grading some papers for the History of War class that I was a TA for. Tomorrow was Friday, and mercifully, I didn’t have any classes then, so my next twenty-four hours would be spent finishing up my work, going over law school applications, and sleeping.

God, I was so tired. This coffee was a saving grace. I could already feel the life rushing back into me. Just as I was about to cross the parking lot, I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I paused, pulling it out of my jeans.

I let out a long sigh as I read the name: Caleb.

Shouldn’t he have been chatting it up with his buddies in the locker room?

I almost didn’t want to know what he was texting me at this hour. God, did Eren tell him I was here?

I opened the text.

Caleb: Tate, can we please just call? At least explain what’s going on, and I’ll leave you alone.

Explain what’s going on. Fat chance of that. There’s no way he would ever understand.

I stared at the message, feeling that familiar squeeze around my heart as I started walking again. A part of me wanted to turn around and go back inside the rink, break into the locker room, and kiss the shit out of Caleb. But doing that wouldn’t change the fact that I still wouldn’t be able to be with him–and that I still wouldn’t be able to tell him why. It wouldn’t be fair of me to text him back or even call him. Because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that I still wanted him so badly. And he would see it, and he would fight for me, and it would ruin his life.

I was still staring at my phone when I heard someone shout from behind me:

“Hey, look out.”

I barely had time to look up when I felt someone grab my arm and yank me back. My coffee went flying out of my hand. It all happened so fast, I barely registered the thud of a hockey bag falling to the ground and a hockey stick sliding into the street. It landed right where I had just been standing, before a car ran over it. There was a sickening crack as the stick broke in half.

“Holy shit.” The words fell out of my mouth as I froze.

The grip on my arm tightened. “Are you fucking stupid? Watch where you’re going.” The rough voice broke me out of my trance, and I turned around to face my savior.

Shit.

Standing in front of me was the Captain of the Scouts hockey team, Philip Crane, his grey sweatshirt covered in what was left of my iced coffee. The plastic cup was rolling on the ground beside him, but I barely noticed it as I was currently pinned by a set of icy grey eyes. His raven black hair was slightly damp, likely from showering after practice. The material of his soaked sweatshirt clung to his chest, revealing the faint outline of a nice set of abs. I shook my head, forcing myself to shift my focus off his sexy, chiseled features and onto the situation at hand.

I’d almost just become road kill.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” The words flooded from my mouth as I glanced back at his discarded gear and broken hockey stick.

His perfectly straight nose wrinkled slightly as he scoffed. “You need to watch where you’re going,” he muttered with annoyance.

I heard the faint sound of a car door opening as I spoke again, “I know, shit, I’m so sorry. Thank you so much, you literally just saved my–”

POV’s Tate

He didn’t even let me finish. “I wouldn’t have had to if you had just been fucking paying attention.”

I flinched slightly at the harsh words, stepping back. Before I could respond, a new voice caught my attention:

“Oh my God, are you ok?” I looked over to see a strawberry-blonde girl racing over from her car. Her face was etched in worry as she came over to me. “I’m so sorry, I was running late to practice, and I was driving way too fast–”

“It’s fine, Penny.” I turned to look at Philip in shock. What?? No, it is not fine. I almost just got run over.

The girl–Penny–sighed, her tense shoulders loosening as any hint of worry disappeared from her face. She looked back at where the remnants of Philip’s hockey stick sat on the pavement. “I’m so sorry, Philip. I’ll make sure to get you a new one,” she glanced down at the golden watch on her wrist. “Shoot, I’m so late.” She looked back at me. “You’re fine, right? Sorry, I just really need to get to practice.”

Dazed, I nodded, “Yeah, no worries–”

The words barely left my mouth before she was running back to her car. An electric sedan: the reason I hadn’t heard her racing through the parking lot. Well, I’m glad someone got over that whole incident in the nick of time.

I turned back to look at Philip, who was staring at the car as Penny drove off to find a parking spot. She was still speeding.

I rolled my eyes before moving to take off my grey zip-up so I could use it to try to dry Philip’s sweatshirt. “Here, let me–”

“You’ve done enough,” he practically snarled.

My eyes widened as I paused. I looked towards his broken hockey stick. “Listen, I’ll get you a new one. Better yet, I’ll get you two, because you literally saved my life–”

“It’s fine,” he cut me off once more. What was with this guy? I mean, I get being pissed, but at least let me finish my sentence. “Just watch where you’re going next time.”

He didn’t even give me a chance to respond before he was picking up his bag and grabbing the pieces of his hockey stick. I watched, stunned, as he walked off into the parking lot, not even bothering to look back.

What the hell? Why was he being all nice and forgiving to that Penny girl when she was the one going 45 in a parking lot? I mean, yeah, I could’ve been a bit more alert, but still. I let out a long sigh before bending down to pick up my now-empty cup of coffee. What a shame.

My heart was still racing slightly as I chucked the plastic cup into a nearby trash bin and made my way to my car. I sat down, staring blankly into the trees in front of my parking spot. A part of me wondered if my half-awake and barely caffeinated brain had made that whole encounter up, but a glance in my rearview mirror revealed Penny racing towards the glass double doors to the building, skating bag in hand.

God, that was embarrassing.

I never would’ve thought that Philip Crane would be like that. Seeing as I grew up in a household where my dad and brothers all played hockey, and most of my friends in high school and college did too, of course, I knew exactly who Philip was. In the last three years that I’d been a student at Evergreen University, I’d rarely missed a single hockey game, always dragging my roommates, Riley and Lena, along with me. My cousin, Ethan, used to be the Captain of the team, so I’d always been there to support him. Even after he’d broken his collarbone and arm in a skating accident off-season, he had become the assistant coach, so I still tried to show up as much as I could. The work he was doing now was just as important.

I knew that Ethan, Riley, and Philip were all friends, but somehow, I’d never really spoken with him one-on-one before. I’d crossed paths with him a few times over the past few years, but he wasn’t really the social type. Still, I hadn’t expected him to be this aggressive. I mean, on the ice, it made sense. He was the center forward, one of the fastest skaters collegiate hockey had ever seen, with some insane stickhandling skills. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t stare in awe every time he stepped on the ice. The talent he had was something that could only be discovered once in a generation. He would have official League offers lining up for him soon enough. I was surprised he hadn’t signed with a team already. Maybe it was that stellar personality of his.

I was trying to picture Philip scaring off any potential backers for his hockey career with that horrible demeanor of his when I heard a tap on my window. I jolted when I saw Eren’s face pressed against the glass of the passenger window. I unlocked the car door and opened the trunk so that he could put his gear in the back. I listened to the faint thud of his hockey bag settling in the trunk, and I smiled as Eren slid into the seat next to me. His greenish blue eyes were sparkling with excitement, his cheeks still red from the cold of the rink, and his hair wet from the showers.

“How was practice?” I asked as I turned the car on. My phone automatically connected to the Bluetooth, playing Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen, the first song in my driving playlist.

Eren side-eyed the screen of my car at the song choice, and I chose to ignore him with a smirk on my lips as I backed out of my parking spot.

“It was pretty good. Thanks for giving me a ride, by the way. I would’ve made Jean and Connie drive me, but they needed to go and finish some project with their group at the library.” Eren rolled his eyes, leaning back.

“It’s totally fine, I had pretty much nothing going on today anyway. Just boring TA stuff left to finish,” I made a right turn out of the parking lot and into the main road. “You would not believe what just happened to me.”

POV’s Tate

Eren sat up slightly, brows furrowing in curiosity. “What? Are you ok?”

I huffed a laugh. “Barely. I almost got totally run over by some chick named Penny. That electric car of hers barely made a sound, and I swear she was going, like, 45 in the parking lot.” I tapped my nails against the leather steering wheel. “I was looking at my phone, which I guess is my bad, and freaking Philip Crane saved my butt.”

Eren snorted a laugh at that. “What?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I feel really bad. He dropped his gear, and Penny ended up breaking his stick when she ran over it. Also…” I cringed, “I completely spilled my iced coffee all over his sweatshirt. He was so pissed.”

Eren’s eyes widened.

“I feel so bad,” I continued. “But the weird thing is, when Penny got out of her car, Philip was being so nice to her. It’s like he was only mad at me.”

Eren rolled down the window slightly. “Well, technically, if you’d been paying attention, that wouldn’t have happened–”

“Eren.”

“But,” he continued, ignoring my slight outburst, “Penny shouldn’t have been speeding. I think they used to date, so that might be why he wasn’t as mad at her. I heard that he was totally whipped, and she totally broke his heart.”

We hit a red light, and I turned to look at Eren. “Shit, that sucks. Still, he didn’t have to be such a jerk.”

“He saved your life, Tate.” Eren reminded me. “He’s really not that bad. I mean, I know that I just joined the team this year, but I still remember when he transferred into our high school and joined the team there. He’s a good leader, just a bit of a hard-ass. Plus, he was already in a weird mood today, so maybe there was something else bothering him.”

The light turned green, and as I stepped on the gas, I let my frustration ease slightly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Caleb texted me.”

I noticed realization dawn on Eren’s face out of the corner of my eye. “I saw him on his phone when we were in the locker room. I guess that’s why.” He gave Tate a pointed look. “You know, he’s really a good guy. I still don’t really get why you broke it off with him. He was basically in love with you, and it seemed like you liked him a lot too.”

I pressed my lips firmly against each other, feeling a sourness flood my stomach. It was no use explaining to Eren all of the complicated details of my relationship with Caleb and how my grandfather had gotten all involved in it. “It just… It was complicated. Plus, isn’t he also kind of talking to Nanaba now?” I tried to shift the conversation.

Eren hummed in thought. “You mean the captain of the women’s hockey team? Yeah, I guess they’ve been hanging out at parties and stuff, but he’s still obsessed over you. You should just talk to him and explain why you had to let him go. I mean, it would be nice if you’d explain that to the rest of us as well.”

I shook my head. Eren said nothing, knowing not to push.

My mom and Eren’s mom were childhood friends, so I grew up with Eren. He’s one of my oldest friends, and while he doesn’t know all of the weird, complicated shit that I’ve got going on, he understands that there are some things I can’t talk about.

“Did you see Mikasa on your way out?” I asked, changing the topic.

Immediately, Eren’s face turned bright red. I smiled. He’d had the fattest crush on Mikasa for literally years, and he’d finally found the courage to ask her out last summer. They’ve been officially dating since August. Still, he always gets flustered when I bring her up. It’s honestly adorable.

“Yeah, she’s been working on a new routine. After my next practice, I’m going to watch it and give her a ride home once she’s done.”

I stared at the road ahead as I listened to him speak. Mikasa was a solo figure skater. One of the best at our school. Back when I used to skate, I’d see her at the rink, but that was years ago. She had come so far since then.

“It’s almost your one-month anniversary,” I reminded him, making a left turn, passing Eldia Berry, my favorite smoothie shop.

Eren’s brows shot up. “Shit, you’re right. That’s this Wednesday. I have to plan something.”

I shook my head, shoulders shaking from silent laughter. “Well, make sure it's something nice. You still have to make up for all the years that you guys were skating around each other.” I sighed. “I still can’t believe it took you so long to tell her how you felt.”

Eren opened his mouth, gaping in fake offense. “Ok, some of us aren’t as impatient as others, Tate.”

I rolled my eyes, lowering my window to let in a nice breeze.

After a few more minutes, Eren’s dorm building came into view. It was one of the newer freshman dorms and was painted a dark grey color. It had a few parking spots in the front, and I pulled into one of them before shutting off the engine.

“Wanna come up for a second?” Eren asked me.

I unbuckled my seatbelt. “Sure, anything to put off grading those papers?”

And that was how I found myself in a pigstye–or should I say, a freshman dorm belonging to four eighteen-year-old boys who had no sense of hygiene. I gagged at the strange smell and hurried to crack open one of their windows. There were clothes all over the floor, bottles of liquor covering their desks beside stacks of unopened books. The only clean part of the room was the top bunk in the back right, and the desk beside it–Armin’s space. His desk was neatly organized, with a few notebooks open here and there. His bag was gone, though, so he must’ve been out doing work.

Eren came up next to me, holding a Tupperware in his hands. I glanced down, scared of whatever was in there. “What is that?” I asked nervously.

Eren smirked, opening the lid to reveal a bunch of burnt, brown blobs. “Brownies. Want one?”

I stepped back, shaking my head. “Fuck, no. I can already tell that that’s Connie’s work. Those are what’s left of what he made during our last cooking elective.”