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The three of us make it to the Bright-Landry Hockey Center right on time (thank god), and we walk into the building. None of the players had arrived just yet, but the coach said they should be arriving soon. I walk back to the entrance hallway and set it up for photos I was planning on taking when the players arrive.

I know it's probably not needed, but I wanted to take as many pictures as I could. I change some of the surrounding lights to a dim red color, making the hallway have a slight red tint to it. Hailee then tells me she has to take a phone call, so she disappears back outside.

Once I finish setting up, Bri tells me that some people are arriving. The first guy that walks in is dressed in a gray and black suit, a black beanie, and black dress shoes. His dirty blonde hair is poking out of the bottom of his beanie, and he shoots a smile at the camera. I notice him as one of the defensemen I had seen at the practice I went to.

After 3 more guys pass by, the man I was hoping to see struts through the doors.

Leo is dressed in an all-black suit and his hair is styled freely, making it have a bedhead look. A wine-red colored hoodie is in his arms and he smiles at me. I snap a few shots of him before he strides over to me.

"What's this for?" I ask as he hands me the hoodie.

"You," He points to me, "Are going to wear that, so you look like you're supporting the team," He says with a smirk on his face. Butterflies fill my stomach when he pats my arm softly and walks away toward the locker room.

I don't even notice I had been standing there like an idiot until Bri says, "So that's what's been going on?" I turn around to see her hand is on her hip and her eyebrows are raised. I feel my cheeks heat up, and Bri laughs at me, "You so like him!"

To be honest, I don't know what I feel for him. I want to be friends, that's as much as I know. The only guy I dated before was Josh, but I was pressured into it. He liked me, I knew that, but I didn't like him in that way. I don't know how relationships are supposed to go because the only one I had been in was a lie. Leo could very well be a great guy, or he could be a Caleb. I just don't know. Men always use their charm first and then do whatever they can to take what they want.

I shake my head clear before I stressed myself out, and kept taking pictures of those who were arriving. Once I had been told they were all there, I pack my camera back in my bag and walk myself to the inside of the hockey arena. I set myself next to the Harvard bench, where I can take pictures during warm-ups. I plan on forcing Leo to help me write this paper on the game considering I don't know much about the terminology.

"Put on the hoodie Mr. Captain gave you!" I roll my eyes at Bri, smiling. I unzip the hoodie I had on and throw Leo's hoodie over my head and onto my body. Once it's fully on, I realize it has practically engulfed my body. It covers my arms completely, leaving some room from my fingertips, to the end of the hoodie sleeve and the bottom of the hoodie reaches around mid-thigh.

~

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, fans began to show up a few minutes before warm-ups. I took that as my cue to begin setting my camera up again. The clock hits 2:15, and an announcer's voice is heard over the speakers.

"Let's introduce and welcome our 2021-2022 Harvard Men's Hockey Team!" The crowd erupts and cheers, and I clap along with them. The announcer begins to introduce the players, line by line until they get to the starting line.

"Let's now welcome our starting defensemen, number 55, Miles Dawson, and number 90, Luke Blackwood!" The crowd starts banging the glass screen that separates them from ice, and I let out a laugh, "And for our forwards, let's welcome, number 39, Brett Connelly!" The crowd goes even crazier for him. I guess he's a fan favorite, "Let's welcome, number 24, Matthew Langston!" I smile and snap a few shots of Matthew skating to the center of the ice. I turn to Bri and see her cheeks have turned red from all the smiling she's doing and she clapping and cheering louder than I've ever seen her do before.

"Lastly, your captain and starting centerman, number 19, Leo Wright!" Cheers and the sound of claps fill the arena that once was silent. Leo skates onto the ice, helmet in hand and waving his stick in greeting to the crowd. I may or may not have taken a decent amount of photos of him...

Once the crowd had calmed down, they did the opening ceremony, like every sport. Warm-ups finally begin, causing me to run back and forth to get as many angles and shots as I could. Coach notices my stress and invites me to the bench until warm-ups finish. I happily accept his offer and tell Bri I'd be on the bench. To which she nods and continues watching warm-ups, or more specifically, Matthew. One of the players had to hold my hand on the ice so I wouldn't slip, in conclusion, I am very embarrassed.

I enjoy the rest of the warm-ups, occasionally sneaking glances at Leo, to which he smiles every time he catches me. All the players begin to head back into the tunnel when it turns 2:55. I carefully make my way off the ice and go back to my original setup.

10 minutes later, the game finally starts and I take a few shots before I pack my camera away it watch the game. Leo wins the puck over in the start, giving his teammates time to make plays. I watch carefully as Leo skates around, passing the puck forward or back. He jumps over the boards after his first shift and sits at the end of the bench, closest to me. I look over at him and see his eyes already on mine. He has the cheesiest grin on his face which causes me to mirror it. After a few moments of awkward smiling and Bri hitting my head, I look away before my cheeks burned off my face.

The first period finishes with a score of 1-1. Brett had the first goal of the game which was assisted by Miles and Matthew. I got some cute pictures of their celebration since it was nearby.

I spend intermission going through the pictures I had taken, and I ended up deleting barely any. They were all so perfect. Bri was on her phone, texting somebody who had clearly taken her attention for some time.

Intermission finally ends, and I begin setting my poor camera up again. She's going to need to be charged after today.

Harvard players make it out of the tunnel and began to skate around their end for a few moments. I spot Leo next to Matthew, both moving slower than before. Leo comes closer, and I notice his face looks paler than usual and it's expressionless.

He looks over at me, and I furrow my eyebrows at him, but he turns away quickly. Confusion fills my body. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I see Bri looking at me empathetically.

"Focus on the game, talk to him later," I nod my head at her and turn back to the ice. 2nd period begins, but this time Leo loses the faceoff and begins skating back to help his defenders. Leo turnovers the puck and skates down the center of the arena. He passes the puck to Brett who is to his left, and skates to the right side close to Matthew. Brett does a quick pass to Matthew, who sends it to Leo. But, Leo is met with the opposing team's players before he could skate out.

I watch as two guys, almost the size of Leo, both slam him against the boards, causing him to fall face-first on the ice. I slap my hand over my mouth to hold the gasp in. He doesn't get up, causing the game to pause. Brett and Matthew both rush over to him, leaving his defensemen to push the two guys who hit him. Matthew is leaning down to Leo's head, saying something that causes Leo to nod.

Paramedics rush out onto the ice and begin helping him off. His legs move slightly on the ice, but it looks like he's being pulled rather than moving on his own. My heart rates at the thought of him being hurt. The season just started, he can't already be hurt. I knew scouts would be coming out this season to look at him, so getting injured was not an option for him. The game continues to play, but our team looks sloppier than it did before.

~

The game ended in an overtime win for Harvard. Matthew luckily tied it up with 12 seconds left in regulation. When he scored, Bri practically screamed my ears off. I'm not kidding, she went crazy. You may be wondering, where did Hailee go? Well, she had a family emergency, so she had to uber to town.

Bri and I walked out once the game ended, and drove home. Bri invited me to the celebration party for the win, but I declined. I was tired and preferred to read my romance books in peace.

Bri left around 7, which was quite early, but I didn't question her. I put my hair into a messy bun and sat in my bathtub which was heated with lavender-scented bubbles. I turned on my "cool as a cucumber" playlist and closed my eyes.

Once I finished my lovely bath, I put the hoodie Leo gave me back on, and a pair of loose shorts. I touched up my bun and stepped out of the bathroom. I plop myself down on my stool in the kitchen, and I grab one of the books on the counter. I began reading, occasionally annotating on pages I found funny, cute, or even hot. Yes, hot. Fictional men can be hot.

A knock echoes through my dorm. Weird, Bri probably left her key. Putting on my glasses, I walk to the door and open it. My blonde friend who I expected to be there was replaced with a brunette man almost a foot taller than me.

"Leo?" I say, almost like a question. He looks up from his gaze on the floor. His eyes are red, his hair was messier than ever, and his face looked pale.

"I didn't have anybody to go to," he whispers, "My uh, my dad died, during the game," He says, his voice shaky and raspy. My heart drops for him, and I open the door wider for him to walk in. I close the door behind him once he makes it in, and he stands in the middle of the room, his head down. I tap his shoulder and gestured for him to follow me.

I walk into the kitchen and jump on the counter to give myself a better look at him. He stands a few feet away from me, his glossy, sad eyes looking back at my sympathetic ones.

"He had a heart attack and the uh, the paramedics couldn't save him," He says quietly, "He was the one who bought my first pair of skates. He came to almost all my high school games, always cheering me on whether or not we were winning. H-He got me into hockey. I-I never played to win, I always played for him, I wanted him to be proud of me."

Tears begin to flow out of his eyes, and I hold my arms out. He hesitantly walks between my legs, and wraps his arms around my body, burying his face in my shoulder. I run my hands through his hair carefully, and up and down his back. We stay like this for a few moments, until he slowly removes his arms from my body. He stays close to me as if he's scared to leave.

"Leo, I'm so sorry," I whisper.

"It's not your fault, Aria. It's stupid I even came here," he shakily says, his gaze back on the floor.

I lift my hand to rest on his shoulder, "It's not stupid, you can always talk to me no matter what. I'm all ears for you Leo," He lightly smiles at me, but I can tell he's still hurting.

"Thank you," He whispers, "I should uh, go," He says, stepping back from me.

"Wait," I blurt out. He turn to me, confused, "You're not in the right mind to drive, especially at night. You can stay here, if you want," I quickly offer. He thinks for a moment before nodding, "You can sleep in my bed."

He thanks me and walks over to my bed, taking off his shoes, leaving him in a hoodie and shorts. I hop off the counter and watch him carefully get in my bed and slide under the covers.

I walk over to Bri's bed, planning on sleeping in there until I hear his voice say, "We can share, if you want. It's your bed," I hesitant for a moment, "I won't try anything, I promise."

I slowly walk over to my bed which Leo is curled up in, and I slide under the covers, my back facing his.

"Bonne nuit, ma chérie," Is the last thing I hear before I drift off to sleep.

~