The Twilight Twenty-Five
Prompt: Earnest
Pen name: ladyinblue6
Pairing: Canon and non-canon
Rating: M
I'm not always going to be this specific on games, but sometimes I might go into more detail as well. Ask me in a review if you're not sure on some of the terms.
On Saturday, the team was cut down to twenty-five. There was only going to be three more guys cut on Saturday. Wednesday was a regular practice, but still really intense. Everyone was keeping pace, though. Charlie was going to have a rough time cutting three more boys.
It was a home game against the Port Angeles Panthers, a team that I knew we'd demolish. Thankfully the guys weren't cocky. Yet.
I went to the game early with Charlie. We were the first ones at the rink besides the custodian of the place. He'd been the custodian of the rink since I could remember and his look hadn't changed much over the years. He was more of a grandfather to me than anything. He used to take care of me while Charlie was coaching. He let me drive the zamboni with him. I didn't even know the guys name. I always just called him Grandpa and neither he nor Charlie corrected me.
"Bells, you wanna plug your iThing into the stereo system upstairs? The bots want music to warm up to," Charlie requested absent-mindedly.
"Okay," I murmured. I climbed the stairs into the gigantic sound booth and hooked up my "iThing" and put on some LMFAO. I didn't know what the guys listened to, but I always ran to these songs.
I watched them run in their Underarmour and sweats. Then there were on the ice and stretching quickly before doing starts and stops. That's when the P.A. guys hit the ice. People started filling the stands on both sides. Bleed it Out by Linkin Park started playing. This was such a sports song to me. It screamed "go hard or go home" to me.
Charlie waved me down. I unplugged my iThing and went to the stands, taking a place near Esme Cullen. She was the only parent I knew.
They played The Star-Spangled Banner over the intercom and then we were ready to rumble.
Closing Time by Semisonic began playing while both teams skated around a bit. The song was slow at the beginning, but, personally, it was all about the lyrics. Seems like someone else listened to the lyrics, too.
"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." To me, it was a warning. To me, the song said, "Watch your back, P.A., because we won't hesitate to kick your ass to the curb." Then again, I looked into music too much.
The starting line was strong. Edward, James, Mike, Emmett, and Eric towered over the Panthers. If things went according to plan, we should have a puck in P.A.'s net in about a minute, maybe a minute and a half if someone got a penalty.
Mike faced off against a tiny kid, knocking the puck away easily and passing to James, who dodged the large boulder that was P.A.'s main defence easily and shot right into the goalie.
Finally, after three rather boring minutes, Edward managed to find the corner of the net.
The period continued. Edward, James, and Ben Cheney, an unexpectedly fast first year, all scored and assisted. Hell, Emmett even moved down the ice and managed to find the net. By the end of the first period, the score was six to zero for us.
The second period was a little more exciting. The top dogs hit the bench more than the ice, and the boys that had to duke it out for a spot on the team gave it their all. Jasper was taken out of the net and Garrett was put in. Garrett was a damn good goalie, too. Only first year. Charlie was probably thrilled.
P.A. was getting frustrated. They began lipping off our players, slashing them when the ref wasn't looking, and pushing them whenever someone was in a two-foot radius of them. I could practically see the steam coming out of Edward's ears. I kind of expected that he'd have a bit of a temper. The wings usually stood up for the team; got their emotions too involved. It provided a great game for unconnected fans, but for everyone else, it was embarrassing and unnecessary.
I knew Charlie would be yelling at Edward after the game. The captain of the Panthers pushed Ben and Edward hopped right in, squirming in between the two players and talking to the captain.
"Oh, fuck," Mrs. Cullen muttered under her breath. "Edward, get the hell away from there."
I was shocked, to say the least, to hear curse words come out of Mrs. Cullen's mouth. She was like one of those homemaker's from the fifties. She was perfect in my eyes. And then she dropped an f-bomb, and that made her even better in my eyes.
Edward pushed the captain roughly, provoking the kid to come after Edward. He just sat there while the captain pulled at Edward's helmet, trying to pry it off his head. The captain got kicked out and Edward got a four minute roughing penalty.
The Forks fans started clapping. The stands were full and I hadn't even realized it. Pretty much the whole high school was there. I wasn't expecting this kind of crowd for an exhibition game. I couldn't even imagine what the crowd would be like when playoffs started.
The Kings managed to take the game with a score of eight to zero. It was a promising start to what was sure to be a kick ass season.
I grabbed some fries and sat down in one of the big, comfy chair that looked out onto the ice. I didn't have anyone to talk to, so I just got myself out of the way. Things had always been like this. In Phoenix, I had three friends. One was my mother, one was the girl that worked at the bookstore, and the other was my on-again-off-again boyfriend, Samuel Jefferson. When we were dating, I hung out with Sam's friends, but I never got really close to any of them.
Needless to say, I was surprised when Rosalie Hale and a short girl with spiky black hair approached me. The shorty was grinning from ear to ear and practically skipping instead of walking.
"Hello, Bella," Rosalie greeted. "How was the game for you?"
"Good," I replied, very confused as to why Rosalie was talking to me. "Charlie's going to have a hard time with the next cuts."
Rosalie nodded. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for being so bitchy at school. I thought you were going to be another Jessica Stanley or Lauren Mallory."
"Who are they?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.
"The pucks," Rosalie told me, disgusted. "God only knows how many Kings they've snatched up."
I frowned, also a little grossed out. "I see. No, I'm not like that. I'm just the coach's daughter and I met all the guys before I went to school for the first time, so they were the only people I knew."
"Emmett explained," Rosalie replied. "But Emmett also said that a lot of the guys were planning to get with you tonight."
My jaw dropped. "Those little shits can think again. These legs stay closed."
Rosalie and the other girl laughed.
"That's good," Rosalie said after she was finishing giggling, "because Alice and I are classy ladies. And we want you to have some girl friends. You interested?"
I'd never had girl friends before, besides my mom. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about girly things and hang out with while Charlie was at practice.
"I sure am," I replied with a smile.
Alice clapped, clearly excited about my acceptance. "Okay, you need to come get ready with us for Johnson's party."
I had thought I was already ready for this party, but apparently I was wrong.
"Sounds good."
"We have to wait for the boys first, though," Rosalie said. "I have to talk to Emmett before we leave."
We sat at one of the picnic tables while we waited for the boys. Rosalie and Alice talked about the girls in our class while I check out the guys on P.A.'s team. They all looked pretty young. Maybe they were building their team up for two years from now.
A few of our younger guys came into the lobby. Their parents talked to them, their younger siblings teased them. Then Mike, Eric, and Tyler came up. They grinned when they saw me.
"Hey, Bella," Mike greeted as he sat down beside me. "What did you think?"
"Good game," I replied with a smile.
Mike grinned. "You're coming to Johnson's part, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm going with Rosalie and Alice," I told him.
Mike looked a little disappointed. "Well, I could give you a ride home, right?"
"No, actually, Bella's staying the night at my house," Rosalie interrupted. "She needs some girl time, too. You hockey boys can't help with that."
"I'd be willing to help," Eric teased with a cheesy grin.
Tyler punched him playfully.
I rolled my eyes and started picking at my nails.
"How about you guys piss off so my boyfriend and his friends can sit here?" Rosalie asked politely.
"Hey, we're friends with Emmett," Tyler said loudly.
"Oh, for the love of Christ, just go eat," Rosalie commanded sternly.
The guys stood up, irritation all over their faces. Rosalie smiled at her handiwork.
Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my neck, putting me in a headlock. I bit the arm in front of me, causing the guy to pull away quickly and Alice and Rosalie to start laughing.
"What the fuck, Bella?" Emmett asked, rubbing his arm. "You don't bite. It's not allowed."
"It was a love nibble," I told him with a smile. "Good game."
"Thanks," Emmett murmured, smiling. He sat down beside Rosalie, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "It was like hitting pylons."
"I could tell," I replied with a grin.
Jasper and Edward showed up, both of them sitting on either side of me.
"Good games, boys," I said to both of them, scooting towards Jasper.
"Thanks, doll," Jasper drawled. He threw his arm casually around me. "Not bad for the first games of the season, huh boys?"
"Not bad at all," Emmett agreed. "Looks like Edward's going for the most goals and the most PM's."
Edward smirked. "What can I say? I'm a lover and a fighter." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me.
I snorted. "Yeah. Right."
Jasper chuckled. "Alright, I'm hungry. I'm gunna go grab some food and then we'll head to that party."
After Jasper left, Edward threw his arm around me and pulled me closer to him, messing up my hair like I was his kid sister. I tried pushing away, but Edward had me locked. So, once again, I resorted to biting.
Edward pushed me away immediately. "Ow! What the fuck was that?"
"That was my teeth," I seethed, running my fingers through my hair. "Don't ever treat me like your twelve-year-old sister again."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of doing that," Edward replied sarcastically, rubbing his side. He stood up. "See you at the party."
"Later, douche," I answered dismissively.
Emmett was choking back laughter. Alice and Rose weren't bothering to hide it.
"You guys are like an old married couple!" Rosalie exclaimed.
"Like I would marry him," I muttered.
"You're so cute together, though, "Alice said dreamily. "I can see it now: Once haters, now lovers. Join us while we commit to each other for the rest of our lives."
That's where Emmett lost his cool. He burst out laughing, his booming chuckle echoing in the lobby.
"Oh, go suck a lemon," I muttered, crossing my arms angrily. "The day I end up with Edward Cullen is the same day I find out I'm actually a lesbian and have a crush on Rose."
"Please end up with Edward soon," Emmett begged, his beefy hands clenched together.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed, "Dream on, Emmett."
"Go eat something," Rosalie commanded, pushing Emmett away. "We have a party to get ready for."
"I hope you have a lot of liquor, 'cause I'm going to need it," I warned Rose and Alice as we walked out of the rink.
They grinned at each other. I was in for a well-deserved drunken night.
I'm copyrighting the term "iThing." I'm usually not very pleased with my writing. I'm very hard on myself creatively. But I was seriously impressed with that term.
