Disclaimer: I don't own the Mortal Instruments or any of the characters.
Simon POV
Right when class ends, Jace and I run to our dorms and change into our hockey gear—everything but the padding and skates. Then, we head straight for the change room, adrenaline pumping through our veins; ready to beat North Idris.
The change room is full of shouting as we enter. We put on skates and padding with a sense of joyousness and team spirit.
"Who's ready to win?" Coach comes in and yells. We respond with loud cheers. "Alright boys, tonight's the night. Our season starts and we are going to start it with victory!" We cheer even louder.
"Okay, so it is Alicante hockey tradition, to pick our alternative captains before the first game. We like to have three—just in case."
That's how it worked here, captains selected at the end of the year, alternatives chosen in the first game. In grade nine, I was an alternative, but after that, I was voted captain and have been ever since. "Nominees, anyone?" Coach asks.
Last year's nominees where all grade twelves—they had taken the spot because of their seniority. The captain of our team, who I had bumped down, became first alternative captain. Now, they are all graduated, leaving new people to take their place.
"I nominate Wayland as first alternative." I say immediately. My roommate is probably the second best on the team, catching up to the best—me—and may soon be tied for first; not to be arrogant of course.
"Seconded." Jordan and Alec call out.
"Thirded." Says Rex, Henry and Robert—all niners—at the same time.
"Alright then! Jace is the new first alternative!"
"I nominate Sebastian." I whip my head to where the voice came from. It turns out to be Michael, a grade ten who worships Sebastian. He follows him everywhere.
"Seconded." I say. I don't know why, but I feel like Sebastian still has that competitive drive only found in a good player. Jace gives me a cold glare, don't let your emotions ruin this team, Jace.
"Thirded." Stephen—Michael's friend says.
"Very well, Sebastian is the new second alternative! Now, just a third."
"Henry!" A guy I don't see calls out. Henry was in grade twelve; a quiet, kind-hearted guy. Sure, why not?
"Seconded!" I yell, along with a bunch of other teammates. Coach agrees and records it onto his clipboard. He then hands a felt badge in the shape of a letter "A" on it, and gives it to Jace, Sebastian and Henry to put on their jerseys, right where I had a "C", for captain, on mine.
A buzzer sounds and we all get up excitedly; five minutes till the game.
"Okay boys, I hear North Idris has a new line of defensemen, but that won't take us down! Starting lineup will be Lewis, Wayland, Kyle, Lightwood, Verlac and Davidson! You guys know your positions; captains call plays, now get your butt out there and win this for us!"
I imagine the setup of our starting positions. Myself as center forward, Jace as right wing, Jordan left wing, Alec and Sebastian as defense, and Stephen—Davidson—as goalie.
"Victory party in the common room! Invite everyone when we win!" Jordan yells across the change room. We cheer and storm out into a mass of screaming schools.
Third period. The score is 2-0, Alicante, with me scoring both goals. Coach had been right; the starting lineup is a complete new set for North Idris. Not only had they changed, they had tripled in size. Each player had to be at least two hundred forty pounds with gear on.
"Coach, I'm ready."
"Alright Lewis." We wait for a penalty to be called. "Summers!" Coach yells at Henry and he skates back. I give him a fist bump and swing myself over the boards. Alright Simon, it's game time; again.
So far, I had taken two breaks, but Jace, Jordan and I had decided last night that only one of us would ever be off at once, just to keep our team ready for anything, and Jace hadn't taken a break since the beginning of period two.
"Wayland, you can go off if you want," I say as I skate by him. His face was dripping with sweat.
"Next goal, I'm off." He says with a grin.
The penalty had been called for us, but on our side of the rink. Alec takes the puck. He passes straight at Jace.
"Alley-oop!" I yell across the rink. That's the name of one of our most complex power plays. I know it is going to be tiring for Jace especially, but I am sure he can make it.
Jace takes the puck, passes back to Sebastian with a fake. Jordan and I skate our routes, swapping positions as he takes centre forward and charges at the net. I have to credit Coach for creativity. No one has ever thought of swapping positions in the middle of a play before—that I can think of.
I am at the left side of the rink. The swap of position seems to have confused the guys on us because Sebastian finds an opportunity and whips the puck at me. I receive and skate down the line as fast as I can.
I look up and see a defense man heading straight towards me. Shouldn't he realise that I can dodge to the right? Readying myself to move, I look to where I am headed and see another defense man coming at me from that direction. They got you trapped, Simon, I think. But, from all my years of hockey, I know to never give up. I see a little opening—probably too small for me, but I can avoid most of the hit.
I slap the puck to Jace and sprint for the gap that they forgot about, and barely make it—my left shoulder gets caught between the two.
From the point of contact I know I am in an awkward position, and prepare for pain. What takes me by surprise is the popping sound coming from my shoulder. And yet, the adrenaline causes me to feel no pain. My shoulder feels awkward though, but all I can think is, power play, net, puck, score.
Without flinching, I grab my left arm with the opposite hand, and make a quick jerking motion upward. Within half a second after another pop, I am sprinting down the ice to finish my route.
Jace is taking the puck down the centre, and swerving right. He sees me at a checkpoint and passes to me. They expect you to shoot Simon, so don't. The goalie tenses up in a ready stance, fatal mistake, if I were to pass to Jace, it would be an easy goal; which, is what I do.
I flick my wrist and the pass goes right across to my roommate, who is standing at the net. The goalie tries to turn in time, but the puck is already in, and the buzzer has sounded.
"Yeah!" Jace yells at the top of his lungs, "Take that Idris! Three to nothing fools!"
I am about to yell a congratulations to Jace, but the pain hits my shoulder intensely. My knees buckle and I am clutching my shoulder, the discomfort flaring across my arm. I don't look up, but from my peripheral vision, I see my team around me and can't help but feel embarrassment.
"Time out! Time out!" I hear Coach call to the refs.
"Simon," Jace is at my side, "Where does it hurt?"
"Shoulder," I grimace. Without another word, Jace swings my right arm over his neck and helps me skate to the benches.
"Jace, I'm fi—"
"Don't give me that crap Simon, we can all tell you're hurt." Jace cuts me off. "Don't be a whiner and put your ass on the bench."
"Aw, you really do care about me…" I say sarcastically.
"Even when you're injured you're an annoying little brat." His voice is playful but I can tell his face is full of concern.
Coach meets us at the door to the benches as Jace helps me onto them.
"Simon, do you need to call an ambulance? Go to the infirmary? I didn't really see what happened…" Coach seems ashamed at the fact he didn't see me get injured and can't call a foul.
"Coach, it wasn't a foul. Just a dislocated shoulder."
"Just?" He, Jace and Kyle stare at me incredulously.
"I mean, it's okay if you didn't notice, I popped it back into my shoulder right after anyways."
"I am pretty sure," Henry interrupts, "That popping back a shoulder into its socket should not be considered an 'anyways'," he says to me.
"I would shrug, but, I can't right now…but just imagine I'm doing it." I say with a smirk.
"How can you be smirking?" Kyle yells. "Look, I say we call a foul on the guy."
"No, it's fine, really." I interrupt. I am almost definite the checking was legal. "Guys, just play the game and I'll watch for the rest, there's only a couple minutes of this period left, and then one more."
"If you're sure Simon…" Coach says to me, "Jace, you're taking over to call plays." I make eye contact with my roommate. What happened to going off after the next goal? I ask him silently. In response, he shrugs and skates back to the ice.
Clary POV
Since I met Simon, I have seen him get three broken fingers, a fractured knee cap, a concussion, and two sprained wrists; all from hockey. But, every time those injuries healed, he would go back to the sport, insisting he couldn't live without it.
Now, I have also seen him get a dislocated shoulder. From the top of the bleachers I see the two defense men from Idris check into him, and I can automatically tell it's an awkward hit. Quickly shaking it off, Simon is back into the play within a matter of seconds.
Jace scores and the crowd from Alicante erupt into cheers, while the supporting fans from N. I. A. A. boo. Simon falls onto his knees, clutching his shoulder. Call a foul! Two people can't check the same person! Just because the guy isn't unconscious doesn't mean that move was allowed! I silently yell in my mind.
"I hope Simon's okay…" Maggie says worriedly beside me. Everyone's attention is on my best friend—the school's hockey team captain—as Jace gets him across the ice to the benches.
"He's been injured before," I say, "I think he should be okay." Maggie seems to glare at me for knowing that. What did I do? I was only trying to reassure her…
The team seems to be discussing what to do, but the buzzer rings signaling the end of Coach Aldertree's time out. I think it's Michael who replaces Simon, but the rest of the team looks beat; they just lost their best player.
Plus, Jace and Jordan look tired out, especially Jace; he's been on since period two.
The game continues but the other team seems to be fighting back with more aggression. We let a goal in. We let in two. Come on…someone take Jace off, he's going to die…But, even I know that Jace would never give up now of all times.
There's three minutes left, and Idris is still down by one. The whole team is sluggish, and the only starter on is Jace. He's the only one with enough perseverance to stay on for three periods. Damn. That's like skating a long program six times.
The clock ticks down to one minute, but Idris has possession. They get it past the first two forwards, but Jace was tactical and decided to play more defensive. He seems dead, almost, and he can only barely snatch the puck from the offensive player. Thirty seconds left.
"Chuck it up the line! Only thirty more seconds!" I hear yells to Jace across the rink from the team.
Ten, nine, eight…The puck slides to the opposing defense men who charge up, but one of the forwards stop them halfway….seven, six…Jace yells a play, and sprints to the net. He gets the puck…only one defense is left, so it's just a matter of faking him out…five, four, three… Jace swerves around twice, and manages to dodge around the guy, just a metre from the net…two...one…he shoots, he scores!
The buzzer rings and everyone jumps out of their seats to cheer—including me. Jace is too exhausted to show off his goal, accomplished in a matter of seconds, but his teammates crowd around him cheering. The yelling from the stands doesn't finish until the teams shake hands and leave the ice.
I hear a couple people talk about a party in the guy's common room. Normally, girls aren't allowed on that side of the building, but for sport victories, the teachers let the rule slide.
I feel complied to follow Isabelle, Maggie and Carol to the party, but I feel obliged to find Simon. He's probably in the infirmary, I think. I head there, and sure enough, there he is, on a white, cotton lined, bed.
His shirt is off, and there is thick bandaging around his shoulder—you can see the dark bruising underneath the bandages.
"Hey, Si," I say, as he shifts to the side and makes space for me on the bed. I gladly take it and he puts his head on my shoulder. "Ew, Si, you're getting your sweat all over me," I laugh.
"Come on, Clary, just this once? I'm crippled, you know," He jokes.
"How bad is it?" I ask him with true concern. He shrugs with one shoulder.
"Well, it was dislocated, but when I popped my shoulder back in, it only tore one muscle ligament. I can still go to practice tomorrow."
"The bruising looks pretty bad you know…maybe you should rest for an extra day."
"Come on, Clary, you're seen worse…" I give him an agreeing smile.
"Being best friends with a hockey player means a lot of worrying on my part,"
"Hey, you signed up for it." Simon teases.
"Yeah, I guess." I sigh. We sit there for a few minutes, saying nothing. Once in a while, I hear Simon grimace as he moves his shoulder.
A sudden blaring of music cuts through the silence.
"I think there's a victory party you're missing, Clary." Simon says.
"Nah, I'm fine here." I say.
"I bet Jace wants you to go congratulate him," Simon says with a smirk, "Better go praise him." I stare at him.
"Since when have you succumbed to teasing me about Jace?" I ask quizzically. Simon looks away, ignoring the question. Fine then.
"Mr. Lewis?" A nurse comes out of the office, "You can go back to your dorm, if you want." Simon starts to get up, and so do I.
"Here," I say as I take in some of his weight and help him limp to his room. We take the hallway that doesn't connect to the common room, to avoid others, and we get to his and Jace's dorm. The room is relatively neat—compared to other guys' dorms—but there are still clothes thrown on the ground.
Simon slowly climbs into bed, and moves to the side to make room for me.
"Simon, I should really go; I shouldn't be here," I start, but he gives me a pouty face. I sigh and climb onto the bed beside him.
We lay there, our shoulders touching, staring at the ceiling. Simon's breathing becomes even and slow, and I can't help but feel my eyes get heavier, and heavier…
Jace POV
The party ends around one in the morning, and I head back to our dorm. When I open the door, the scene takes me by surprise.
"What the Hell?" I yell. Simon and Clary were sleeping together…in the same bed. So you tell me to be careful with Clary, but you, Simon, go and sleep with her? Rage boils through me as I stare at them wide-eyed. Clary jerks her head up and immediately I can see her blushing.
"Jace! Oh…uh…" She seems at a loss for words.
"Yo…what's all the fussing for?" Simon yawns loudly.
"Well," I say indignantly, "you don't normally find your roommate and his best friend sleeping together."
"What? No!" Simon protests, "It wasn't like that…I mean…we still have our clothes on, don't we?"
"Only some of us, Simon." I say, pointing at his lack of a shirt. His face becomes redder than Clary's as he reaches for a shirt on the floor. "Don't even bother," I say, smirking, "Clary seems to like the view"
"Shut the Hell up Jace!" She yells at me. Right…still on bad terms with Clary… "Why can't you mind your own business for once? Here's an idea, knock before you enter!"
"In case you haven't noticed," I say sourly, "This is my room. But, by all means, you can share it with Simon and I can have a room with Isabelle."
"Ugh." Clary storms out of the room, leaving me and a red-faced Simon.
"Dude, what's your problem?" He asks me angrily. "I get you like Clary, but tone down your jealousy!"
"Uh, this isn't jealousy Simon…this is the fact that you two sleep together…while you aren't a couple…it's weird…"
"Jace," Simon says simply, "we just slept, that's all we did. Okay? Besides, we've had sleepovers since we were a little kid, it's no big deal." I sigh.
"Fine. I'm sorry dude." On the inside, I still have mixed feelings, but I just want to go to bed. Simon doesn't seem to notice, though, because he just flops onto his back, and goes to sleep.
My best friend is sleeping with the girl I love. What a twist of events.
Author's Note
Mhmm! Alicante won! I hope you guys liked this chapter, because I sure enjoyed writing it!
I realised never got time this week to do the excerpts for those who reviewed for the last Chapter, so…whoever reviewed last chapter is getting a review for the NEXT chapter! It'll be extra-long as an apology from me...
Okay guys, keep the reviews coming! I want to know…
-Did you understand the hockey terms? Or…
-Did I need to make it more in-depth, or less descriptive?
-Did you guys like the lengths, or should the chapters be shorter?
-Was the switching around between POVs okay? Or would you like less of it?
Next chapter is visiting day, and it's going to be INTENSE. Until Tuesday…
P.S. JOV: I have very little skill in speaking French, ,much less Spanish so I have no idea what you said in your review. Sorry.