"Where's Beck?" Tori asked, her face a clearly painted picture of concern.
The gang were all seated at their normal table, save Beck and Jade. Nobody had seen either of them since first period, and everyone was getting slightly worried. It was normal for the two of them to disappear for a little bit, probably to make out in the janitor's closet, but it wasn't normal for them to be gone so long.
"Did I interrupt anything?" Cat heard, feeling a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to find Tyler standing behind her, a grin on his face.
"Guys, this is Tyler," Cat declared, introducing her new friend to the rest of the group. "He's new to Hollywood Arts, and he's a hockey player!" she beamed, hurriedly making room for him to sit next to her.
"What did I miss?" Tyler asked. Cat gave him a small shrug in response.
"We just got here. We don't know where Beck or Jade are, but they'll turn up eventually," she reassured him.
Tyler nodded and took a bite of his salad. Cat frowned as she watched him stomach the shriveled greens (how, she wondered), and waited for the perfect opportunity. There! Tori wasn't looking! She casually picked up her plate and dumped her salad on top of Tyler's. It was an innocent move, but Tyler saw everything.
"Come on Cat, it's healthy. I'll share it with you if you want, but you've gotta eat some of it." he said, trying to persuade her.
Tori, having noticed the conversation between Cat and Tyler, shot an unimpressed look in Cat's direction and went back to her food.
Andre suddenly jumped up from the table, exclaiming "I gotta go! You remember that show I'm supposed to perform in next week? I forgot, lunchtime rehearsals!"
He dashed off, leaving Tori, Cat, Robbie, and Tyler at the table.
"Well, just about time for class. Let's go, Robbie!" Tori said, trying to distance her and Robbie from Cat and Tyler.
"But we still have like an hour-" Robbie began to protest, but he was dragged away mid sentence, leaving Cat and Tyler alone.
"So, you excited for tonight?" Tyler asked her cautiously. "I got you front row seats."
"Oh, yeah..." Cat said in a daze.
Her face was clouded over as if something was wrong, but upon questioning she adamantly denied it. Tyler decided to leave it until a more comfortable moment arose.
"So... what was yesterday about?" he asked slowly.
"I don't know! I really don't! He just... went for it!" Cat blurted. "But I couldn't be with him even if I wanted to, because Jade would kill me!"
"Oh..." Tyler replied, shocked at her sudden outburst. "I, um, was actually talking about the fire alarm..."
Cat's face turned red, almost matching the shade of her hair. Embarrassed, she buried her head in her hands.
"But if you don't like him, then who do you like?" Tyler asked, leading up to a difficult question.
Cat looked up, opening her eyes. She didn't answer. In fact, she couldn't seem to answer. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, Tyler leaned in closer. He knew that this was it. Cat obliged and leaned in as well, their lips mere inches apart. Their lips met, and Cat felt a jolt of electricity running through her veins, running from her lips to her toes, searing a mark in her blood. She drowned out the world, feeling herself get slightly dizzy. She couldn't break free of his grasp, but that was fine with her. She felt his hand on the back of her neck, pulling her in, closer, closer, until there was no way they could be any closer.
They finally broke apart, and Cat smiled shyly up at him. He ran a finger down her cheek, and she felt the blood rushing to her face again. Neither one of them said anything for a few moments, and then Cat broke the silence.
"I didn't want to kiss Beck, you know."
"I know that," Tyler replied. "We all do things we don't particularly want to. But what actually matters is that you're doing what you want to now."
"Oh, I am," she smiled, glancing down at her shoes with a small giggle.
"Glad to hear it." Tyler replied.
It was the awkward post-intimacy conversation that got to them both, and after only a few minutes, they separated to prepare for class. Tyler managed to convince himself that it would be easier to get close to Cat after that day, but somewhere in the back of his head, he knew she hadn't completely fallen for him yet. But that, he understood. It would take time and effort to make her completely fall for him.
**********
"Let's go, men!" called Darnel, the captain of the Hollywood Arts hockey team.
"Here we go now, let's get to it!" Tyler called down the hallway, where the team was lining up.
Anyone would have to admit, they looked good. It was a very different team from the year before, with the addition of seven new forty goal scorers. They had new equipment, new uniforms, new coaches, new staff, a new arena... They were a new team.
Tyler glanced down to his dark purple skate laces, tied neatly in a double knot. His purple and white striped hockey socks were tucked into his skates, a bold silver color, shining brightly. He was using the same stick as he had in practice, with white tape on the handle and black tape on the blade. The white wax he'd applied glinted on the black tape, catching the light, and he could almost feel the puck on his stick already.
"Three minutes, let's go!" called one of the equipment managers. They could hear the roar of the crowd from deep underground, and the sounds of a highlight video playing on the jumbotron.
"Gentlemen, I do believe we've made a name for ourselves," Sean stated, walking down the hall in between his players. "Eight thousand people are out there waiting to see us play. That's more than we've ever gotten with any school event before. So we're not going to screw this up, are we now?"
Tyler glanced down at his black hockey pants, equipped with purple laces, and he held his gloves out to examine them. They were black, but it wasn't a noticeable difference from the rest of the uniform. The helmets were black too, with the number on the back and a purple Hollywood Arts logo on each side.
And the jerseys. The jerseys were something special. They were wearing the alternate uniforms, because it was the season opener. They were deep purple with a special never before seen Hollywood Arts logo on the front. It was an H and an A linked together, with a Condor perched on top. Although nobody called them the Condors, despite that being their actual name, Tyler thought that the bird made a nice addition to the logo.
The players began to file through the hallway, heading closer to the ice, and Tyler's nerves began to distract him from his true focus. What if he messed up? What if Sean wasn't impressed? What if Cat wasn't impressed? He didn't know what he would do.
"Come on! It's probably already started!" Cat urged, unimpressed with Beck's slow speed. She really didn't want to miss a thing, and if Beck kept his pace up, they would miss at least the first few minutes.
Beck stumbled his way after her in the dark, trying to find their seats. All the lights in the arena were off, making the seating area visible only by the bright glow of the jumbotron. There was a player introduction video being broadcast on the jumbotron, currently discussing the experience of each respective player. Beck and Cat found their seats and sat down just in time to see the visitors gates open and the Las Vegas Aces take to the ice. They were representing Las Vegas Academy, but they were just called the Las Vegas Aces because there wasn't another team from Nevada in the league.
Another highlight video began to play, and Cat admired the players smooth skating. She was so wrapped up in the video she didn't notice Tyler's appearance on the screen, or when Beck put his arm around her.
Suspenseful music began to play, and a holographic projection began to play on the ice. It displayed highlights from the team's last season, so it turned out to be a relatively short broadcast. The projection ended and a spotlight focused on center ice. Cat looked around at the immense light show going on around her, and was stunned by the amount of money it must have cost to set up.
TODAY'S ATTENDANCE: 7021 flashed onto the screen, and Cat looked around for the first time to appreciate the vast ocean of people waiting to see the game. This was her team, from her school. She was on a first name basis with half the players, and here they were playing in front of the equivalent of a small town. She had to give it to them, the Pear Store had done more than their job in the marketing department.
**********
Tori Vega sat at home, alone. She was bored, but she'd chosen to be this way. Cat had invited her to watch a hockey game with her, but she'd blown her off to get her nails done. Not that she actually had an appointment to get her nails done. She'd just known that the next person Cat would invite was Beck, and she found it sweet how they enjoyed each others' company.
She groaned and rolled over on the couch, boredom eating away at her. She switched the TV channel back and forth between That's a Drag and Celebrities Underwater. She saw an advertisement for a new show titled Extreme Groin Injuries and didn't bother to stick around, deciding that wasn't something she wanted to see.
Turning off the TV, she went into the kitchen. On the table was a note. It was from Trina.
'Out for a run, be back soon. Make me dinner. -T'
Tori shook her head in mild disbelief and headed upstairs to her room. She knew that she'd done a good thing for Cat, so it was worth being a little bored for the night. She just hoped things were going well, and hopefully some chemistry was forming. After all, Cat hadn't dated anyone in a long, long time, and Beck definitely needed to get over his breakup with Jade.
The phone rang. When Tori picked up, she found it was her dad, asking to speak to her mother.
"Mom's not home yet, what is it?" she asked, fiddling with a random doll she'd found in her room.
She was far too old for dolls and things of that nature, but she'd just found this particular doll and decided to keep it, if only for the memories.
"Tell her I'm stuck out of town and I might be another few days getting back," her father said, hoping Tori would pass the message along.
Tori agreed and hung up the phone, debating the possible cause of the holdup in her mind. Weather, more work, an emergency of some sort?
She turned off her light and crawled into bed. It was going to be a long night.
**********
"You're up, bud," Darnel called to Tyler, waking him from the slight daze he'd gone into from watching everyone else.
Tyler shifted to the gate where the entrance to the ice loomed. He couldn't see more than three feet in front of him due to the fog machine making everything impossible to see. He heard an introduction begin, and he took off his helmet, spiking up his hand and keeping the helmet in his hand.
"From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, wearing the number eight, Hollywood Arts Alternate Captain, Tyler Johanssen!" The elongated introduction finished, and Tyler charged onto the ice.
He heard a loud bang and looked to his left. Flames shot out of the gate he'd been in only a second earlier, and although it was a great effect, if he'd stayed only a second longer he couldn't help thinking he would have been fried.
He emerged from the cloud of fog, and was taken aback by the noise of the crowd and the music, and the multicolored lights flashing from all over the arena.
He skated to center ice and joined the circle of his teammates, waiting for the full team to be introduced. He set his helmet down on the ice in front of him, and admired the shiny silver "A" over his heart, signifying his position of alternate captain.
The rest of the introductions passed in a blur, the national anthems were played, and the teams lined up for the opening faceoff. One thing was for sure; this would be a wild ride.
**********
"Good game, Tyler!" Marcus, his left winger, praised him after the game.
Tyler was all dressed in the customary fashion as he headed out of the dressing room and down the hall toward the exit. He straightened his suit jacket and fixed the position of his tie. The game had gone well, with Tyler claiming his first point as a Condor in the form of an assist.
He walked out through the parking garage and toward the open doors that led into the night. He could hear the faint hum of the Aces' bus, parking somewhere many levels below the one that he was on. He heard a moan, and with his curiosity getting the better of him, he looked over to his left. There, unmistakably, was Beck. He was pressing a small figure against the wall, and they were entangled in a passionate kiss. Tyler squinted just enough to catch a glimpse of bright red hair, the color similar to that of a red velvet cupcake. That was all he needed to see. He would have recognized that hair anywhere; that small figure Beck had pinned against the wall was Cat.