IAN KADE
When Ian received his dorm keys, he was expecting the worst. Ready to be shoved into a room surrounded by wolves as he was the sheep. It's common knowledge that the hockey team receives a bigger dorm of their own, no rules, no grounds, just pure freedom, and he was sure they do that here at Westbrook too. But lucky for him, the sponsor had different plans. "You will be staying in the North wing" the man had said, handing him the keys with a look that said I'm doing you a favor.
On his way here across the hallways where the hockey dorm could be, were lined with trophies, posters of past wins including the previous one, he could see Dominic's smug face laughing at him, and it makes him so mad. The place even smelt like old sweat and teenage ego, luckily he wasn't in for that.
He reached room 202, that was his new home from now on. Opening the room, which surprisingly wasn't locked, he walked in and dropped his duffel bag with a low grunt. "Yo! Roomie!" a voice rang out and Ian almost flinched, he wasn't expecting anyone here. "Hold up, you're Ian, right? I mean unless you're here to sell me overpriced protein powder" The guy on the other bed was in a pair of silk shorts and an oversized shirt, legs crossed midair with cotton candy colored socks and twirling a lollipop between his fingers like it was a mic, his voice full of unbothered energy.
Ian scanned the room automatically. Pride flag stickers on the windows, fairy lights strung on one side, pastel posters of K-pop idols and lots of the hockey players and were those masculine half naked men?. Yeah. He got the hint instantly. But did he care, no. His new roommate raised his perfect brow, gauging Ian's reaction like a test he's had to run more times than he should, and also daring him to say anything about what he was looking at. Ian nodded, reminding himself of the question his new roomie had asked.
The boy grinned jumping up in a tiny "am Sebastian Wilde, but you can call me Sabby, darling" Ian let the silence be the answer, but it would be rude not to get along with his new roommate "Ian Kade" he simply said dropping his hockey stick now that it was feeling heavy on his injured arm. What he didn't realize was the glitter hand that was extended to him to shake "cocky bastard" Sebastian mumbled to himself huffing but was back to smiling instantly "ah the silent broody type I like that. You can talk if you want or don't, I'll talk enough for the both of us" he giggled sitting back and watching Ian unpack like he didn't have anything to do, well of course he didn't have anything to do at the moment.
While Sebastian rambled about how he nearly burned the microwave last week, Ian took a seat on the edge of his bed and stretched his shoulder wincing slightly, his hand drifted to his ribs still aching beneath the fabric of his shirt, that injury wasn't healed yet. Sebastian must have realized this because he was sat right in front of him but chose not to ask, and for once the talking stopped.
DOMINIC STRYKER
At the hockey rink later...
The Blizzard Hounds were exhausted. Bodies aching. Mouths dry. Spirits low. Dominic had stood by the rink walls, arms crossed as he watched the others stretch, warm up and still mumbling complaints after three hours of torture. His jaw clenched. The alcohol buzz from last night had long faded, replaced by nothing but soreness and guilt. The mess they'd made of the dorm, the girl he didn't remember, the near naked chaos that coach wouldn't forget, as the team captain this was a bad image he'd created. And then now this.
"where the hell is he?" Julius snapped, tugging his helmet off with a scowl, he's almost hulk height and known for his bad temper known both in the rink and out. "He ruins our morning peace and now skips out on practice, classic coward move" Julius adds on the verge of breaking anything near him.
"he better be injured" grumbles Theo "or I swear I'll make him wish he was" suddenly Dominic's voice cut through the noise sharp and bitter "new blood shows up, and suddenly we're on coach's hit list?, fuck that guy"
"we wouldn't be here right now If he hadn't showed up" another one of the team members hissed.
"he's hiding, bet he thinks he's too special to train with us" Dominic snaps "figures"
The team had expected Ian to walk through those doors with a smug look on his face, shoulders squared acting like he belonged, and they were ready to shove him, mock him, maybe even crush him a little during drills just to send a message...but Ian never came.
The silence that followed hit harder than any slap shot. Dominic scoffed, tossing his stick onto the bench, "tch, so much for round one"
.
.
IAN KADE
At the infirmary...
Ian was sat on the white paper sheet as a nurse gently wrapped the bruised skin around his side and on his aching shoulder. Each touch stung, but he didn't flinch. Across the room, Stryker leaned against the wall, arms folded. "One week" he spoke, "that's what you've got. Heal. Get strong. You'll skate when I say you're ready" he added, "and the couch?" Ian asked, voice low.
"I'll handle him" Stryker replied, "and the nurse won't say a word. I picked her. I don't let people talk when I don't want them to" Ian tilted his head, was that a threat?. But Ian was still baffled why him, he was literally damaged and like Stryker knew he was about to ask that again, he replied immediately.
"I know a survivor when I see one. I don't want a perfect team, I want a team that knows how to rise after being kicked to the ground" his lips twitched between a smile and a dare. He dropped him a set of gloves and turned to leave but looked back once more, "use them well. Your clock starts now".
That night back at the dorm when Ian lay still in bed as Sebastian softly snored across the room, he stared at the ceiling, his mind spinning toward what came next.
"one week before everything turns ugly"...