The Ex Games

Chapter 1

 The snow was falling heavily outside the windows of Casworth High School Library. I was sitting at my usual spot, in the corner, by the windows. Physically, I might have been sitting in a boring library but mentally, I was in ancient Greece. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller had quickly become one of my favorite books to sink into when I had time between practice and school. To disappear into another world was the perfect way to get those terrible words out of my head. To forget they were ever said. To erase them from existence.

 As if some sort of had heard my inner nightmares, a snowball hit the window in front of me. I looked up to see them. The hockey boys. The entire roster of the Casworth Sparks laughed at my shocked face. In the crowd of twenty-something boys, I saw him. Josh Baker. The blond, fluffy-haired, blue-eyed boy that had moved here from Norston less than five months ago. My crush. Anaya, my best friend, said that anyone who liked him had to be both blind and deaf. I am neither and I still found myself drooling over the new centreman.

 I wasn't the only one who was drooling over him, though. Not that it was a surprise to anyone because he's super-hot. The amount of girls that threw themselves over him the second he entered the doors of the school made me want to throw up. The worst part, though, was how he would date one for around a week and then move on to the next.

 That behavior was nothing new to me. Most of the guys on the Sparks' roster are like that. But what was new to me was the pain I felt from it. It almost felt as if fate wanted to shove it up in my face, wanted to show me exactly how straight my crush is.

 I used to hate hockey. The players. The game. The fans. Especially the fans. But then came this new guy and changed all of that. I started going to their home games. Started watching his favorite team's games. I had even began contemplating when Anaya reminded me of how much those guys hated me, how much they wanted to knock my lights out and how I shouldn't change myself for a boy.

 I snapped out of my thoughts when Isaac Labranche started writing on the window with snow. 'Gay' He wrote. As if I didn't already know that. The obnoxiously loud laugh of the team captain, Theo Deschênes, could be heard through the brick walls of the building.

 I glanced at my phone to see that the clock was 7:52 PM. Shit! I gathered my stuff in my bag and cursed myself for not realizing. Their Monday practices end at 7:30 and it takes 15 minutes to walk from the rink to the library. How could I be so stupid?!

 When I exited the front doors, I was bombarded by snowballs. I covered my face with my backpack, hoping that my books and laptop would be able to shield me.

 "What's the problem, McCoy? I thought you liked balls" Labranche mocked, earning yet another annoying laugh from Deschênes. Some of the other guys snickered a bit as well.

 I walked past them as fast as I possibly could without running. They kept shooting towards me. One hit me in the back of my head.

 As soon as I was out of sight from them, I started running. I had four minutes until the bus would stop at the nearest bus-stop. That bus would be my only chance to get home before the next one which goes 9 PM.

 I got to the bus-stop at 7:59. Thank God I didn't skip that workout yesterday!

 The bus showed up at 8:02. Two minutes late. I ran all the way here for nothing! I stepped on and tapped my card against the little screen. I smiled towards the driver before finding myself a window seat. The next twenty-seven minutes were spent listening to a new country album.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 "Hi, honey!" Mom greeted from the living room when she heard the door close behind me. How does she always sound so happy?

 "Hi, mom"

 The snow that once covered my backpack had melted away during the bus ride. My entire bag was wet. Great! The books and laptop had, luckily, made it without getting soaked.

 "Wassup, Cash register?" My little sister, Chelsea, joked as she watched me from her spot on the window seat. I rolled my eyes at the nickname she'd made up a few years ago purely to annoy me but smiled when I looked at her. Her brown, curly hair was put up in a lazy messy bun and her spiderman pyjamas set was so oversized it looked like she was swimming in it.

 "Not much. How 'bout you, Spidey?"

 "Just chilling," She looked me up and down and asked, "Those idiots again, eh?" Am I that easy to read?

 "Yeah. What do you expect? They're hockey boys," I sighed, kicking off my shoes. "They're not taught manners, apparently"

 She scoffed. Chelsea has had some experience with hockey boys of her own. She had dated Rylan Hall for three weeks before finding out he'd been cheating on her the entire time.

 "Speaking of hockey boys. How's it going with Baker?" She teased "Turned him gay yet?"

 "No, I have not 'turned him gay yet'. You can't make someone gay, Chels. You know that. Besides, if it was possible then I would have a lot less to be sad about"

 I threw my jacket onto the window seat beside her and walked straight up the stairs towards my room.

 I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me. I threw my bag on the floor and plopped onto my bed. I felt safe knowing I was alone in a room with a locked door. Everything felt comforting. The grey walls. The seven different snowboards adorning the wall my bed stood against. The white, fluffy rug. The matching blanket hanging from my black and white gaming chair. My computer setup. It all felt like home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 I startled awake when my phone went off like crazy. Midnight Memories by One Direction started playing. Anaya's favorite song. Who else would be calling me at this time?

 "Bitch! Why you not answering?!" She shouted in my ear, exaggerating her accent.

 "I fell asleep. Geez"

 "So, you over or nah?"

 "Oh, right. I'll be there in 10"

 She laughed at my forgetfulness, "Make that 5, eh" And then she hung up.

 I hurried to put some clothes into my bag, not even bothering to unpack the books and laptop, before sprinting down the stairs.

 "I'm going to Gessy's!" I yelled before snatching the keps to dad's motorcycle and exiting the house. I usually don't take the motorcycle without asking but the only way to get to the Gesner household in five minutes is by vehicle.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 "You're late" Anaya startled me when I hopped off the motorcycle.

 "With 2 fucking minutes. It could've been worse"

 "Hurry up, bitch. I'm cold" She complained, shivering.

 I looked her up and down and cocked an eyebrow. She was wearing a yellow oversized hoodie that went to her knees and black, fluffy Ugg slippers.

 "No shit you're cold. Are you even wearing pants?"

 She raised a manicured middle finger towards me and stuck out her tongue.

 We walked to her room and made ourselves comfortable. Her room was the opposite of mine. Mine was filled with grey, white and black. Hers was an explosion of purple and yellow. The only colors she looked good in, she claimed. It didn't matter how many times I'd tried to tell her that she looks good in pretty much every color. Especially white, it contrasted her mahogany skin perfectly. But white wasn't part of the Los Angeles Lakers theme, or whatever. The entire room was filled with merch and memorabilia.

 I made sure to keep my snap streak with the few people that wanted to talk to me while Anaya was playing around with a small basketball, shooting towards the LED lit hoop across from her bed.

 "Gesner shoots and she scores!" I applauded her as we laughed in unison. "So, tell me the tea about you and Miller"

A/N: Ending the chapter on this note. Not my best work but, hey, sometimes u just gotta try!