the only exception - kenny wu

8. laufey

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in the third period, arabella was on the same line with kenny and connie as the other two forwards. she passed it to connie, who stick-handled it around a few players, then passed it to kenny, who was open on the boards. she watched as kenny ducked underneath a player then wrapped around the net, scoring a goal. 

arabella cheered and skated to him, hugging him tightly and cheering with the rest of them. kenny seemed to only hug arabella back, which made her feel a little special. "oh my god, kenny! that was amazing! how'd you do that?"

he shrugged, smiling widely at arabella. "figure skating taught me a few things."

she smiled, then they went to the bench to fist bump everybody and end their shift. kenny and arabella sat as close as they could, talking and commentating the game to themselves. 

when the game ended, they lined up and said 'good game' to the other team, as they always do. they then huddled together as a team, celebrating their first win. they had a meeting with the press after, so they skated off the ice and went to their locker room to change and get ready fast.

after they got their gear off and their warm-up suits on, bombay led them outside, where there was a small stage and a lot of reporters. there was even a bear from hendrix, the company sponsoring them, that ran out to take a couple pictures, eventually leaving. 

arabella felt a little nervous. she didn't like reporters, they always got into everyone's business and would always flash bright cameras at you. she felt like she couldn't say anything because it could be used against her, so her loud personality always dimmed when she was being filmed. 

she spaced out for most of it, the only thing capturing her attention was a reporter asking bombay a question. "the vikings from iceland are the heavy favorites. their coach has already guaranteed victory. how are you gonna handle them?"

arabella noticed bombay didn't know what to say, so she decided to speak for him, forgetting where she was. "we're team usa, we came here not only to play, but to win. we've been working hard, and we can definitely take the vikings on."

she doubted what she was saying, knowing that the iceland team had giants for players. but she figured she had to help bombay, and get the teams spirits rising. 

bombay nodded, using arabella's words as an answer. "we're team usa and we're going all the way!"

amidst all the cheering, arabella noticed a group of guys walking up, with what she presumed to be their coach in the front with the gelled hair. "team usa's going down, that's where they're going. see you on the ice, bombay."

"man, what a bunch of losers, crashing our press conference. if they're so great, why don't they have one?" arabella sighed, leaning her head on kenny for a second before realizing she was being recorded. 

she covered her mouth, hoping they didn't capture a photo of her leaning on kenny. she didn't care if they talked about what she said, but she didn't want the whole country to think she was dating kenny. she stood up and saw the iceland team being escorted, and she saw one of the players in the front smiling at her, before turning around.

'weird.'

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───

when the meeting was done, they were escorted to dorms, where they'd be staying during their time at the games. bombay hadn't gone on the same bus as them, and arabella knew he was going someplace else, probably fancier and cleaner.