Pucked Over

4

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Baji grins as soon as he spots us trying to get through the crowd of people that have gathered at Kawata's. The girls weren't joking when they said almost everybody would be out celebrating tonight.

The place is packed, with almost no room to breathe. As they told me, the sports bar is somewhat of a local student hangout with dark bars, a mix of high-top tables and big booths at the back, huge screens on the walls above the bars playing any current game, and Toman memorabilia plastered on the walls.

"The roads were busy," Yuzuha comments as we slide next to the table where Baji is sitting with two other guys who give us appreciative looks. "It's insane tonight," Baji agrees, looking around the bar. "I guess everybody wants one last beer to drink in complete peace." Baji turns toward me with a grin, and I roll my eyes but smile back. "Real subtle. I guess that's my cue..." "Aww, don't get mad, short stuff."

Baji throws his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug. "I can buy the first round." "Oh, no you don't!" I shake my head. "I pay my way, big guy." He laughs. "Noted. Let's introduce you first and then I'll flag down the server. Guys," Baji turns us toward his friends, "you remember Yuzuha and Senju from orientation, and this little thing is their new roommate, (y/n). (Y/n), this is Chifuyu and Kazutora ." They both nod in my direction by way of greeting. Kazutora is almost as tall as Baji, just only difference hair color. His skin is Tan, his long dark hair with blonde highlights, and showing off his tiger tattoo. Chifuyu, on the other hand, is a bit shorter and leaner. His skin is pale, has green eyes and he is blonde with an undercut. "Nice to meet you." They return the greeting with a smile. Yuzuha and Senju move closer to the table. At least it's a high-top one, so we can just lean against it, because finding an available chair is next to impossible.

They all start chatting instantly about something that happened during orientation week, and I listen in, trying to follow. A server passes by us, and Baji stops her and places another order. She nods in understanding before getting lost in the crowd once again.

"How come we didn't see you at orientation, (y/n) ?" At the sound of my name, my head snaps up, and I turn my attention to the group. "I had a competition that I had to attend, and it was during orientation week." "What kind of competition?" Kazutora asks. "(Y/n)  is a figure skater." Yuzuha turns to me. "Which makes me realize that I've never watched figure skating, not live or on TV." "It's not as popular as some other sports here."

"Guilty as charged. With Taiju playing football, it's always been football in our house." As Yuzuha says it, a dark shadow passes through her eyes. It's there just for a second, but then she blinks and it's gone, making me wonder if it was there in the first place. "We'll have to change that. When's your next one?" "A few weeks, it's the qualification period for Nationals." Just then the server returns and places six beers on our table before slipping away once again. "Nationals as in..." Chifuyu lets the words hang in the air as he grabs a new beer bottle and takes a pull. "U.S. Figure Skating Championships. I'm a senior skater." I can feel their gazes on me, so I grab a beer and take a small sip.

This isn't my first encounter with alcohol, but since I rarely drink, because of calories, I figure it's better to take it slow. "What about you guys? How do you all know each other?" "Takemichi is my roomie, and Kazutora and I are a part of the track team." I turn toward Baji and do a double-take. "Track team?" If I had to guess, I'd have pegged him as a basketball player. Or maybe a swimmer. Baji laughs. "I did track and football in high school, but I decided to stick with one, so I could concentrate on school. Pre-med ain't gonna be easy.

What's your major?" "Physics." Baji whistles softly. "Beautiful and smart." I tip my beer at him. "The girls were right, you're a charmer." Baji's grin widens. "How can you tell?" We continue chatting for a while, and they tell me about all the things that have happened during orientation week.

Some I'm sad I missed, the others? Not so much. "Ugh!" Yuzuha turns around and glares at somebody over her back. "I swear if somebody shoves me one more time, I'm going to scream." "If you want, we can leave," I offer, more than ready to get out of here. We've been here for over two hours, and I already had an alarm ready to wake me up tomorrow at five-twenty.

I could use more than a few hours of sleep. "I don't want to leave, it's too early." "She just wants everybody else to take a hike," Senju explains, playing with her empty beer bottle. "Exactly! I mean, I'm sure there are like ten different parties happening all around campus at this exact moment. Do they all have to be here?" Just then there is a commotion coming from the front of the bar. People move as a group of guys enter. It seems like everybody knows them because people stop them at every step to talk to them.

They're all extremely hot, tall, and muscular, with wide shoulders and killer smiles. What do they feed these boys here? It's just insane. Don't get me wrong, I've met my fair share of attractive guys, but figure skaters are just built differently. There's no way you'd be able to jump with all the muscles these dudes are spotting.

I start to lift my beer but stop mid-movement when I see another guy joining the group. He's tall, at least a couple of inches taller than the rest of his friends. His broad shoulders stretch the material of a simple black shirt, his hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans. Dressed in all black, and with his Dark Tan skin, he all but blends with the darkness; or he would if there wasn't something about him that demands attention.

One of his friends elbows him, his mouth moving as he says something, followed by a laugh. The guy just shakes his head, a barely noticeable tilt curling his full lips. A hand pops in front of my face. "Earth to (y/n) ." I shake my head to clear my mind. "Sorry, you were saying?" "Where's your head at?" Yuzuha chuckles. "Oh, nothing, just..." But before I can finish, she's already looking over her shoulder, searching for whatever stole my attention. And of course, that's the moment the hot guy sweeps the space, his eyes stopping on our table.

Recognition lights his eyes as they land on us. Or more particularly, on me. "Not him," I mutter, my lips pressing in a tight line. Seriously, what are the odds? Out of all the people, of all the places, that he and I end up in the same one? "What?" Yuzuha looks at me, a frown between her brows before she turns her attention to the group. The guy looks at her, his expression softening as he tips his chin at Yuzuha in greeting. "That's him." Yuzuha lifts her hand in a little wave but stops at my words. "Him him?" Senju looks up with interest. "The guy you ran over?" "I didn't run him over. He crossed the road where there's no crosswalk." I turn my attention to Yuzuha.

"You know him?" "Yeah—well, I don't know him. Not that way, anyway. But I met him a few times. He's one of my brother's roommates. His name's Rindou ." Rindou. The name suits him. It matches those striking eyes of his, and his broody attitude. My eyes find him standing with his friends. They're talking about something, but his scowling glare is still directed firmly at me. A shiver runs down my spine, but I lift my chin defiantly. "Great. Just... great."