Slapshots {BOYXBOY}✔

Chapter Six {Flash Cards}

Friday night was the only night I felt like I could relax. It was the first time in forever there was no big party going on, and I could just chill out in my basement with a few of my friends playing Xbox and drinking redbulls until we all felt sick and passed out. This Monday, like every other Monday came around to quick. Ball hockey and practice on Sunday killed my arms thanks to the sun. The cold on my sunburn skin made it feel ten times worse then what it was. And I couldn't sleep a wink the night before because I was stressing out to much about having to study after school.

Did I see Harmony?

Once,

I went to her house on Saturday and hung out for an hour before her dad came home from golfing. And I had left before he came home because I'm not allowed at her house when her parents aren't arpun

And now we were here, back at school, back to trying to figure out what the teachers were saying when really it was all a jumbled mess in my head. I couldn't focus on anything. Not just because I had to meet up with Henry after hockey practice today, but because I could never focus.

I sat in my desk in every class trying so hard to soak up what the teachers were saying, trying to take notes that I kept falling behind on, kept trying to pay attention. But like always, nothing was working. How I was getting though school with a C+ was mind blowing to me, because I didn't know half of what was going on around me when it came to my classes.

After hockey practice I had to suck it up and shower with the rest of the team because instead of going home after school I would be heading to the library and studying with Henry. I showered as quick as I could, trying to be the first one in and out before grabbing my clothes and throwing them on. We had a game tomorrow, and even though I was good at what I do. I still felt nervous and I knew tonight was going to be another night of crap sleep.

"Yo Chandlers, want to head out to Don's and have some food with us? Riley's lost a bet to he got to pay!" The biggest guy on our team, Brody shouted out from the other side of the locker room. Brody was a buff, and husky man with the face and body of a man ten years older then his seventeen year old self. He was like a big teddy bear though, and I'm pretty sure he started shaving when he was five because that man was hairy.

"Can't. I've got plans. But tell Riley that he owes me meal." I grinned back as I pushed the swinging door open to the locker room and made my way out of the cool area. The walk to the library wasn't a long one. That's why I decided to walk up the stairs as slow as I could and made sure to stop at the vending machine for some Gatorade before walking across the small opening to the library. It was a big place, it had a nice sitting area for kids with bean bag chairs and a hard foam circle bench that was mulitcoloured, it had books about everything, not just because it was the schools library but because it was a public one as well. So not only did it have two stories and a shit ton of books, but it had multiple copies of every book because God knows when a whole class is going to be doing an assignment on the Holocaust

Making my way up the spiral staircase I kept my phone in my hand to keep from looking as stupid as I felt. I had no reason to feel nervous, it was Henry, sure we had a weird past, but we grew up. Things changed. I'm sure everything that's happened will stay behind us.

But then I saw him, and every bit of anxiety that seemed to have missed me when I saw him at my house a few days ago hit me like a ton of brick.

He sat at a wide wooden table with a few books already, all not in English but the one in his hand. His glasses were tipped down his nose as he head, his lips moving ever so slightly with the words on the page, his dirty blond hair held back in a loose ponytail but most of it had fallen out and was brushed behind his ear.

I walked over to the table, making sure to not trip over my own two feet as I did and sat down at the table in the chair across from his.

And when I did he looked up at me, his light green eyes with bits of dark and light, almost gold brown floating in them looked up at me. And fuck me I wish I was still on the ice.  "Hey, I figured we get started right away. I brought some of the books that I know their using in the class. Did you bring your notes?"

How could he be so cool and calm when not a week ago he was an awkward mess in my kitchen?

"Uh, yeah. Here." I dug into my backpack, sliding the papers into the middle of the table and then bringing my hand back to wipe it on my pant leg.

What the hell was wrong with me?

It's been like three years since you've spoken to the kid, you're just a little nervous. Besides the last time you guys spoke wasn't the best anyways.

"Alright perfect. I've got a couple of ideas we can try for today just to get used to so techniques. First, are you better speaking, reading, or writing French?"

"None of thee above."

"And why's that."

"I can ask you to use the bathroom in French and that's about it. Reading is just a bunch of funny letters all over the page that make no sense, and how do I write it if I can't read or speak it?" God I felt so stupid saying this shit out loud.

"Alright, that's fair." He nodded his head, pushing his glasses up his nose and smiled at me, a fake smile, but I could see the hint of a real one. "Let's try this. I brought some flash cards, they have words in French and English, plus pictures. We can try those out first and see where they take us."

And just like that. Henry and I spent a whole hour studying and I didn't feel like a total moron.