Chapter 7: Quarter-Finals.

LEAH's POV.

Hazel and I walked into the Ashwood Arena hand in hand just in the nick of time. Everywhere was already buzzy with excited students, one side filled with students in our black and grey jersey and the other with students in burnt orange and black.

It was a regular Friday night in Ashwood which meant only one thing—it was a hockey night. And tonight was like no other, the Ashwood Wolves had climbed their way to the quarter-final and were now inching towards being champions of the tournament.

I didn't know so much about hockey so Hazel had schooled me a bit on our way here. Like I knew Hardin was the star player but I had no idea he'd scored the most amount of goals ever in the league including three back-to-back hat tricks. He'd been on a generational run at the right time of the season too.

Scouts were at the bottom of the stands, all eyes on him.

"Come on, let's go up there." Hazel pulled my arms as we weaved through the row of seats until we got to two empty ones. Once we sat down, the conversation from above us swept through my ears.

"Hardin already has this in the bag for us. He's going to make us win," "Imagine he scores another hat trick," "Imagine being that talented and still so sexy." His name was on everyone's lips.

No wonder he had an ego. I rolled my eyes.

"He just plays so perfectly, the way his hands grip the stick...you'll know he's very talented with them," One of them drooled and I visibly cringed. "Whoever that girl is, she's one lucky bitch..." I had no idea when I turned around and I imagine the shock on their faces.

"Can you keep it down?" I asked.

"It's her!" Their jaw dropped and a camera appeared in front of my face. I turned back to Hazel frustrated. "We have to move." And we did. When we were settled in a more comfortable place, the players were ushered onto the rink alongside cheerleaders.

My eyes first noticed Julia with her pom-poms and her grey mini skirt.

"Since when was she a cheerleader?" I asked Hazel. "Since she went public with Ethan?" She said and my eyes fell on him next. He was playing alongside Hardin.

"This should be interesting," I muttered. Ethan never brought me to his games even though we were seeing each other for a couple of months and the one time I did, he pretended not to know me. I thought that he was just shy at the time, but watching him and Julia kiss on the rink, it was obvious he didn't just want me there.

Hardin was the last to come out, skating swiftly across the ice and the whole arena erupted in a chant. He skated around the rink, raising his hands in the air to motivate the crowd, something I'm going to assume he always did. But when he came to a halt, he looked up the stands as if he knew exactly where I was.

And his eyes met mine.

I gulped a hard lump down my throat and his lips curved in a proud smirk seeing me in his jersey.

"I saw that look..." Hazel nudged my shoulders and I rolled my eyes. "What look?" She only humphed.

After the cheerleading bit, the game started immediately.

I was quick to lose sight of the puck but I followed the game by watching Hardin. He skated as fast as lightning and the arena exploded with every move he made.

The game moved so fast my eyes struggled to keep up, jerseys blurring into streaks of grey and orange while sticks clashed and the puck ricocheted from one end of the rink to the other.

"Let's go, Wolves!" A scream came from behind me, followed by even my chants. So much that the bleachers rattled beneath us.

"Ash-wood! Ash-wood! Ash-wood!"

I stared at him and even though I didn't know much, it was obvious he was already controlling the game.

Hardin moved as if the ice belonged to him.

His strides were effortlessly smooth, weaving through defenders with a level of confidence only he could carry, and barely five minutes into the first period, Hardin stole the puck near center ice before accelerating down the rink and he snapped it into the top corner of the net before anyone knew it.

The buzzer blared and the arena erupted.

"GOAL!"

I screamed too, feeling the adrenaline pulse in my veins. I understood immediately why people loved hockey. Hazel especially. She wrapped her arms around me in a celebratory hug.

"He just makes it look so easy," She said about Hardin and I nodded because I could see it. He was a beast on the ice. Barely a minute later, he'd shot the puck into the net again.

The Redwood defense never stood a chance against Hardin West.

He roared across the rink, kissing the badge on his chest as the students cheered for me. I caught myself smiling for the second time in that moment and I rolled my eyes.

But I couldn't stop watching him.

Three goals in, Hardin had scored yet another hat trick. His third consecutive one.

"HAYDEN WEST WITH HIS THIRD OF THE NIGHT!" The announcer blared over the speakers. Everyone screamed. The energy in the arena was infectious.

My eyes followed him as he pulled off his helmet, his chest breathing hard and his dark hair damp with sweat. His eyes searched the crowd and my stomach flipped.

Out of the hundred people cheering for him, he looked straight at me and the corner of his mouth lifted. I saw myself on the screen just above me and heat crept into my cheeks.

This was the plan, I reminded myself, taking in deep confident breaths but suddenly, someone slammed into Hardin from behind. He tumbled over and the celebration dissolved.

"What the fuck is he doing?" It was Ethan and he'd taken off his helmet. Hardin stumbled to his feet just in time to catch Ethan's fist before it connected with his jaw. The whole crowd gasped and the sound of the whistle pierced the arena.

Players rushed forward, separating the two of them.

"You shoved me up there man!" Ethan spat in his brother's face. "Does this happen often?" I turned to Hazel. "Team members fighting each other?" I thought it was usually the opponents.

"What has gotten into him?" Hazel shook her head, asking the same question that went through my mind. Why would Ethan attack his brother out of the blue?

Ultimately, the coach had to come on, benching Ethan for the rest of the game but as he walked down the flannel, he shot a cold glare at me. Was he jealous? He couldn't be.

Not when he was happy with Julia. She walked up to him from the stands, meeting him halfway but Ethan shoved her to the side. He was fuming. Hardin too but he just stood there for some reason, his chest rising and falling beneath his jersey.

His eyes were red with rage but he controlled himself.

Marcus came on to substitute Ethan and the game was underway once again.

The whistle blew but the cheers never came back, not completely.

The game ended with Ashwood cruising to an easy 5–1 victory and when the final buzzer echoed, Hazel and I alongside the rest of the students swarmed the stands.

I needed to see him and when I did, he was standing next to a reporter, a camera in his face. But as if he'd scented I was close, Hardin looked in my direction.

"Come over," He waved.

I looked behind me and Hazel had to push me forward before I reluctantly walked to him. I nearly tripped but Hardin caught me in his arms. He held me up before his fingers intertwined with mine.

"You must be the famous Leah Hart." The reporter's eyes turned to me immediately and I froze. "Oh." Greet. She knew my name.

"The girl everyone's been talking about this week and the magic behind Hardin's consecutive wins...Is that right?" She now turned to him and he played it smooth a smirk, running his hand through his hair too.

"What can I say?" He looked at me and our eyes met. I caught a lump slip down his throat.

"She's everything I ever wanted."

Hardin's words caused heat to immediately fill my cheeks. He stepped closer and our shoulders brushed. I had to rip my eyes back to the reporter.

"So, the rumors are true? You know you never really confirmed..." She said and Hardin squeezed my hand. Everything led to his very moment. With one look at me, he smiled.

"Very true." In that moment I had to pretend like I didn't see the multiple cameras flashing in our direction and the eyes of everyone in the arena looking directly at us.

His words from earlier echoed back in my ears—"We have to make it convincing," This was the right time, I knew.

So when I looked at Hardin, he was already looking at me.

"I won't unless you want me to." He murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear and his words settled deep inside my chest. Even in this moment, he gave me the choice.

Slowly, I closed the distance between us and his hand tightened around my waist. It was supposed to be a peck, just enough to be convincing for the cameras but instead, Hardin kissed me like he'd been waiting all week to do it again.

I was quickly reminded of what he tasted like. What it felt like to be in his arms, just like that night. I closed my eyes and for one dangerous moment, I forgot about the cameras and the crowd. And Ethan.

I forgot this was supposed to be fake.

Gently, Hardin pulled away once a dozen cameras had clicked.

I pulled away from him, reality rushing back as the crowd erupted into cheers and whistles but Hardin's eyes were still fixed on me. It was then I noticed just over his shoulder, in the stands, a girl I'd never seen before.

Tall. Red-haired and ridiculously beautiful.

Immediately, my smile faded.

She wasn't looking at me but at Hardin and judging by the way his expression hardened the moment he saw her, he knew exactly who she was.

"Fuck." He cussed beneath his breath.