FAZER LOGINThe next two weeks were the most perfect I’ve ever had since I joined the team. On the ice, we were better than ever. It was like we had a telepathic connection. I would flip a pass toward the corner without even looking, and Jax would be right there to catch it. The crowd loved it. Coach Mike was thrilled. He kept saying that moving me to the room with Jax was the best thing he has ever done for my focus.If only he knew that my focus was entirely on the boy wearing the opposite jersey during practice.********Monday morning practice was intense. We were running a fast break drill. I was flying down the left side, and Jax was trailing behind. Without slowing down, I dropped the puck between my legs and left it in the open ice. Jax picked it up in one smooth motion and fired it into the top corner of the net.The sound of the puck hitting the twine was like music."Beautiful!" Coach Mike shouted, clapping his hands. "That’s the chemistry I want to see! Simpson, Miller, you two are pl
The morning breeze was very cold. We both were up early but we barely spoke to each other. It felt like we were strangers again. I tried to focus on my books, but all I could see was Jax’s back. He hadn't looked at me once.After last night, I thought I could go back to my old life. But life had other plans.I was sitting at the desk when the door opened. It wasn’t Toby. It wasn’t a teammate.It was my father.He wasn't alone. Two men in suits stood behind him. They were holding empty cardboard boxes. My father looked around our messy room with a look of disgust. His eyes stopped on Jax, who was sitting on his bed."Get your things, Liam," my father said. His voice was like ice. "The car is downstairs. You are moving to the athletic dorms right now."I stood up, my heart racing. "Dad, I told you I wasn't moving.""And I told you that I pay the bills," he snapped. He looked at Jax. "I spoke to the Dean. This room is no longer yours. You have ten minutes to pack your clothes, or these m
The morning after was nothing like the night before. The glow of the streetlights and the taste of greasy burgers had been replaced by the cold, harsh reality of 6:00 AM.I woke up before my alarm. My back was sore from being pressed against the shower tiles, and my lips felt swollen, a physical reminder of everything I wanted to pretend hadn't happened.I shifted slightly from Jax. Usually the sound of his steady breathing was comforting. Today, it felt like a countdown.I am not gay, I told myself, the words repeating in my head. It was the adrenaline. It was the stress. It was the high of the game .It was a one time thing. A mistake.But even as I said it, the memory of his hands on my waist made my skin burn.I got out of bed quietly, trying not to make the floorboards creak. I grabbed my gear and headed for the door, not even stopping to brush my teeth in our shared bathroom. I needed to get out. I needed to be on the ice where things made sense. Atleast, my suspension was over.
"You should go, Jax," I whispered again, but I didn't move. My feet were frozen to the wet tile. "The team... Swiss... they’ll wonder where you are.""Let them wonder," Jax said. His voice was a low growl. He stepped even closer."I’m tired of caring about what they think. I’m tired of caring about what everyone thinks.""Since when?" I challenged, my own voice shaking. "You've spent the last few months trying to make me hate you. You’ve been the guy who pushes everyone away.""And you've spent your whole life being the guy who does exactly what he’s told!" Jax snapped back. He grabbed my other arm now, his grip tight and desperate. "You’re the Golden Boy. You aren't supposed to be standing in a dark shower with a guy like me while your team is out there celebrating.""Maybe I don't want to be the Golden Boy!" I yelled. The sound echoed off the tiled walls. I shoved his chest, a hard push that sent him back a step. "Maybe I’m sick of the legacy! Don't tell me what I’m supposed to be."
The three game suspension felt like a lifetime. Sitting in the stands, wearing a regular jacket instead of my jersey, was a special kind of torture. I had to watch my team from far away, like a stranger. The fans whispered when they saw me, and the scouts looked at me with cold eyes. But tonight was the final game of my punishment. Tomorrow, I could be back on the ice.Jax was back in the lineup tonight. His head was healed, and he looked sharp. I watched him move, watched him fight for the puck and it made me feel better.The final buzzer sounded. The crowd went wild. Northwood had won, 3-2. The team was jumping on each other, celebrating. I I should have been down there. I should have been leading the cheer in the locker room.But when I looked at the ice, I saw Swiss and the others laughing. They didn't look like they missed me. They looked like they were doing just fine without their “Golden Boy Captain” just like he called me.I didn't go to the bench to say good job. I couldn’t
When I pushed the door open, the room was quiet. Jax was sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. He had a bag of ice pressed to his head. He looked up at me."You look like you just saw a ghost," Jax said. I sat down in my desk chair and let out a long breath. "I lost the captaincy and I’m suspended for three games."Jax dropped the ice bag. "Liam, no. You can’t lose the C. They can’t do that just because you stopped a guy from killing me.""It’s done," I said. I looked at my hands, then bursted out laughing .He looked like he wanted to cry. “ I’m just joking. Fix your face.Coach pleaded on my behalf else I’d have lost it but I just got a suspension.”"What did your dad say?" Jax asked. He moved to the edge of his bed, watching me closely."He wants me to move out. Tonight," I said. "He told me to move to the athletic dorms across campus because he can see we don’t fight anymore so whatever that made us roommates has been solved already.”Jax stared at me. "He’s serious
The sun was too bright when I woke up the next day. My body ached. My knuckles were swollen and purple, and my split lip burned. I stayed in bed for a long time, staring at the ceiling of our room.I looked over at Jax’s bed. He was still asleep. His face was pale, and the white bandage on his head
The crowd was screaming, but it was a mean sound. They hated Jax. Every time he touched the black puck, the fans made a loud, ugly noise. The other team, the Blue Jackets, were playing dirty. They were hitting Jax every time the referees weren't looking.I tried to stay focused. I tried to be the c
The morning after was so cold but I had to be up anyway."You're going to the athletic wing?" Jax asked, sitting up from the bed. He was wearing an oversized black hoodie, his hair a mess, looking exactly like the kind of distraction my father had warned me about."I have a meeting with the Alumni
The apartment was freezing. The radiator was clanking, a metallic sound that filled the silence between us as we dropped our gear bags. Practice was brutal; three hours of high intensity drills under Coach Mike’s watchful eye and neither of us had spoken a word on the walk back.Jax was a ghost. He







