(Hockey Bxb) Whistle In The Wind -𝐗𝐈𝐕-

╔══《”I forget my first love,》══╗
like you forget a daydream.”

       “Woah, who died?” Lucien questioned the moment he opened the passenger car door. It was silent. “Aksel’s shitty music isn’t even playing.”

       “My music isn’t shitty! Yours is even more shitty,” Aksel complained, speaking for the first time since he entered the car. 

      “What’s wrong with Megan Thee Stallion? And you never answered my question!” he persuaded.

     “Nobody died, dude.”

    “Then why is the vibe so dead in here, something definitely happened,” Luc pushed, situating himself in the seat. Pulling the seat belt over and clicking it into place, Aksel changed gears before pulling out.

       “I don’t know, man. It’s just one of those mornings,” Aksel sighed, clearly attempting to end this conversation.

       “Okay dude, whatever,” Lucien huffed, turning to the back seat. Váli was already looking at him, amber meeting ice. Willing himself to look away from the entrancing eyes, Lucien shook his head slightly.

       Váli just half-smiled, his pink lips separating to reveal a sliver of white teeth in between them. He has good hygiene. Lucien noted to himself, suddenly remembering the in depth skin-care routine belonging to Vál.

       Stretching out, Lucien placed his dirty Chucks on the dash. “Dude, put your feet down,” Aksel nudged, glancing over to his right.

       “What’s the big deal?” Lucien furrowed his brows.

       “You’re gonna get dirt on my dash.”

       “If you’re worried about some dirt on the dash you need glasses. There’s no way you can miss all the scratches and dents in this old thing,” Lucien scoffed, but planting his feet back on the ground anyway.

        “Plus, if I crash and the airbag comes out it’ll crush your legs up and fold you like a sandwich. You’d be paralyzed, at best,” Aksel retorted without wasting a second.

       “Dude, you know I get road anxiety. That was not necessary,” Luc pouted, looking over to see Aksel smiling. That morning had gone smoothly for Lucien, having woken up early enough to make coffee and breakfast.

       He had skipped to the car, oblivious to the contrasting morning of his best friend. When he first entered, the tension in the car was so thick it could be cut with a knife. After cracking a joke, Lucien finally felt the weight lift ever so slightly.

       Able to settle in at last, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply for a couple long breaths. “What the fuck are you doing. Meditating, or some shit?” Aksel laughed, looking over at the passenger’s seat. “Did your mom get you on her yoga spiel?” he joked.

       “Hey! Don’t diss on yoga before you try it,” Luc defended, “Can you touch your feet to your head when on your stomach? I don’t think so,” he smirked.

       “Dude, when will I ever need a skill like that. And I highly doubt you’re flexible enough for that, don’t lie to my face.” Aksel challenged. “That’s the kind of shit Váli can do easily. Look at your body, and then look at Vál’s. Notice any physical differences?” Aksel laughed, pointing to the obvious fact that Lucien was much more built than Váli.

       “Just because I’m more beefy doesn’t mean I’m any less bendy,” he backed, glancing back at Váli. His head was cocked in interest, clearly having been listening to their conversation. The hoodie he wore concealed his body, but his thin wrists and delicate neck hinted at his lean physique.

       Lucien had seen him in practice, where he wore tight clothing. He was strong, there was no arguing with that. You have to be strong to figure skate. Lucien grinned.

       “We’re strong in different ways, now stop comparing us. What you really should be concerned about is my muscle mass compared to yours,” Lucien smirked, knowing he out-muscled his best friend.

       They worked out together all the time, and changed in the same dressing room. It wasn’t a secret that Luc surpassed Aksel in this.

       “You’ve got crazy genes! It’s not fair,” Aksel whined, slouching over the steering wheel. “You’ve had abs your entire life! I don’t remember a time when you didn’t have them. You probably came out of the womb with them!” he grumbled.

       “Sounds like a skill issue to me,” Lucien smugly intoned, continuing the banter.

       “You’ve never seen my dad, but trust me, he’s as skinny as they get! I had to work for this, just give me a couple years and I’ll catch up! You had a head start.”

       “Whatever you say to make yourself feel better,” Lucien laughed, flinging his head back to let the wheeze pass through his pink lips.

       The sound filled the car completely, contagious to Aksel who immediately joined him in a fit of laughter. In the back seat, a puff of air escaped Váli’s mouth as he breathed, the essence of a laugh.

       The two teenagers in the front seat continued to laugh until they were pulling into the parking lot. Even after the truck was parked and situated, neither made a move to stop laughing.

       As they struggled to get words out in between giggles, the laughter just rose. It got so loud that even people outside the truck would smile when walking by. Lucien was unbuckled, and sitting in an odd position with his legs curled up.

       Like the previous night, Aksel had begun flailing his arms around, his only target being the ticklish boy in front of him. The moment the laughter would die down for a mere second, Aksel would twitch, his hands tickling Lucien’s side.

       Lucien’s contagious laughter would engulf the car again, and Aksel was possessed to laugh too.

       This fit continued, the parking lot filling up around them. By now, the sun had risen fully, remnants of a pink sunrise fading into the blue-gray sky. 

       The seconds ticked by on the clock, first period getting closer and closer. By the time the two teens had calmed down, they were out of breath, panting heavily.

       Aksel’s face had turned red, and Lucien was clutching his stomach while simultaneously guarding his sides from prodding fingers. The time on the radio said 7:35–five minutes before the first bell. “We have to go, like now, if we don’t wanna be late,” Váli reminded them from the back seat.

       Immediately, the two boys jumped up, flinging their doors open and slinging their bags over their shoulders. Váli followed quickly, rushing to keep up with them. The parking lot suddenly seemed huge, the school feeling farther away with each step.

       At last, Aksel yanked the heavy door open, the warning bell ringing at the same moment. Giving each other an ‘oh shit’ look, Váli, Aksel, and Lucien began running. Lucien and Váli’s class was across the entire building, and they had less than 2 minutes to get there. Speeding through the hallway, Váli in the lead, the door to their pre-calc classroom got closer and closer.

       Stepping both feet into the door, the bell rang. Hunched over, Lucien and Vál took a moment to catch their breaths. After a few seconds of awkward silence, they looked up. The entire class had gone quiet, staring at them. Even the teacher, who still had his arm pointed at the smart-board, had paused; mouth agape mid sentence.

       All eyes bore into Váli, and he suddenly felt out of place. Anxiety creeped up his neck, his hands trembling by his sides. Lucien–who stood pressed next to Váli–noticed the twitching. Clearing his voice, he spoke “We weren’t late, we made it before the bell rang,” shrugging.

       Mr. Cooley just scoffed at them, knowing he couldn’t argue. Placing his hand on Váli’s shoulder, Lucien nudged him slightly, trying to break his trance to go sit down.

       “Váli,” he whispered next to his ear, “Let’s go to our seats before we actually get in trouble.” Shivering at the voice, Váli finally glanced up, registering that he hadn’t moved yet. The more he stood there, the more embarrassed he felt. Rushing to his seat, he obeyed Luc’s orders without a second word.

        Sitting with his head down, Váli bit his lip. The pain did little to distract him, the chapped skin tearing open instantly. The tender skin beneath bled, the metal taste tainting his mouth. Licking the area, Váli sighed deeply.

       I should’ve forced them to come inside earlier. He puffed, disappointed for his inability to speak up. Can you blame me though! His laugh is so… Ugh! Of course I’m gonna wanna hear it for as long as possible. Any normal person would–

       Váli’s thoughts were interrupted by the blaring fire-alarm siren. The whole class stood up from their seats, shuffling out to the aisle in a single file line. The lack of urgency was humorous, knowing if this had been a real emergency, students would be shoving and running.

       Despite his seat in the front, Lucien dropped back, letting everyone file out in front of him. Finally, Váli had gotten into the aisle and began to move. When he glanced up from the floor, he was greeted with the familiar face. “Hey,” Luc smiled, his white teeth almost comically blinding Vál.

       Váli squinted, slightly smiling back. The small gesture of staying behind to wait for him made Váli’s heart swell. Even as the loud screeching alarm continued, Váli’s mind felt at ease.

       And hey, he got to miss pre-calc, no complaints there. The class walked out the class door, down the long hallway-filling with students–and out the building’s front door. The noisy and packed corridors made Váli’s heart race, the close proximity clogging the air from entering his nose.

       Amidst the crowds of unfamiliar faces, Váli’s arm pressed snuggly against someone else’s. The strong arm, comforted by a soft hoodie, sent waves of warmth through Váli. Their shoulders didn’t align, so Váli had to look up to see his face.

       At that moment, the sun shone on his profile, his hair alighting in gold. The freckles on his face squished as he smiled, making eye contact with Vál.

       “Come on, I see our class over there,” Lucien hushed, beginning to lead them toward one end of the parking lot. Students began lining up in front of teachers, Váli finally spotting Mr. Cooley in the crowd.

       The parking lot was old, the pavement cracking and crumbling from wear and tear. Váli, too distracted looking up at Lucien, failed to notice the debris below his feet. All it took was one large rock, and Váli was crumbling to the floor. 

       Yelping, he immediately felt pain. Váli and Aksel hadn’t gone to the rink in a couple days, giving Váli’s previous ankle injury time to slowly heal. It had just started to be bearable to walk on. Curse my distracted mind! Was all he could think as the puffy ankle throbbed.

       The bruise he already had–which had turned a deep shade of blue–looked worse. Small scratches, some having drawn blood, now joined the spot of purple on his ankle bone. The swollen joint looked ugly.

       Ringing was all Váli heard, the pain not subsiding. At some point, Lucien had grabbed his shoulder, sitting him down on the nearest curb. The strong, firm hand felt nice, Váli noted to himself. As he sat there, not saying a word as Lucien left to get their teacher, Váli didn’t cry. His eyes were dry, his eyelids unmoving.

       “Hey, Vál,” a voice spoke, breaking his trance. He looked up from the black-top, seeing his pre-calc teacher half-crouching down in front of him. Váli moved his gaze down again, staring at the wrinkled sweater and khaki pants.

       “How about you head to the nurse, Luc can take you. I’ll mark you present,” he smiled, patting Váli on the shoulder before standing up fully, leaving to return to his class.

       “Do you need help up?” Lucien asked, approaching the sitting boy.

       “Um, maybe?” Váli laughed, attempting to stand. The moment he put a little pressure on his left ankle, he winced. Noticing, Lucien instantly lifted Váli’s left arm, wrapping it around his neck and hoisting him up off the ground.

       In that position, they shimmied their way across the black-top. Váli’s muscles tensed with each step, his mind still refusing to accept that this injury could be bad.

       “You okay? You twisted your ankle pretty bad,” Lucien asked, concern creasing his brows and dropping his smile to a frown.

       “I’m good. It wasn’t that bad of a fall–” Váli reassured, flinching mid-sentence when a small stumble required him to bend his foot at an uncomfortable angle.

       “I’ll be fine after icing it a little,” he continued, trying to convince Lucien of something he wasn’t quite sure of himself. What if I cant skate for a few days. If I stop now, I’ll fall behind so fast.

       After what felt like an eternity, the two boys stopped outside a door labeled ‘nurses office’. Opening it with his free hand, Lucien held the door open for Váli. Shimmying in, the nurse looked up from her laptop.

       “How can I help you?” she spoke cheerfully.

       “He twisted his ankle pretty ba-“

       “I just need ice.”

       Váli and Lucien spoke at the same time. Smiling, the nurse stood up and walked over. “Come sit down in the back, dear. I’ll check you out. You can wait out here,” she nodded to Lucien. Obeying, he sat down on one of the chairs at the front of the office, sliding down the uncomfortable metal in an attempt to get situated.

       Váli trailed behind the nurse. The row of beds sat behind a wall separating the area from the rest of the office. Movable curtains divided each bed. Walking over the first mattress, the nurse gestured for Váli to sit down. Hobbling over, he complied.

       Sitting on a stool, the nurse picked his left leg up, pulling up Váli’s sweatpants just enough to reveal his ankle. Flinching, she pulled the loose-legged pants up farther, moving the material out of her way.

       Váli was so distracted, zoning out staring at the white ceiling, that he didn’t register the motion. It wasn’t until he felt the fabric of his pants pulled over his knee, and heard the small gasp of the nurse, did Váli remember. Looking down slowly, his eyes widened…

Question of the chapter: are you a morning bird or a night owl?

╚══《Word count- 2,381》══╝

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