(Hockey Bxb) Whistle In The Wind -𝐗𝐗-

╔══《”Don’t like anybody,》══╗
tell me why it’s different with you.”

       The second time Váli was hit, he was six. Sitting on the floor of his living room, he was distracted with the blaring sound of children’s cartoons on the television. Staring up at the screen in awe, he was interrupted by the stomping of footsteps.

       Before he could even register the origin of the sound, his face was red and stinging. His eyes began to get teary as he looked over at his mothers face. Hardened, her expression showed no sign of love or adoration.

       In a quick moment, a broad smile encompassed her face. She squinted her eyes, and stood up straight. Váli stared at her clenching hand, which remained open by her side, watching as her nimble fingers curled in and out, the shimmer of her ring reflecting in the light.

       Reaching toward his own cheek, Váli ran his fingers along the tender skin, feeling the slight sting that lingered in the area. He could still feel the smack of her cold metal rings against his warm skin.

       Goosebumps overtook his body, suddenly feeling the intense chill of his mothers impact. A tear slipped down his face, but his mother had already turned her body away. Taking a deep breath in and out, she patted down her ruffled skirt and brushed down her hair.

       Bringing the smile back on her face she took one last glance at Váli sitting on the floor before walking back to her office. Not even able to register what had happened, Váli remained still.

       Footsteps returned, but this time, they were bounding down the stairs. Flopping hair and a bright grin greeted Váli. “What’s on tv?” Aksel asked, running and jumping onto the couch behind his younger brother. Turning his cheek away, Váli faced the tv.

       Choosing not to respond to his brother, Váli pushed himself to his feet and stumbled out of the room. “Váli?” he called after him, but the injured boy couldn’t find the energy to respond, leaving his brother waiting.

       He climbed the stairs, then climbed into the comfort of his soft bed. His eyes were droopy, and he quickly dozed off. When he awoke much later, he was tucked in, snuggled under his blankets, and Aksel was still downstairs alone, waiting for an answer.

…

       Lucien had won his game, but he wasn’t happy. In fact, his mood was so sour that the car ride home was silent. Neither Luc nor Aksel spoke, and they both knew why.

       Someone had pushed Aksel, and he pushed back. That was hockey, that was how the game worked. There was no avoiding that aspect of the sport, and Lucien had grown to shoulder the shoves over the years.

       This game was no different to any other he had played. It was against a team that sucked, and they easily won. Aksel hadn’t let any goals through, and Lucien had scored the few that his team had gotten.

       So why was he so mad? While Aksel believed the fight was the origin of the anger, Lucien knew better. Staring out the window, he grinded his teeth roughly. The loud sound made Aksel glance over before scoffing, “Stop that. You’re gonna grind your teeth away into nothing. You’ll ruin your best feature; your smile!”

       Not finding it in himself to laugh, Lucien just huffed. “People tell me my personality is my best feature,” he joked.

       “Lots of liars out there, gotta be careful,” Aksel retorted, laughing at his own joke.

       “My personality is fine, thank you very much,” Lucien defended himself, a smile seeping into his frown lines. Comfortable silence followed, the town whizzing by as Aksel sped down the road.

       “My house?”

       “Yeah,” Lucien nodded, hope creeping into the edges of his voice, “Is Váli home?”

       “Not sure.” Aksel responded bleakly, “Why? You tryna leave me for my brother?”

       Shaking his head, Lucien laughed. “Of course not. Just curious where he went off to, I saw him leave the game.”

       “Not surprised,” Aksel shrugged, “Big settings like that intimidate him. He never sticks around.”

       “Oh…” Lucien acknowledged, trailing off. The car ride was silent, as Aksel quickly approached his house. The screeching tires alerted Lucien of their destination as Aksel parked his truck on the asphalt driveway. The empty house greeted them.

       Looking at the building from the outside, no signs of life were visible. No lights, no people, nothing. It was quiet, even after the two teenagers entered and started taking their shoes off. Every light was off, as Aksel traveled around the bottom floor searching for someone.

       “I suppose he’s not home…” Aksel spoke.

       “I suppose not,” Lucien agreed, scanning the first floor with his eyes. The kitchen was dark and creepy, and the living room was vacant. Aksel’s house wasn’t inviting, so the two didn’t hover for long. Making a bee-line to Aksel’s room, both boys flopped down on the soft bed.

       “Ahhhh, my body hurts,” Aksel groaned, releasing all the tension in his body and going limp.

       “I am so sore,” Lucien grumbled, reaching over to rub his shoulder blades. “I missed your bed.”

       “My bed missed you,” Aksel responded, adjusting his body so he was sitting near his pillows. Leaning back, he sighed in comfort. Opening his phone, Aksel began scrolling on various apps.

       At the same time, Lucien unlocked his. His phone’s moon background greeted him, large amounts of notifications flooding the screen. Swiping past them, he opened the imessage app.

       No new notifications from Váli… Lucien sighed. He had sent the last text; Váli had wished him luck on his game, and he had responded with ‘thank you’.

       Maybe my response was too dry, and he became uninterested. Or maybe my response was too dry, and he couldn’t think of a way to continue the conversation… I hope we can still facetime tonight.

       Turning off his phone, he drew his attention back to Aksel, who had begun a rant about the game.

       “I can’t believe number 10 tried to mess with me. I hate when people on offense run their mouths.”

       “I hate even more when they resort to fighting,” Lucien chimed in. “It shows how bad they are at hockey. Their skills suck so they gotta resort to violence to win” Rolling his eyes, he laid back against Aksel’s bed.

       “That’s what I’m saying! They suck at hockey and they suck at fighting. If you’re gonna run your mouth, you gotta have the skills to back it up,” Aksel ranted.

       “They’re no match for you, of course,” Lucien laughed. “You’ve had more fights than I can count.” Shrugging, Aksel just smiled.

       “What can I say!”

       Silence fell between them, but not for long before Aksel interrupted it. “So what was up with you today?”

       Awkwardly, Lucien responded, “What do you mean?”

       “I’ve been your best friend for like, forever dude,” he exhaled, “of course Imma notice when you have an off day.”

       “Nothing happened.”

       “You can’t lie to me.”

       “I’m not lying.”

       “Yes you are, you’re fidgeting with your fingers, you only do that when you lie.”

       Lucien looked down, realizing he had in fact began fidgeting with his fingers. Embarrassed, he felt his face turn red.

       “That means nothing, just drop it.”

       “No. You’re clearly upset at something. Your reaction is confirming that. Now are you gonna tell me, or are you gonna keep acting like nothing happened.”

       Stunned, Lucien slowly sat up. His mouth felt dry, as he licked his lips and attempted to collect his thoughts. “I don’t know what you’re talking ab-“

       “Is this about Aidan being back in town?” Lucien stopped.

       “Wha-“

       “I don’t know what little friendship break up happened between you two, but that was three years ago. Are you really still caught up on eighth grade drama?” Aksel interrogated, his words coming out fast and loud.

       “Nothing happened between us. He moved away, that’s all,” Lucien rebutted. “I’m just having a bad day, and he happened to come back and visit. It’s unrelated.”

       “I don’t believe you.”

       “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

       “The truth maybe.”

       “There’s nothing to say.”

       “Why not? Nobody tells me anything anymore! You don’t, Váli doesn’t. I feel like I’m in the dark with everything. I’m getting left out; but I don’t know what I’m getting left out of.”

       Huffing, he was sitting upright now. Lucien had gone quiet, his mouth folding into a thin line.

       “Sorr-“

       “Stop. An apology isn’t what I want. The truth is.”

       Clenching his fists, Lucien bit his trembling lip. Shaking his head no, his eyes welled up with tears. Not saying anything, Aksel reached over and embraced him. Sitting there still, Lucien silently shook.

       His voice was hoarse, so all he could do was whisper, “I can’t.” He repeated. Aksel pulled away, staring at the teary eyed boy.

       “Why can’t you?”

       “I can’t”

       “You can.”

       “No, you don’t get it.”

       “What don’t I get?”

       “I can’t”

       “Why not. Just tell me you’re alright, and that everything is going to be okay.” Aksel begged, confused and worked up.

       All Lucien could do was shake his head and whisper, “I can’t.”

       “Why not.”

       “Because then I wouldn’t be telling you the truth.”

       “What does that mean?” Lucien simply shook his head, leaning back. Aksel was speechless, seeing a new side of his best friend. “I’m confused–why won’t you talk to me? Was it something I did?” Doubts and confusion swarmed his head, Aksel not understanding what went wrong.

       “You didn’t do anything.” Lucien reassured with more composure. “You just caught me on a bad day, that’s all,” he smiled.

       “Fine. If you want to lie and say that’s all, then lie. I’ll sit here and tell you I believe you because that’s what a good friend does. I’m not gonna push even though I know something is wrong. So if anything bad happens, you can’t blame it on me because it’s you who won’t tell me. Don’t say I didn’t ask.”

       Getting up, he shuffled out of his room. Lucien watched as the bathroom door connected to Aksel’s room closed. Laying back in the bed, he breathed in deeply through his nose. What do I do? Every nerve in his body was yelling at him to not tell Aksel, but his consciousness was disagreeing.

       It felt as though he had an angel and a devil on his shoulder, the pro’s and con’s of both scenarios overwhelming his brain. He wanted to tell Aksel, but he knew he would regret it. Aksel doesn’t deserve to deal with my issues. He’s too good, too pure… Burdening him with this would only make me a bad friend. He decided.

       Unsure in his decision, he turned the idea over in his mind. Deciding it was futile, he flipped over and pulled his phone out again. The absence of texts scared him, but he tried not to think about it. Váli’s okay, he’s probably just not on his phone.

       Before he could worry any longer, Aksel returned, silently climbing back into bed.

       Neither boy said anything, Aksel simply pulled his phone out and opened tiktok like it was any other night. The noisy videos filled the awkward silence enough for them to pretend like the argument didn’t happen.

       It felt normal enough for them to believe it was. That was how it stayed, until the front door opened. Thinking it was Váli, Lucien perked up in bed. After a couple seconds of silence, the clacking of high heels reverberated through the house.

       Laying back again, Lucien was about to get comfortable before the sound of a second pair of shoes began to follow the first. These steps were heavier, and Lucien instinctively held his breath as they approached the stairs.

       Shushing and hushed giggles could be heard as Aksel’s mother reached the top of the stairs, stumbling along the hallway. The strong scent of alcohol wafted under Aksel’s closed door, and both teenagers turned to make eye contact. Confused, Aksel just listened to the disturbance.

       Instead of the pair wandering into his mothers room, the two listened as the door across the hallway shut. Now even more confused, Lucien just stared at his best friend. “Isn’t your dad in Norway?”

       Not saying a word, Aksel nodded slowly, his eyes wide in realization. Trying to speak, his mouth suddenly felt as dry as a desert. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, and he struggled to sort through the clatter.

       “And…” Lucien hesitated, struggling to ask his next question, “Wasn’t that Váli’s door that just closed?”

Question of the chapter: Have you ever have a big friend falling out?

Thanks for being so patient! (Hopefully) more frequent updates as I start to adjust to my busy schedule!

╚══《Word count- 2,125》══╝

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