18: Wingman

YETI

"You don't need to do that." I glance at him and he points to a turn.

"Why not?" He points to another turn. We're heading to the south side. "Girls melt for a good gay boy. All I have to do is open up with the 'heyyyyyy queens' and I've got them all on my side. I look enough like a twink to pull it off," he points again. "I know it's stupid and it plays into so many stereotypes and it's lowkey detrimental to the community but it works like nobody's shit."

"One, you're not a twink. Two, I'm sure it's not that easy."

"First of all, yes I am, I'm skinny, white, and wear black converse and skinny jeans. I'm textbook twink. And second-"

I cut him off, "you're not a twink. One of my friends back in Sweden is a twink. You're very much not." Fynn was... very much dead on in that stereotype.

"What, you got a personal stake in this? I'm a twink."

"In comparison to me and the team? Maybe. In the general scheme of things you are very far from it."

"You seem to have an argument here."

"Most twinks can't bench their body weight and a half."

He pulls in a breath, "fair. Okay, yeah, I'm running with that, Steph calls me a twink here and there and that's a good response considering I wish he wouldn't. Anyway. Drunk girls and gay guys could spend years talking each other up. All I have to do is go 'see the tall guy with the white hair? He thinks you're pretty cute, but he's shy as hell,' it's all about the shy thing, girls like it when guys are shy."

"Rocket," I have to laugh. "Rocket girls can like as many shy guys as they want, but they don't like me."

"I think that's because you're off putting. You're big, you're strong, and you do not warm up fast."

"Are you calling me mean?" I play with him a little.

"No, not, not mean, just not friendly on the first try. Trust me, I know," he shrugs. "You were mean as shit and scared the crap out of me the first few months of the season. Still do scare me, but a little less because now I know you're not going to beat the ever-loving shit out of me for liking guys."

"You expected me to-"

"I wasn't going to say it, but yes, yes I did."

"No, I," I laugh it off and we're crossing a highway. "Never."

"So what's your type?"

"What?"

"In girls. What do you like in girls. You an ass or boobs guy?" He laughs at this statement and I breathe out.

Fuck. "what?"

"You gotta have a type, Yets, I know you get laid at least a little," He sets his elbow on the center console and leans his head on it, smiling at me. "So which is it?"

"Ass, probably," guys don't have boobs so there's that.

"Good choice, good choice," He laughs. "Keep talking, I want to have the type down. Dark hair? Light hair? Ethnicity?"

"Don't care about the ethnicity," I get a little tense. "Darker hair, yeah, gotta have something to contrast this." I gesture at my head.

"Okay, yeah, personality? Height?"

"Tall. Definitely into height," I glance at him. Six three, six six in skates. "Uh, definitely has to have a big personality because I'm not all that interesting."

"I think you're interesting, but, I get that, you're not a loud guy."

"Yeah," I choke.

"Anything weird you like?" He raises an eyebrow.

"What?" I think he's asking me if I've got any kinks.

"Not weird shit, but little things. Glasses? Piercings?"

"Not really a glasses guy or piercings," I glance back at Rocket and remember seeing his one tattoo. "I don't mind tattoos, but not many," It's a sailboat on the caging on the side of his chest.

"Anything else?"

"Fingers?" I cringe at this. "Not, like, that was weird, I mean hands. Long fingers."

"Okay, so model hands," he nods at this. "Right here," He's pointing at a little studio with an apartment above it. "That's August's. I'll be right back."

"Alright," The second he shuts the door I let out a long breath and let my head tap back against the headrest. He stops before opening the door and says something. After a second, he disappears inside.

I tap my hand against my leg until he shows back up again.

"How was it?"

"He's not up," Rocket sits down in the passenger seat and I get out of the parallel spot so we can haul ass to the north end to Bauer. "He relapsed a little, according to August. That was it. He passed out and she's had his head on her lap since."

"Has she slept?" I look in the rearview mirror at the studio. "Do we need to go back and move him?"

"No, he's waking up just a little, but he's definitely not going to make it to practice. Not in that state."

"What do you mean?"

"I just.. know, ya know?" He waves his hand a little. "She said she was okay with not moving him, makes her feel comfortable to have him right there just in case something happens with him."

"Makes sense," I clear my throat, "sounds like they're really close."

"He'll marry her. That's for sure. I knew that after I first met her. He'll marry her."

"So you just know?"

"I've known him forever, and you can see it in his eyes, it clicked right into place."

I smile a little, "that's, that's kinda beautiful."

"I wish I had something like that," Rocket sighs.

I reach over and rub his back, "I'm sure there's some guy out there that's into hockey and into guys and would die to trophy husband for you."

He laughs at this.

"Maybe I could be a wingman for you too," I smile a little at him. "Guys dig the hulk aesthetic," I feel like that's not something a straight guy would say, "um... okay, are you like a top or a bottom or like..."

"Is that the best you have?" He laughs a little, his head is still on Steph and I'm trying to distract him, "okay, both."

"Didn't see that coming."

"Why?"

"I just, I dunno, thought you were very much not a top."

He laughs at this, "I feel like that's just because you know me from a teammate's point of view. You guys scare me."

"So you're telling me that you act more toppy when around other people?"

"Definitely," he lets out a laugh.

"And what do you like in guys?" I smile at him. "I'm going to be the same level of pesky with you as you were with me."

"What I like in guys?" he laughs. "Taller than me, but that kinda doesn't matter. Quieter, I'm obnoxious and you gotta be able to keep up with that."

"Alright," That sounds like me but go off. "Hair color?"

He shrinks in his seat, blushing, "I'm kinda into blondes."

"Alright," I laugh it off. "A lot of, uh, hair, or none."

"What?" he chokes on his laughter. "Yeti, what type of weird-"

I brace the wheel with my knee and raise my hands in surrender. "You asked if I was an ass or tits guy!"

"That's a legit straight guy question!"

"And is asking your preference on chest hair not a gay guy question?" I cast him a smile because I think if I've got a preference he does.

"I'm chill with hair. I kind of don't really care." And that's a good thing because although I'm not a monkey, I'm not bald either.

"Okay," I'm still smiling at how close this conversation is to me coming out to him. "How about beards?"

"Don't care but a good beard can be hot, then again, clean is fine too."

"Sounds like you're into almost anything."

"No need to call me out like that," he laughs, "actually, you know your thing with hands? Like you've got no explanation, you're just into it?"

"Yeah?" He's about to tell me something a little freaky and I can feel it.

"I'm into voices, not in a kink way, but if they don't have a good voice I'm out," he laughs, "it's all about being able to handle them talking for a long time because I like having midnight conversations.

I laugh at this, "so you're into tall blonde guys with deep voices."

"I didn't mean deep, just hot."

I shrug, "close enough."

Rocket glances at me, "so basically you, but gay," he stops, "don't take that in any direction other than exactly what it means."

"Right on," I laugh. "Alright, has that Advil kicked in?"

"I've been functional, so yeah, we're good," he pushes open the door and I grab my stuff out of the back.

"Fun fact," I catch up to him, "Nico lost her virginity to Fen exactly one year ago."

"That was too much information."

I grin at him, "they had a one-night-stand and fucked over their entire relationship."

"No way, really?"

"Drunk. Sex." I nod. "Then they got pissed and she relapsed and he went into emotional hibernation and started fighting."

"Right, I remember that part," Rocket looks around the parking lot and I spot them getting out of Fen's truck.

"Repeat one-nighter guys?" I call across the parking lot at him. Nico very visibly rolls her eyes.

"You're feeling peppy today then, Yets."

"A little, yeah." I laugh, then realize that I'm being loud, and laughing. Nobody here has really seen that side of me. Only Fen and Greenie.

Rocket shoved me right out of my shell, didn't he?

Oh, fuck you, Milo.

"And for your information, yes!" Fen laughs.

"Oh, fuck you Fenrir." Nico grumbles as they make their way over to us.

I high-five him over Nico's head.

"Morning, Rocket," Rocket seems to have shrunk right into the shell he forced me out of. It's because he's wearing all of my clothes and it looks like we did what Nico and Fen did. Nico is in all Von Albrecht apparel.

"Hey, Nico," Rocket leans out to talk to her over me. "Steph can't make it today."

"Is he wimping? On his first hungover hell?"

"No, ah,  he relapsed."

"Shit," Nico's demeanor flips so fast I get whiplash. "Is he okay? What happened?"

"He'll be fine. He's just not supposed to be drinking at all. I snapped a little on him last night and it set him off."

"What happened?"

"We argued."

"Don't tell me he's back at home with Jilly, she shouldn't be around him if he's relapsing."

"No, he's with August. She's got it under control, he's been asleep on her lap for hours."

"Good," Nico mumbles, "what's his case? You know, like, what does he have?"

"Had," Rocket sighs. "Two years ago he was in a hospital for depression and alcohol detox. He's been fine since. It's just the stress."

"How long was he in for?"

"Three months."

"Wow," Nico scratches the back of her head. Fen and I are just walking here, listening. "But he's been fine for a long time?"

"Yeah, no sign of relapse until last night. He'll be out of it fast and be back to normal when he gets back from his parents in three days."

"His parents????" Nico is horrified. "He relapsed and is going home?"

"It's a shit idea, I know, but when he gets back it's just him and her for a week and a half. He'll be okay. The girl's magic."

"As long as he's okay, then it's all good," She lets out a sigh. "How's August handling it?"

"Wonderfully," Rocket shrugs. "She's pretty good with him, brought him right back to the land of the living. He doesn't show too much of anything anymore and I know it's because he was healing but she caught the tail end and patched the last bits."

"What do you mean?"

I feel the need to input. "Nico, you're going to hate me for this but that is exactly what Fen did to you."

"Is not."

"Is."

"That's just because-"

"It's Fen. Just because it's Fen." I roll my eyes at her. "I know you don't like saying it because you feel like it's weakness, but you're head over heels in love with him and it shows."

"Oh shut up," she mumbles, then grabs his hand. "Maybe I am."

"Love you too," Fen leans all nine inches down to kiss her head. "Now if you could find me some stronger ibuprofen that would be wonderful."

"Not my fault you drank way too much," Nico smiles, then snaps something at him in German and I'm glad I barely speak the language.

Then I hear: "Nico, I love you, but Yeti is right there and can speak German too."

Then: "shit."

ROCKET

I still can't get over Yeti falling on me this morning. I literally can't stop thinking about the hand by my head and the hand on my chest and the way his breathing got choppy and then the hands in his pockets afterward.

Plus, the position we were in. The salty ocean smell that brushed off him. The white scratch and scrap on his jaw. His collarbones under his shirt. Everything about that one moment was unbelievably tense.

"Alright, Rocket," he stops his car next to my truck where I left it near Casey's. "Here we are, see you in three days?"

"Yeah," I nod at him. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem." The voice thing was 100% true and Yeti has the sexiest voice I've ever fucking heard.

***

girls won't date me,

guys all hate me,

guess that must mean,

I'm no James Dean

James Dean - The Wrecks

***

okay this is stupid but I need advice and you guys are the biggest outreach I have that doesn't directly involve said person

I go to a tiny high school (like 80 kids a grade, so not puny but not big by all means) and I've had kinda a rough go of it, you know, anyway, I've been looking forward to college for four years now and I found one that I really REALLY like. like wand-chooses-the-wizard LOVE this school.

That is, until my ex-best friend and the most toxic person I know gets committed to their track team.

Now i'm really really stuck because I love love love this school but the thought of her being there and remembering who I was in high school as I desperately try to reinvent myself in college is haunting me and lowkey ruining the idea. I wanted this school to kinda be a private spot where I wouldn't have to deal with what people already know of me, you know, so I can just do it all over.

anyway I just wanna know your guys' thoughts. This girl has called me an egotistical bitch that should just shut up and manipulated me into thinking it, but that was about a year ago and she's gone to therapy and we're kinda chill now but it's still fucking weird to think about her going to the school that *I* was really looking forward to applying to and shit. like I know I can't claim a school but it's just weird now.

anyway

-rabid

edit 6/26: continuity

lmfao edit 8/13: you didn't even get accepted idiot