03. Pink Pj's

"Coach!" I banged on the door again, standing in the freezing cold was not what I intended to do on a Monday morning, "It's fucking freezing y'know!" I continued to bang my fist on the door.

Coach said there was a team meeting at his place for the match on Friday, we were gonna sit through breakfast and discuss the play.

But we can't do that if this prick doesn't answer. A few other cars pulled up as majority of the guys on the team gathered around at the door.

"Hey Mav, what are you doing?" I heard the familiar voice of my best friend Lucian Dawson, or Luke as most people call him.

I've known Luke since we were around 10, I can't even remember a time without him, but having him around is a comfort, balancing me out.

"Forgot my key and clearly coach is either being a prick or isn't in." I grumbled as the boys laughed, Luke handing me his key I unlocked the door as everyone stampeded into the house, pushing and shoving as usual.

All with no manners and loud mouths.

"Coach!" The boys yelled in unison as if it was some chant as everyone took seats in the kitchen some on the island table, some on counters some on chairs, raiding the fridge as we all went.

Coach was close to all of us, giving us a key to his place was for training and meeting purposes. He even had a board meeting with the school with a whole presentation on why it's a benefit to our learning.

And surprisingly it worked, now it's just like a hang out spot for the team, it's not like coach has anyone beside him there anyways.

The voice of a grumpy middle aged man to come shouting at us like usual was what was expected, he would never kick us out if we bothered him, but the snarky remarks and judgemental comments where a common occurrence.

"He's out." A voice completely opposite called out from the top of the stairs, I turned from the fridge and looked up to where the soft voice came from, a hint of annoyance to her tone.

My eyes trailed up her tanned legs, Her stance, confident and unbothered, made me pause. The way she looked down at all of us made it clear she wasn't intimidated by the team, or me. Noticing the small pink shorts she was wearing as I continued to trail up a matching vest top, all flimsy looking, her chestnut hair was messily tied in a ponytail and her eyes where staring daggers into each and everyone of us.

The emerald eyes looked familiar, making me feel uneasy around the girl. I could see she was short by the way she held the banister at the top step, still holding herself with confidence.

"Who are you?" I heard one of the guys question, before I could even think straight.

"Calliope, and you're the hockey team." She crossed her arms, clearly annoyed making me grin.

My eyes trailing her pyjama top again, the way she crossed her arms, like a resting place for her well rounded- nothing... stop thoughts!

Her eyes locked with mine—sharp, calculating, and completely unbothered by the chaos of the team. A beat passed, and for a moment, it was like time slowed.

"Got a staring problem blondie?" She raised an eyebrow and I was about to laugh, her attitude towards my teammates was incredible, her confidence was higher than the whole fucking solar system and I was loving it, until I realised, she was talking to me, I was blondie.

I could feel the weight of her stare, like she was trying to figure me out. I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or be irritated, but something about her confidence made my mind go blank.

"Got an attitude problem Calliope?" I shot back. More defensively than intended. However I was now slightly irritated at the confidence, wishing she had been speaking to the other blondes amongst us.

She raised an eyebrow, not backing down, and my chest tightened with a mix of frustration and—shit, amusement?

This is either going to be the best day ever, or the worst.

I wasn't sure what was more annoying: the way she stood there like she owned the place, or the fact that I wasn't sure how to handle this.

The moment stretched out, tension hanging thick between us.

"Not your problem, is it?" she shot back, eyes narrowing.

Before I could respond, Luke's voice broke through the silence, pulling my focus away. "How do you know Chris?"

I watched the girl pause at the question, her foot hesitating mid-step as she came further down the stairs. It was like I could see the gears in her head turning, buying herself time with each measured step toward the bottom.

Her gaze flicked to Luke, her eyes narrowing slightly as if she were trying to figure him out. She tilted her head, stalling, before finally opening her mouth to speak.

"I just know him."

Her voice was quieter now, stripped of the confidence she'd carried earlier. Her shoulders seemed to shrink inward, her already small frame folding into itself as she lowered her head slightly.

The shift was striking—and unsettling. The fire from moments ago had dimmed, replaced with something guarded, almost fragile.

The air felt heavy, the silence stretching awkwardly as the team exchanged confused glances and whispered among themselves.

Then the sound of the front door clicking open broke the tension, and relief swept through the room like a gust of fresh air.

"Ah, you guys have met Calliope already! That's good. Were they nice to you?" Coach's familiar voice filled the space, his cheerful tone at odds with the awkward energy hanging in the air.

The girl stiffened at his words, her posture sharpening like a blade. She glanced over her shoulder at him, her expression unreadable but her wariness clear.

"Yeah, they're cool," she replied, her voice clipped but polite. Without missing a beat, she turned and began retreating back up the stairs, her steps deliberate, almost as if she were trying to rebuild the walls we'd just started to chip away at.

"I'm gonna get ready for school," she added, not bothering to look back as she disappeared up the stairs.

I tried to ask coach who the girl really was, the stripped confidence of Calliope earlier now on him as I tried to get a word from him about who she really was but Coach took every opportunity of cutting me off to talk about the match, for once in his life not wanting to be up and personal with us.

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A/N: CHAPTER 3 COMPLETE!

Words: 1132