eight

I pull up into Hayden's driveway, pushing away the urge to honk the horn and declare my presence. I'd rather stay in the car but I'd have to let Ian drive anyway.

I step out of the car and almost ring the doorbell, Hayden opens the door, putting a finger to his lips. I give him a confused look but stay quiet.

He doesn't speak until he leads me up to his room.

"Hey," he smiles, "I wanted a moment with you before you leave with your brother."

"To do what?" I asked, suspicious of his behaviour.

Before he could tell me, I heard a loud scream, calling Hayden's name. It was Dylan.

"One second," he tells me and runs downstairs.

I stay and wait in his room, looking around. I realise the last time I was in here was probably when we were kids, it hasn't changed much, same stuff but more mature.

It was filled with hockey related things, posters of his favourite players, merch, trophies, and medals. If a stranger walked into his room, they would know that he breathes hockey.

The room was decently clean—not too many clothes on the floor.

I walked up to his empty desk; he had mini plastic hockey players on it. It made me laugh until I noticed a letter on his desk.

It was a letter from the Chicago Frosthawks, a hockey academy.

Before I could stop myself, I was reading the letter. Hayden got accepted into the club, but we were in Boston.

I thought the plan was that their whole team, or at least their friend group, was going to apply to the Boston Bears. Was he really going to move that far? Or did he just apply to see if he would get in?

I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and put the paper back and step away from the desk.

"Sorry about that. Dylan wanted more snacks and to know where I was going." He explains and looks at me, "I probably have like three minutes before he yells my name again."

I laugh, "Then make it quick. What did you want to tell me?"

He turns and opens his closet, pulling out a jersey, one of his, and hands it to me. "This is for you."

I take it and hold it out to look at it. It had his name and his number. "Cool. I wonder how Ian would feel though. I usually wear one of his jerseys to the games."

Hayden shakes his head. "He'll be totally cool with it. Plus, you'd look better in mine."

I giggled, "They look the same, but thank you."

Dylan yells Hayden's name again, but this time we both go down. I go to the door and pretend I had been waiting, and Hayden gets Ian.

"I didn't even hear the doorbell," Ian says, a bit confused as he puts his shoes on.

I shrug and hand him the car keys as we leave the house, walking onto the driveway.

Ian unlocks the car, and I get in. I sit comfortably in the front seat; I loved being the passenger princess, and Ian sits next to me, driving.

"What are you holding?" He asks.

"Oh, it's nothing." I brush it off and change the subject, "How was the hangout?"

I wonder if Hayden was going to tell them that he applied for a club in Chicago. I guess he would tell his best friends first, but I had a right to know too.

"Good, we're excited for our game on Saturday." He tells me, not making a comment on the subject change.

"I'm excited to see the game." I say, lost in thought about the letter. I said the first thing I could think of; my mind was preoccupied.

Ian looks at me, a concerned look on his face. "You okay? I thought you didn't like hockey that much."

"I'm okay." I shrug, "And hockey's okay."

He shifts his gaze back to the road. "Alright, you can tell me if something's bothering you, you know."

I look at him. I didn't want to worry him or tell him that his best friend was moving away because even I wasn't sure.

It would hit him harder than me; they had been on the same hockey team for ages and grew up together. It was their dream to play professionally together, and this was the next step: getting into the academy so they can train and join a league.

"Yeah, I know." I try to sound convincing, and for the second time, I change the subject, "Wanna watch a movie tonight?"

"Gran Turismo?" He asks, smiling, and I nod.

~~~

I asked my brother to watch a movie because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, and I knew I couldn't use the same excuse twice. I wanted to ask to watch another movie, but he would get suspicious; Ian knew me well.

The end credits roll, and I look at the empty popcorn bowl as Ian yawns. He would say he's too tired to watch another movie before he realises I'm stalling.

"I'll never get tired of this movie." I say, attempting to start up a midnight chat.

"Me neither," He yawns, "But I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."

I watch as he gets up and puts the popcorn bowl and our mugs away. I turn off the TV and grab my blanket.

"Goodnight." I walk up the stairs as Ian goes down.

I get to my room and flop on my bed. I'm tired, but I just can't sleep.

Was Hayden really going to accept the offer? Did he think it was better than the Boston Bears?

I spent some time tossing, turning, and thinking in my bed, and I thought about why he would apply to a different club. Maybe he was moving?

His mom was kind of random; maybe she was going to make them move, and he applied to the Chicago Frosthawks because of that.

I closed my eyes, wishing that he would just tell me what he was going to do. It was exhausting knowing he might be going away.

~~~

I spin on the ice in the dark rink. It wasn't my rink; it had a weird, eerie presence, one that made me want to take off but I couldn't.

I was stuck in the same place, spinning and spinning. With each spin, my head pounded harder, and the ice beneath me felt like it was thinning. I couldn't do anything about it.

My vision was blurred as I turned and willed my legs to stop.

A fuzzy figure approached me and said my name. Before I could register who it was or say anything back, the ice beneath me broke in, and I fell into a hole of nothingness.

~~~

I sat up, gasping for air and realising it was only a nightmare.

I drank some water and laid there, not wanting to go back to sleep. I could not, not after that dream.

I thought about going down to Ian's room, but I would have to go down into the basement, and I didn't think I had the guts to.

My hand made its way to my nightstand, grabbed my phone, and dialled a number.

"Hello?" I heard Hayden's sleepy voice through the phone.

"Hi." I replied, my voice small.

"What's wrong? Why are you calling me at two in the morning?" He asks, slightly annoyed that I disturbed his sleep.

We sat there in silence; I wasn't sure why I called him. Maybe it was because I couldn't stop thinking about the letter, and that dream made me think of him. Maybe the dark figure was him.

"I just wanted to talk to you," I lied.

"Don't give me that. You could've waited until the morning if you wanted to talk to me." He said in a tired, gruff voice. He saw right through me. "Does Ian know you're up?"

"No."

It became silent again, but I was okay with it. Just being on the phone with him made everything okay, and hopefully I would feel the same way when he moved. If he moved.

"So, are you going to tell me why you called me?" He asks again, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I don't respond. I didn't have another excuse.

"Nightmares?" He asked softly. "I remember you used to get them when we were kids. You would wake up in the middle of the night and find Ian, waking me up in the process."

"How did you know?"

"Because I know you. I know when you sound upset." He explains, his voice quiet.

I gulp, holding back tears.

"And I know you'd never call me just to talk, not at 2 am." Hayden finished, silence taking over as I thought about what I could possibly say.

"I did have a nightmare, but I'm not scared anymore." I told him.

"Good."

"But it would be better if we stayed on call. Just until I fall asleep." I suggest, and he agrees.