Jumpy Little Kitten

Noah~

I’d seen a lot of people try to fake control before.

Athletes, especially. Hockey guys were the worst for it. All that chest-beating, loud voices and hard eyes, like if they looked confident enough nobody would notice they were falling apart inside. I had absolutely no idea why the fuckers couldn't just have a emotional outburst and be done with it.

However, Theodore was different though. Oh no, my dearest step-brother was the type who hid and faked being in control so well. He had a smile that made people love him and played like a fucking god on the ice-rink but I knew quite well that he was far from perfect. Those little cracks were so obvious that how no one noticed was beyond me.

Plus, I was pretty sure he had anxiety issues because he looked like he was about to pull at his own hair because I was in the same room as him.

He also acted as if he stayed still enough, breathed quietly enough, looked straight ahead long enough people would really think he was normal.

It was kind of impressive and kind of fucking ridiculous because he was terrible at it.

I lay on my bed, one arm behind my head, phone forgotten in my hand while I watched him across the room without actually making it obvious. He was standing near his desk again, pretending to be busy with something he wasn’t actually doing, shoulders slightly too tight, jaw set like he was trying to physically hold himself together.

Yeah.

There it is again. He was like this baby cat that I could just scare.

A jumpy little kitten.

I almost smiled at that but instead I exhaled slowly and shifted my gaze back to the ceiling like I wasn’t paying attention at all.

He was going to drive himself insane at this rate.

Not that I minded.

It was… interesting.

That moron I met earlier today on the other hand, was not. That guy was a fucking different problem. I didn’t like him. People like that bastard hung around and his thinly veiled warning was irritating enough for me. It was like my body decided before my brain did that I didn’t trust him near Theodore and I didn’t like that feeling.

I've known guys like Joe before. The type who smiled too easily, watched too closely, acted like they were just part of the background when really they were measuring everything in the room. People like that didn’t stay in the background for long. They always wanted something and he kept staring at Theodore weirdly.

Was Theo that oblivious or what?

I turned my head slightly and I clicked my tongue.

“Fuckin’ weird guy,” I muttered under my breath. From across the room, Theodore shifted slightly and the thought of him hearing me almost sent a damn smile to my face. He was always listening even when he pretended he wasn’t.

“You’re not gonna pretend forever.”

I’d said it earlier without thinking much about it because watching him act like nothing had happened was honestly kind of hilarious.

Like I hadn’t had my hands all over him, like I hadn’t memorized the way he sounds when he stops thinking.

Like I hadn’t—

Yeah, no point going there right now. I let out a quiet breath through my nose and sat up slightly, running a hand through my hair. This situation was already messy enough without me getting stuck in my head about it.

He finally turned a little, just enough for me to catch his face when he thought I wasn’t looking.

Cute.

Really.

My jumpy little kitten was doing his best. I dropped my gaze back to my phone when he shifted again, like I wasn’t watching him at all.

***

Theodore had successfully ignored me all morning and the first words he managed to speak to me were quite unpleasant. We were still outside the rink, the cold air biting through the thin layer of fabric I’d thrown on too quickly.

He just looked at me and said, “Don’t act like we’re related or anything. Not here. Not ever.”

I remember blinking at him for a second, mostly because of how fast he switched into that captain voice like the rest of his life didn’t exist outside hockey.

It was quite amusing.

“Yeah,” I said after a beat, stuffing my hands into my pockets. “Got it.”

He didn’t wait for anything else. Just turned and walked ahead of me. I watched him go for a second longer than I should’ve, then followed without saying anything else.

If that was what he wanted, fine.I wasn’t going to argue. Inside the rink, the team was already inside when I walked in, gear half on, voices bouncing off the walls like nothing ever really changed in these places except the names on jerseys. A couple of heads turned when I stepped in, but not in a way that meant anything serious. New guy attention and it was temporary anyway.

I could work with that but Coach noticed me immediately.

“You’re on time, newbie,” he said.

“Learning fast, coach,” I answered.

That got a short look from him, like he wasn’t sure if I was serious or just being difficult already.

I wasn’t either.

I just moved past him and headed to the locker area. That’s when I felt someone staring at me.

I knew it was him. I almost laughed at his silliness. Theodore wasn’t looking at me directly, but I could feel where he was standing without even turning my head. I ignored it and started gearing up.

Stick, pads, gloves, everything going on the same way it always did.

“New guy,” someone said from behind me. “You any good?”

“Yeah,” I replied without turning.

A couple of laughs somewhere to my left.

“He's chatty already,” another voice added.

I shrugged slightly. “No reason not to be.”

Practice started not long after that. Coach didn’t waste time once everyone was on ice. Warmups were short, drills came fast, and before long the rink was full of movement and noise and bodies cutting across ice like everything depended on it.

Which, honestly, it did.

I slotted into position easily enough. Winger wasn’t new to me, and skating didn’t feel like something I had to think about. It just happened.

Pass, move, adjust, repeat.

Theodore skating close but never too close, adjusting angles like he was actively making sure we didn’t cross paths unless necessary. I passed the puck clean through a drill and heard Coach call something out, but my attention drifted for a second anyway.

Because I could still feel him.

Watching me again.

I didn’t turn to acknowledge him if he wanted to act like I wasn’t there, I could do the same thing.

By the time Coach called for a break, everyone was already breathing heavily and drifting toward the bench. Gloves came off, helmets hit the ground.

I stayed near the boards for a second longer, taking a drink and letting my breathing settle. He was still keeping distance but staring a hole into my face.

This was going to be annoying.

“Line coordination stays the same,” Coach said nearby, pulling attention back in. “Noah, Theodore. You’re working together whether you like it or not.”

A couple of guys whistled and laughed at it. I'm sure they were expecting us to fight or not get along from how he had been glaring at me.

When practice ended, the group started breaking off, heading toward the locker room. I kept moving until footsteps came up behind me and then he was there, stepping into my path like he had decided I wasn’t allowed to ignore him anymore.

I stopped and looked at him properly for the first time all morning. Theo looked like he was extremely pissed this time and I had to push down my laughter.

“Why are you avoiding me?” he asked.