LOGINThe first thing I notice when I woke up was the silence.No alarm. No practice notification. No stupid group chat blowing up with plays and stats. Just my room, pale morning light coming through the gaps in my blinds, and the kind of quiet that only happens when the world decides to leave me alone for once.I checked my phone and it was 7:47 AM. Then a text lights up the screen.Mason: get ready. I'm stealing u for the dayMason: wear something u can actually move inI grin at my phone. Just thirty minutes ago, I had been bracing for the weekend to be weird. Tense. The kind of thing where Mason would act fine in public but tight as a drum the whole time, stuck in his own head about his dad, and about everything.But this….this feels different like Mason is actually trying.I roll out of bed and get in the shower, already running through my closet in my head. Not too fancy. Not trying too hard. But also not looking like I just rolled out of bed at seven in the morning, which, technical
**Mason POV**The drive home felt longer than it should have. My dad’s message kept sitting on my phone screen like something waiting for me.Just four words that somehow felt heavier than any lecture he had ever given me. I knew what this was about.At least, I thought I did. He had seen me slipping during practice. The way my attention kept drifting even when I tried to force myself to focus.He was going to talk about scouts, my future and probably everything I had spent my whole life working toward.I could handle that because yea. I have handled it my entire life. I knew how to sit there, nod my head, and promise I would do better.That was easy. What wasn’t easy was the fact that lately, every time I looked at Ezra, every time he smiled at me or reached for my hand when nobody was watching, I felt like I was finally living a life that actually belonged to me. And that really scared me than losing hockey ever did.When I pulled into the driveway, the house was quiet. Usually
Mason POVI always gets to the rink before everyone else. The quiet was the only time this place actually felt like mine. No teammates shouting. No coach correcting every move. No scouts watching from the stands. Just me, the ice, and the sound of my blades cutting through the surface.Usually, that was enough to clear my head but not today. Because all I could think about was Ezra. I hated how easy it had become to think about him.The way he smiled when he was trying not to. The way he got annoyed when Kai teased him but still laughed anyway. The way he looked at me like I wasn’t just some hockey player trying to be perfect all the time. Like I was actually a person. Hockey had always been simple.You worked harder than everyone else. You trained longer. You won. That was the formula.My dad made sure I knew that. I still remembered being ten years old, standing on the ice after practice while everyone else had already gone home. My legs were shaking. My hands were numb. I had tears
**Ezra POV**Practice ended later than usual that day. The rink was almost empty by the time the coach finally called it. The bright lights above the ice made everything feel colder than it actually was.My body was tired, but my mind was worse. These last few days kept replaying in my head. The cabin, messages, Mason looking at me like he was trying to be brave even though he was scared. And Kai smiling like he had everything under control when I knew he didn’t. Lila trying to act like she was okay.I was surrounded by people I cared about, and somehow I had never felt more lost like this right now. I was putting my things away near the boards when I saw Mason and Kai standing near the penalty box.They weren’t arguing, which alone surprises me.Mason had his arms crossed, his usual defensive posture. Kai leaned against the boards, quieter than normal. No teasing. No jokes. I stayed where I was, pretending to fix my bag while listening.Mason spoke first. “You really like him,
**Lila POV**The library after school was usually the one place where I could disappear to and feel safe. No drama. No weird conversations or me pretending I wasn’t confused about everything happening around me. But today, it wasn’t working.I was sitting in the corner with my math textbook open, staring at the same problem for what felt like forever. The numbers were starting to look like a different language to me and every time I tried to focus, my brain went somewhere else. Back to the cabin. The way Mason looked at Ezra like he was so terrified of losing him, and the way Kai acted like everything was cool with him even though I could tell it really wasn’t. And back to Ezra, who somehow looked happy and completely overwhelmed at the same time.I wasn’t angry at them. I mean why should I? But honestly, that was the most annoying part. Because if I was angry, things would be easier. But yeah. I understood. Maybe too much.I sighed and dropped my pencil on the table. “Come on,
[Mason’s Pov]Honestly, I really used to think that fear was something you could see. Like a shaking hand,nervous voice and someone backing away when things got too hard.But I was wrong, sometimes fear looked like getting up at 5 AM for practice and pretending you weren’t checking your phone every five minutes. Sometimes it looked like walking through school halls with your head high while your stomach felt like it was tied in knots.While, sometimes it looked like watching the person you cared about laugh with someone else and telling yourself you were fine because you didn’t want to be the guy who ruined everything for them and that was actually the worst part of it all.I had spent years convincing everyone I didn’t care about anything. It was easier that way because people won't be able to hurt you if they didn’t know where to hit. But then Ezra happened and suddenly I had something to lose.I sat in my room staring at my phone, the last message still open.Unkn
The next morning felt colder than usual.I was already on the ice doing laps when Mason walked in. He didn’t look at me. He kept his head down, dropped his bag, and started lacing up his skates like I wasn’t even there.He was acting weird. Shy almost. Like he wanted to disappear into the boards.I
The rink at 5 AM was dead quiet except for the low buzz of the lights and the scrape of skates on fresh ice.I was already on the ice doing warm-up laps when the door banged open. Mason walked in, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.He dropped his bag and
“You wanna say that shit again?” Mason Reid didn't even wait for him to finish. His fist was already bunched in some skater kid's collar. the cafeteria went dead silent until a plastic tray ckattred behind me, breaking it.Brighten High school was the type that never gets quiet. You would always
The Sports Festival announcement already had the whole school acting insane, but the real chaos started two days later during morning assembly.Principal Gage stepped up to the microphone with the same expression teachers used right before ruining everybody’s peace.“Due to the increased interest i







