The Hockey Life

PART THIRTY-EIGHT: GRADUATES
After my sleepover with Patrick, life went on and it was crazy as usual. Playoffs continued as well as my hockey team, my classes, and my training. Now that it was May, my school year was coming to a close, which meant that I was almost done with school for good. I had finals coming up, so it was really hard for me to focus on anything hockey related. I went to training at the United Center less often and I had to miss quite a few playoff games too. I wished Patrick good luck before every game, though, and as it turned out, the Hawks were victorious against the Wild after five games.
They played the Red Wings next. I managed to go to a couple games in that series, purely because they were Chicago’s biggest rivals and I couldn’t bear to miss too many rivalry games. Finals week was rough, so I avoided hockey at all costs during exams. Tess and I both studied until we couldn’t study anymore and although it was difficult, we got through it. We both finished classes on May 28th and we got a chance to see the seventh game against the Red Wings the next day since we were both done with school.
Brian came with Tess and I to the game. There wasn’t a lot of scoring, but the United Center was still loud and proud, like always. As it turned out, the Blackhawks won 2-1 in overtime. They were advancing yet again.
As usual, we all stayed after the game was over so we could meet up with the team in the locker room. Apparently we weren’t the only ones who had that idea, though. Dylan was there, too.
“Hey Dylan!” I said joyously as I spotted him conversing with Crawford.
“Hi Lena,” he answered as he pulled me into a hug. We had been talking. Not a ton, but we had been talking. I couldn’t tell if he still felt anything for me, but we were acting normal around each other again, which was all I could ask for.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Just hanging out. I’m done with school so I’m just enjoying myself for now,” he explained.
“Me too! Tess and I had our last classes yesterday,” I said.
“Awesome! Are you going to your graduation?”
“No. I’ve already walked for one diploma, I don’t feel the need to walk for another. I’ve earned it and that’s all that matters.”
“I feel the same way. I just want to be done. Graduation is overrated,” Dylan smiled. I couldn’t help but love the fact that we had a decent friendship again. It almost felt like we were in the internship again as we spoke in the locker room.
“Hey Dylan,” Patrick said. He was there to interrupt. I could hang out with Dylan virtually anytime now, though, since we were out of school. Pat had playoffs and practices still.
“Hey Kaner. Well, I’ll leave you two alone for a bit,” Dylan said awkwardly before he walked away to talk to another player.
“Well, congrats on the win and the advancement in the playoffs,” I said as I hugged Patrick.
“Thanks. Congrats on graduating! You are done now since you aren’t going to the ceremony, right?”
“Right. I’m completely done,” I confirmed.
“That’s awesome,” he decided before he pulled me in to kiss me. Honestly, kissing him lately wasn’t ideal, with the whole playoff beard thing he had going on. That was my least favorite thing about playoffs. I secretly couldn’t wait until they were over, just because I knew he’d be clean-shaven then. The mullet, I could deal with. The beard, I could not.
“So, what do you want to do tonight to celebrate?” he wondered.
“Whatever you want,” I said.
“No, whatever YOU want. We’re celebrating the fact that you’re done with school, not this win,” he elaborated.
“How about we get some pizza?” I suggested as my stomach growled. Tess, Brian and I had eaten before we even got to the United Center, so we were all getting hungry.
“Okay, how about we have it delivered and we eat at my place? Brian and Tess can come too,” he suggested.
“That sounds great. I’m pretty sure they’re both starving.” I smiled at Tess and Jonathan, who were flirting as usual. I had asked Patrick and Tess multiple times about that situation. Apparently Johnny was waiting for the right time to make a move. He didn’t want to start a relationship in the middle of hockey, especially not now that the team was so busy and focused all the time. He did like her though, and he wanted a relationship when he had more time for it. That made me feel better, knowing that he at least wasn’t just leading her on. According to Tess, they talked all the time.
I then glanced over at Brian. He was getting good at mingling in the locker room. He had become friends with most of the team, it seemed. In that aspect, he was a lot like Dylan. When I looked his way, I realized that he shouldn’t go home alone that night. He deserved to be celebrated too. Dylan, Tess, and I were all graduating, so we all deserved it.
“Babe, would you mind if Dylan came over for pizza too?” I asked.
“Of course I wouldn’t mind. He can come. He’s graduating too, after all. I think I’ll invite Tazer too, since him and Tess are…well…they’re something,” he decided. He made his way over to them to tell them the news. Brian had made his way over to the almost couple too, so I went to Dylan, who was alone.
“Hey, do you want to go to Patrick’s place for pizza?” I wondered.
“Am I invited?” he wondered.
“No, I’m just asking you to come for no reason,” I said sarcastically.
“Well I guess I’ll come, then. I’ve got nothing better to do, and I haven’t been able to hang out with you yet,” he decided.
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that. We’ll have to make more plans soon after this. You don’t have anything going on now, right?”
“Well, actually, I still have hockey. We’re having a championship right now. The Stanley Cup of college hockey, you could say.”
“Really? And your team made it to the top?” I was impressed.
“Yeah, we did. Our last game is next week, if you want to come,” he said.
“I’ll be there,” I promised.
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On our way to Patrick’s place, we ordered the pizza. It arrived at his apartment a few minutes after we did. We all had a lot of fun there. We talked, ate, drank, played Wii, etc. It was a great night and a great way to celebrate all the positive things that were happening.

Notes

As usual, thank you so much for the amazing comments! I really appreciate all of them. Some of you comment after every update, so I don't respond to every comment, but I do read them all and I'm always glad to hear your feedback :) I'm very inspired right now due to the fact that I'm going to my second Blackhawks game on Sunday and I'm super pumped (YAY!) so I'll try to update at least one more time if not two more times within the next few days.