*Gabe’s POV*

The table was quiet as we all processed what Matt had just said. “No way. Jake and Mel were it.” Austin said not believing it. “That’s not true. She was four years younger than Jake so no one knew who she was and once it came time for her to go to high school, her parents sent her to a boarding school in Montreal where the rest of their family is because they didn’t want Annabella to have to deal with all the shit Mel and Jake left for her.” Matt said sadly. The rest of lunch was silent as we all thought about it, thought about there being another Lapierre, thought about all the damage her brother and sister had done. I now knew why everyone looked at her a little differently, disapprovingly almost. It was because they thought she would do the same thing as Mel or Jake- that she would ruin what we had built up again after her brother and sister had left and no one wanted that. It wasn’t fair to judge her for what her last name was, but it was hard when you knew what had happened and saw the possibility of history repeating itself. I know some people would say well it’s only sports, but at Bryerwood, sports was what we did best and if we weren’t doing well in that, we weren’t doing well in anything.

*Annabella’s POV*

“Bitches.” Katie said under her breath as yet another group of girls walked by and scowled at me. “I had figured it would be bad, but not this bad.” I said as I put my head in my hands. “I don’t get it. So your sister and brother screwed up. I mean honestly I don’t think picking the draft over a championship game is so fucking terrible. Any of the other guys on that team would have done it and they’re just jealous it wasn’t them. And Mel never forced Nate to stay with her… it was his decision.” Katie said stabbing at her pickles. “She told him to go to the game, but he refused. He proposed to her right there…” I said as I thought about that day. “Wait, seriously? I mean I knew they got married, everyone knew, but that’s when he proposed?” She asked a bit shocked. “Yup.” I said as I popped an olive from my salad in my mouth. “That’s so cute.” She said smiling. “Yeah… I wish I had that kind of relationship with someone. You can tell how in love they are just by looking at them.” I said thinking of my sister and Nate. “How old is she now anyways?” Katie asked taking a bite of her sandwich. “She’s almost 22. They’re going to the NFL draft in a couple of weeks because Nate’s getting dubbed as the number 1 pick so they wanna find out if they’re gonna need to move before they start trying to have a family.” I said as I saw the hockey team start to walk by. “Hey sugar cube, you should come to practice. Coach still won’t stop talking about your brother and I’m sure he’d love to see you.” Matt said to me as he stopped at our table. “What time?” I asked balling up my napkin. “Right after school. You remember where the rink is, right?” He asked as all three of us got up. “Of course I do Matt. It’s where I spent the majority of my childhood.” I said laughing as we headed out the doors of the cafeteria.

Katie and I headed to our lockers which were three down from each other when I got stopped by Gabe and the other guy he had been with this morning when they came late to bio. “So I have something to do today after school, but maybe we can work on the project afterwards?” Gabe asked me. “I’ll let you know at the rink.” I said smirking. “She’s good. I like her.” His friend said from next to him. “I’m Alex.” He said as I shook his hand. “Well hi Alex. I’ll see you both later.” I said as I walked in between them with Katie trailing behind me. We got to my locker and she wouldn’t stop smiling. “What’s up with you?” I asked as she leaned against the locker next to mine. “Oh nothing.” She said trying to hide her smile. “You like Alex, don’t you?” I asked grinning. “No I don’t!” She said defensively. “Oh don’t lie to me Kay. I saw the way you were looking at him.” I said as I shut my locker and we headed for our French class. “Oh shush… he doesn’t like me anyways. I mean I’ve known him since we were six and he’s never even said three words to me.” She said as she kicked a rock in front of her. “Well whatever… come to the rink with me today after school. Come on, it’ll be fun!” I said as we reached the classroom. “Uch fine.” She said as we headed in.

As soon as class started the teacher was only speaking in French and everyone looked very confused and she said something rather profane and I burst out laughing. She looked over at me shocked as she realized I understood what she was saying. She started asking me a bunch of questions in French and then finally the last one, “Ah, vous devez être Mlle Lapierre.” (Ah, you must be Miss Lapierre.) I shook my head yes and then she smiled at me and continued her class. After class she called me over. “Vous savez, ils ne devraient pas avoir à vous mettre d'entrée de gamme français.” (You know, they shouldn’t have put you in entry level French.) I sigh and agreed with her, “Ils ont dit que depuis que je suis nouveau qu'ils devaient.” (They said since I’m new they had to.) She answered very simply and I burst out in hysterics, “C'est des conneries.” (That’s bullshit.) “Okay, I know my French isn’t great, but I thought we weren’t allowed to swear in class.” I turned around and there was Gabe, leaning against the door frame. “Ah, Mr. Landeskog, I’m glad you remember my rule. Only the very advanced students can swear and Ms. Lapierre here is very advanced.” She said smiling at me and patting my shoulder. “I’m well aware.” He said and I looked confused. “Matt told us your family is from Montreal.” He said with a small smile. “Oh.” Was all I said. “Well, I should get going because I have study hall now and wouldn’t want to interrupt your class.” I said smiling at Madam Giselle. “See you tomorrow.” I said to her as I walked out the door. “See you at the rink.” Gabe said to me as I passed him. I felt a shiver go down my back… damn. I thought as I headed over to the office. I had a meeting with the guidance counselor instead of study hall today to talk about getting settled in and it seemed to last forever.

Once the final bell rang, I headed out to my car and drove the short drive to the rink which was down the street from the school and parked in the spot my brother would always park in when he came here. I sat in the car and thought about all of the memories I had here before finally getting out and heading inside to see practice in full swing. Katie had sent me a text saying she’d meet me there and after about 5 minutes of waiting in the lobby, she came in and we headed into the rink. “I’ve never been here before. It’s huge.” She said as we made our way up the stairs to the highest seats and sat down quietly to watch practice. After about 15 minutes of sitting there, Matt noticed we were there and waved, followed by Alex doing the same and when I looked over at Katie I thought she was going to faint. “Keep it together Kay. I mean if you’re going to act like this when he waves from that far away, what are you gonna do when you talk after their practice today?” I asked smiling about the small plan I had created in my head. “Ha! You’re really funny hun.” She said sarcastically.

Practice lasted about another hour and then Matt told coach he had a surprise. When I first came out in the ice he didn’t recognize me, but when I started talking to him in French he smiled. “Annabella! You’ve grown up so much! How old are you now?” He asked hugging me. “Turned 16 over the summer.” I said smiling. I looked out and saw the whole team staring at me, analyzing me, judging me. “Holy crap… so how old are Mel and Jake then?” He asked. “Well Jake is 20 and Mel will be 22 in a couple of months.” I said smiling. “How are they doing?” “They’re good. I talked to Jake this morning actually. Colorado is a lot of fun and they’re making him captain this coming season so we’re all excited and Mel and Nate are going down to the draft in a couple of weeks to find out where they’re going to be moving before they start a family.” “That’s amazing. Send them love from me and the Mrs. and the kids… we all miss them around here.” “Yeah, I know the feeling.” I said sadly. “How old were you when he left?” I heard someone ask. I looked at his jersey and saw the name Caraway. “I was 14 when he left.” I said remembering the day. “You guys were close?” Alex asked. “As close as two siblings could ever be.” Coach said. “They were inseparable.” He added. “Mostly because Jake wanted to keep her away from guys like us.” Matt joked from the middle of the group. “Well I’m his baby sister… he doesn’t even want to hear me say I’m dating until I’m 30.” I said laughing. “Well I don’t think he’s gonna get that.” I heard someone say and looked up to meet those blue eyes again. “He’s not here and you’re too beautiful for us guys to resist.” He said staring at me intently. “Yeah well Annabella looks just like Mel and she’s always been gorgeous… must be a family thing.” Matt said smiling at me.

I talked to coach for a few more minutes and then Matt came over and brought me and Abby back to the locker room because he said he had something for me. “Girls coming in! Be decent!” He yelled and I started laughing as Katie looked very confused. “It means don’t be naked when we come in.” I explained as we entered the room and Katie covered her eyes, but not before they nearly popped out of her head. “Damnit Gally, I told you to be decent!” I heard Matt yell as he threw a towel at him. I was laughing at Katie’s reaction so I hadn’t even looked over. “She must be laughing at the size of your dick.” Someone joked from the corner which caused me to laugh even harder. “Alright boys, don’t be idiots. These are ladies.” One of them said as he came up and put his arm around my shoulder. “Hands off.” I stated simply and he let go. “Damn, feisty.” He said as he winked at me and walked away. “That idiot is Jordan. And why don’t the rest of you introduce yourselves.” Matt said as he put his shirt on. Everyone said their name and when they got to Alex Katie was bright red and hiding behind me practically and once they got to Gabe he just continued to pack up. “Hey Gabe, don’t be rude.” Austin said. “I already know them. Katie is in our class and I’m doing a project with Annabella for history. You ready to go? I figured we could just go work on it at my house.” Gabe said as he hiked his bag over his shoulder. “Your house? Nice try hun, but I’m not that easy. We’re going somewhere else.” I said winking at Matt as he smiled. “You’re in for a treat Landeskog.” Matt said as he passed by us. Gabe just shrugged and headed out of the locker room. “You’re doing a project with Gabe the Babe?!” Katie whispered yelled at me. “Uh stupid nickname and yes, I am.” I said. “Oh hey Alex.” I said as he came over to us. “Hey.” “Well I better get going because Gabe and I have a project to do, but you two talk, mingle, but have her home by eleven.” I joked as I left. “Will do!” He called after me as I saw Katie look really nervous. I shot her a text saying you’ll be fine before leaving.

As I walked out of the building I was still looking at my phone and didn’t notice Gabe in front of me, so I ran into him. “Sorry!” I said as he caught me by the arms making sure I didn’t fall. I looked up at him and those gorgeous blue eyes that I swear anyone could get lost in. We just stood there like that for a minute before someone beeped a horn and I saw it was Matt smirking at me and we both let go and headed for our cars. “So uh, just follow me.” I said as I got into my BMW and he got in his Range Rover.