Tongue Tied

Alex sat in the stands, bunching the sleeves of the jersey she had on. She was nervous. The boys were strong, but she was still nervous. She was beside Kathy and Graham, who were standing and cheering like crazy. The puck hadn't even dropped yet, but Halifax fans who had made the trip were chanting. She thought she should join but decided against it.

Truthfully, she was still bummed out by her thoughts last night. Yeah, she talked to Nathan, and they even got intimate after she expressed her worries, but it was still eating at her. How would they work if he ended up far away? She could handle the Habs, the Leafs, Ottawa, but the other Canadian teams were far. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Boston, Washington, Columbus, Detroit, even Carolina or Chicago. Those were it. Her biggest fear was having him end up in Vancouver, or Florida, or LA.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Kathy tapping her shoulder. "Puck's about to drop." She smiled down at her.

Alex rose, holding the sleeves still. She looked over the players lining up. She saw Nathan wasn't starting so she looked to the bench. He was staring right at her. He did something unusual after that. He brought his glove covered hand to his mouth before he extended it, puckering his lips at Alex as he did so. She smiled, her cheeks going red. She did the same action with her tiny hand. He threw a hand over his heart like he had just been hit. They both grinned at each other before the puck was dropped.

The first period held six penalties and a goal. Four of those penalties were against Halifax. Two and a goal were for the home team. The team moped off the ice. They were all mad at themselves for such a terrible start to their game. Coach Dominique walked in, a blank expression. All the guys stared up at him, waiting for a lecture.

"Are you all that upset about the period?" He asked. "Well I'm not. We still have two more to go."

All the guys grumbled amongst each other. Coach Dominique rolled his eyes, walking out of the room. The Mooseheads looked at each other, wondering what had just happened. They took their time, talking and cooling off, as the intermission wound down. As time for the second game closer, they started redressing for the next twenty minutes. Coach came back in. He cleared his throat.

"Two more periods to make it our game. Quit being babies and play the way we want to play. This game is far from over." He lectured. "Now get out there and get us this game."

The guys all cheered before filing out. They were more than ready for the second period, and it was evident. Baie-Comeau scored a minute and a half in. Jo responded five minutes later, scoring off a pass from Abeltshauser. Less than thirty seconds later, Frk tied it up. At the end of the second, Halifax had scored six goals with two penalties out of the six in total. Baie-Comeau added one to their score but it was still the Moosheads' game. Nathan grinned up at his parents and girlfriend, being a goal scorer and assisting a goal, he was glowing.

The third was a mess. Twelve penalties between the two teams, and a goal for each. The game ended with Halifax winning 7-4. Everyone on the team was pumped up. They listened to their music at extreme volumes as they celebrated. They were going back home, and hoping to win it while they were there.

Nathan stripped and showered quickly. Yeah, he was excited and wanted to spend the time with his team, but he'd rather go see his girlfriend. They all taunted him as he walked out with a towel around his waist. He just smirked as he began redressing in his suit.

Mack and Matt Murphy pretended to be Nathan and Alex. Matt was talking in a low pitched, being Nathan, he guessed, while Mack was talking higher pitched. Matt was down on one knee, holding Mack's hand. Mack had a hand on his chest that he rose to fan himself. Nathan watched as he got dressed. Matt stood up and pretended to make out with Mack.

"I love you so much, Nathan." Mack sang.

"I l," Matt started making gagging noises. "Choked!"

Nathan's smile fell. All the guys laughed at Mack and Matt, besides Stefan, Jo, and Zach. They looked at each other before Stefan stood up. He silenced his team as he walked over to Nathan. He grabbed his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Nathan looked up, his eyes nearly black.

"These guys are just jealous they don't have someone. Don't let it get to you." Stefan reassured him.

Nathan nodded, grabbing his stuff as he walked to the door. He looked back at his a team with a scowl on his face. These were supposed to be his closest friends and they were mocking him about something driving him insane. He couldn't wrap his head around how they had found out. Then it hit him.

"It got to me." He hissed before he walked out.

The door slammed at Stefan turned to Matt. "Did Nathan tell you about that?" He yelled.

Matt shook his head. "Mack did."

"How the hell does Mack know but we don't?" Zach cried on his and Jo's part.

"We're his best friends!" Jo added.

"Mack, spill." Stefan growled.

"I may have over heard you and Alex talking the other day." Mack frowned.

"Holy fuck, Nathan's gonna lose it on Alex." Zach sighed, holding his head in his hands.

"Lose it, how? Like, beat her?" Darcy asked.

"No, like, get really angry and make her cry." Zach rolled his eyes.

Zach was right. Nathan was on a mission to get to Alex. He walked over to her and his parents. She smiled at him as he approached. He met her eyes but quickly shifted to his parents. He set his bag down in front of them, resting his sticks on the ground.

"Can we meet you in the car?" Nathan almost whispered.

"Yeah, bud. I'll take your stuff to the car." Graham smiled.

Nathan nodded, turning to Alex. He gestured his head forward, walking ahead of her. She frowned but followed behind him. They walked down the hall to a back door. He held it open for her but wouldn't look at her. She was worried. She grabbed his hand as they walked more. He didn't fight it, but he didn't hold her hand back. She took a deep breath, dropping his hand, and stopped.

"What did I do?" She called, flailing her arms.

"Did you really have to tell all the guys that I choked?" He almost yelled.

"Choked? What are you talking about?" She furrowed her brows.

"Matt and Mack were pretending to be us. Mack told Matt he loved him, and Matt froze and started making gagging noises." He explained, crossing his arms.

Alex's jaw dropped. "Nate, I didn't s,"

"You had to have said something!" He screamed. "You think I don't want to say it?"

"Can you listen to me for one second?" She hollered back. He bit his lip. "I didn't say anything to any of the g,"

She stopped. She squeezed her eyes shut before turning on her heel. She opened her arms again and marched to the door. She yanked it open, ignoring Nathan calling her. She ignored everyone as she stomped to the Halifax change room. She didn't knock or anything when she got to the door, just barged right in. Stefan was sitting at his booth in just a towel. Alex walked over and punched him in the chest.

"I confide in you and you used it to mock him?" She hissed. "Fuck you, Stefan. You're a piece of,"

"He didn't say anything, Al." Jo spoke, walking out of the showers.

She looked at him, glaring. Her eyes trailed around the room slowly. All the guys were frozen. Nathan was standing in the door way. He was mixed between confused and angry. Her eyes found Mack, who's head was down. She narrowed her eyes.

"Mack." She spat.

His head slowly lifted. "I'm sorry." He whimpered. "I was being nosey and I,"

Alex picked up the glove closest to her and whipped it at him. Mack ducked but it still hit him. Nathan walked into the change room and over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her, carrying her over to the door. She started squirming so he placed her down.

"I'm not done." She growled, pulling away from him. "Look, it's all fine and dandy if you feel the need to mock mine and Nate's relationship, but remember, at the end of the day, he has someone that's always there for him while all of you are on the hunt to get your dicks wet. He has someone to remind him that he's not the piece of shit that he feels he is after shitty games." Nathan smiled a bit behind her. "I love him. I don't care if he's said it back. I don't care if you assholes think it's a joke. The only joke here is all of you, and it's a sad joke." She let out a long breath.

She glared over all the guys before she turned to Nathan. She looked at him, unsure of what to do. He gave her a small smile and gestured her to the door. She nodded, walking past him. She continued to walk to the parking lot doors. He sped up to catch her, grabbing her wrist softly. She turned, confusion over her face. He brought her close, kissing her softly.

"Are you bipolar?" She asked against his lips.

"No, just a dumb boy." He said, pecking her lips again. "I'm sorry I freaked out."

"It's okay." She sighed, running her hands along his stomach as she looked up at him. "Sorry I told Stefan. I was just,"

"Hey, he's like your closest friend. It's okay if you need to talk to someone besides me." He rubbed her shoulders while her head rested on his chest. "I did take you away from all your friends."

She frowned, pulling back to look at him. "I'd rather be with you than them." They started walking as they continued to talk.

"You don't ever miss Leah, or Brig?" He asked. She shrugged and nodded. "Mar, Dana, Denise?"

She nodded again, cuddling into him. "Yes! I miss them all but I'd miss you more and we all have our own shit going on!" She cried. "I'll hang out with them when the season's done."

"When it's done? Al, just bring them to the next game." He shook his head as they walked outside.

"All five of them?" She chuckled. He nodded. "The only ones that would for sure come are Leah and Marina." She sighed.

"Text them." He chimed, kissing the side of her head as the reached the car. He opened her door before he walked to the other side of the car. He climbed in beside Alex. She let out a long sigh as she did up her seatbelt. Nathan leaned over to her, kissing her cheek. She ignored him as she typed a message to her friends. She looked up at him.

"I texted all of them but the chances of all coming are slim." She pouted.

"Hey, a few are better than none." He tried to cheer her up.

"You are better than all of them." She whispered, kissing his lips.

Notes