Nathan got to the rink an hour early. He didn't need to get into any deeper water than he already was with his coach. He didn't understand why Coach was so protective of Audrey. Well, he did, but he didn't understand why he wouldn't give Nathan the chance. He noticed a piece of paper of the rink doors. He squinted as he read it.

Maintenance day. Go to the gym - Coach

Nathan spun around and saw Curtis, Griffin, Tristan, and both the Sams further behind. Nathan nodded at them before he walked past them.

"Where are you going?" Curtis asked.

Nathan looked over. "We're having a maintenance day."

"What? We won! Isn't that good?" Sam Bennett whined.

"Are you kidding? We played terribly." Sam Reinhart scoffed.

Nathan turned to the pair. "Maybe you did." He hissed before bumping shoulders while he passed him.

Sam turned at looked at his older brother. Curtis was looking from Griffin to Sam. Sam Bennett was staring at Sam and Tristan's eyes were locked on Griffin. Griffin shook his head before he stomped after Nathan. Nathan was already in his car and pulling out of the parking lot. Griffin growled turning to his younger brother. Sam was scared. Griffin was terrifying.

"What's going on with that kid? What'd you do, Sam?" Griffin huffed.

"I didn't do anything. He thinks I'm trying to take Audrey from him but I'm not interested and she's not interested in him." Sam sighed.

"Why does MacKinnon think every girl wants him?" Sam Bennett questioned. "He's not cute."

"Dude," Curtis gave him a weird look. "You're not supposed to think he is."

You're a babe. Don't worry, Curt." Bennett winked before following the other Sam to his car.

"Fucking weird kid." Tristan shook his head before the three got into Griffin's car.

At the gym, Nathan was the first one changed and on the equipment. Slowly, more guys filed in. Sid and Geno were helping guys with workouts and teaching them how to use the equipment. Nathan was on his final rep on the hoops. Just as he finished, the door opened and the coaches walked in. He walked straight over to them. Dustin held back a smirk. He knew exactly why Nathan was by his side already.

"So, boys, we thought this would be our best fit for practice tonight." Jamie explained.

"We won last night! What more do we need to do?" Ryan cried.

Dustin laughed. "I'm not gonna touch that. Phil?" He said before walking away.

Phil stepped forward. "You were way too slow to be a tier one team. Your shifts were jokes. I'd never seen shorter shifts in my life!" He listed.

"But we won. Clearly, we did something right." Morgan rolled his eyes.

"Your passes were sloppy, the D didn't know where they needed to be, no one watched the crease, no one helped our goalie." Phil continued. "The only reason we won was the fact that their goalie let an easy goal in. That third goal was a fluke."

"What? Phil! That was a beauty goal!" Andre exclaimed.

"You can't call your own goal a beauty." Nick shook his head.

"Especially when it wasn't one." Nathan added.

"Sorry, we can't all play like Mr. MacKinnon." Griffin laughed. "Dangle, snipe, celly every game, right, Nate?"

What's wrong with a point a game?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, nothing, if you actually share the puck." Griffin shrugged.

"I don't share anything." Nathan tried to joke.

"That's must be why you're pissed about your girl wanting Sam." Griffin smirked.

Nathan fell silent.

Phil cocked a brow at the two. "Are we done?" He asked. They nodded. "Here's the deal: maintenance today, off-ice practice tomorrow, game Tuesday."

The guys all nodded and set off to work out. Nathan had his headphones in and music blaring while he worked out by himself. The staff all stood together watching their team. Dustin crossed his arms and shook his head at Nathan. Jamie caught the glance and followed Dustin's eyes. Phil did the same before the looked at each other then to Dustin. Dustin took a deep breath.

"He asked my daughter on a date and I said no so he's kissing up." Dustin grinned.

"Scaring the team?" Corey questioned with a smile.

"Scaring any boy that comes near my little girl." Dustin corrected.


The team was hurting the next morning. Their classes were going too quickly. They wanted nothing more than practice to be cancelled. Even though it was off-ice, it would still be hard. Some were feeling it more than others. Seth, Jack, and Zach could barely move while Curtis and Josh were feeling fine. Eventually, school came to an end and they had to meet in the gym. They had to change before going out.

Dustin stood beside a garbage bin full of worn out sticks. He had a grin from ear to ear with crossed arms. He was in shorts and an LA dry fit t-shirt. The guys walked over to him. Phil and Jamie were to the side shooting orange balls off the wall. Dustin looked around the gym. It was a fair size gym, good for them to run in. He spun his finger. Everyone who picked up on the action growled and walked to the side. Those who didn't followed.

"Five laps and then we'll stick-handle!" He called after them.

"You're the worst." Someone mumbled.

"Thank you!" He smiled.

Notes

Terminology:

dangle - to use exemplary skill and stickhandling ability to manoevre oneself around the ice.
snipe - an insane shot that places the puck in a tiny space for a goal
celly - short for "celebration"