Chapter Text
“He shoots, he scores, the crowd goes wild!” I shouted to what I thought was myself. “I can play hockey, assholes telling me I can’t!” I continued as I skated around the net with my puck. I just wanted to be alone and practice. Practice makes perfect, right? Even if they told me I can’t play, I’m determined to prove them wrong in just a few months. When I want something, I go for it. I don’t makeup excuses either, I just get what I want and I’m sick of people telling me I need to calm down and just wait for it to come to me. No, not anymore.
I heard clapping coming from the bench. I turned around quickly and ended up falling right on my ass. I quickly got myself up and brushed myself off to look at the young boy standing there looking at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world. “Well, for one thing, I thought that you insane for talking to yourself, but now I see your also a klutz.” He told me, stepping out onto the ice with what looked like figure skates.
“Oh? Well, I thought I was alone. They told me nobody would be here.” I just shrugged him off and turned myself around. His face somehow imprinted in my mind though. He was really pretty, I felt like I’d seen him before. His eyes were hazel and they glowed in the dim light of the rink. His skin was radiating off the lights of the dim rink too, he was beautiful, not pretty, just beautiful, I never saw someone look like him before.
I had to turn around to get a second glance, this time I didn’t fall though, and I could tell he took note of how I moved. “Yeah, well I’m just here to practice myself, but I come every day at this time, so you are obvious invading my rink, so buh-bye.” He winked and then he even waved. Was he being serious with me? All these gorgeous features and he was a complete twat.
“Excuse me? But, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere. This rink is big enough for both of us.”
“Is that so, Lightwood?” He inquired raising brow and I was still staring at him a bit helplessly, I really hoped he didn't notice.
“How do you know my name?” I asked stupidly.
“The back of your shirt, dumbass.” He rolled his eyes at me.
“Oh.” Yeah, I might be a little bit stupid sometimes, but that didn’t stop me from continuing this fight. “Well, now that you know my last name, what is your last name?”
“Bane.”
Ha! Wow, I knew I knew him from somewhere. “Thee Magnus Bane? The one that lost his gold medal for being dropped by his partner?”
“Oh shut up, you don’t know the entire story…and I am not going to tell you either.”
“You don’t have to, I don’t care.”
“Yeah, so are you going to leave now?”
“No."
"Fine then, if you get in my way, you’ll be sorry.”
Was that a threat? Because I literally choked on my spit.
“Ohh, I’m so scared!” I rolled my eyes and turned around to go and find my puck. He looked like he couldn’t hurt a fly. He was a skinny figure skater, I was a hockey player. I wouldn’t dare hurt him though. That wouldn’t be nice no matter how badly he would diss me. If he was a hockey player maybe it would be a different story.
Upon finding my puck, I went around the net and stopped putting myself in the middle of it, to take note of what he was doing. He was skating all fancy-like, it was kind of really intriguing, and then he went and did one of those Pirouette/Axel thingies. I thought he was going to fall but he landed perfectly. I couldn’t help but think about if I could ever do that. There was no harm in trying, I was pretty good in ice skating. I didn’t say anything but just started skating around him. Magnus glanced at me. It wasn’t a nice glance though, in fact, I thought I heard him growl. I just gave him a smirk and picked up some speed and tried one of those things. To my surprise, I landed, not as perfect as him but I only stumbled.
“Oh…wow…are you trying to impress me? That was absolutely horrid."
"I don’t have figure skates on. I bet if I did, I could have nailed it.”
“In your dreams. You’re a hockey player, do not take invade my sport. We don’t need ignorant people like you.”
“Who are you calling ignorant? You are the most stuck up person I’ve ever met."
"Magnus Bane!” Someone shouted from the stands and interrupted him from coming back with something. He excused himself and skated over to them. I followed because I was now being nosey. “This young man, he is your new partner!”
“WHAT?!” We both shouted.
“I heard about his injury, he wants the gold just as much as you do though…"
"Father, I will not work with this man, he is a hockey player….what the hell does he know about figure skating?”
“I saw what he did, he isn’t that bad. And you need someone like him to shut you up!”
Magnus looked down at the ice when his father said that. I almost felt kind of bad but there was no way in hell I was going to figure skate. I was just a show-off. That thing I did out there didn’t mean I wanted to do all the time. “I’m sorry, sir. But I don’t think you want me to learn how to skate. I rather just play hockey.”
“You can’t play hockey, I found you while I was looking around for someone to help my son out, I know you want the gold too. I know it meant everything to you. Together you can do it.” He started to tell me. I wasn’t sure why he was looking for me or how, but I figured since I was an MVP once that maybe it was obvious I was still at least good at skating, just a fucking stupid injury was stopping me from playing the thing I loved most. Well, figure skating wasn’t anything like hockey but suddenly it felt like a good idea…
“I guess I’ll give it a try.”
“Like hell, you won’t. I won’t have it!” Magnus shouted at his father.
“Magnus, let me try. I just might be good at it.” I raised a brow to him, he really didn't have to be such a dick 99% of the time, already I hated him.
“I don’t want you as my partner, I hate you already. You’ll end up just like the rest of them.” So I guess he hated me too.
“Are you afraid I’ll drop you in the middle of winning?” I was definitely trying to be just as much of a dick to him as he was to me. I certainly thought it was working.
“Oh shut up, please.” Magnus rolled his eyes at me in complete disgust. I absolutely loved it.
“You are going to give him a chance, Magnus and that is final. So far I love him already for not taking your shit, and standing up for himself.”
At least his father loved me?
I had to laugh a bit. This was kind of funny. So he was very hard to work with? Now I wanted this challenge even more. What was the worse that could happen? We both wanted the same thing.
“Fine. But if you do anything that I don’t like as so much as even dropping me, you are gone.” He nodded his head and spun himself around gracefully skating off to the center of the rink.
This certainly was going to take a lot of getting used to, but like I said I never gave up, I do what I have to no matter what. It wasn’t for him, it was for me. I was greedy. I wanted to win and didn’t care how.
—–
Magnus didn’t want to do anything for the rest of the night but just skate to himself. I let him do that while I chatted with his father. It was weird talking to him but seemed a lot different than Magnus. He had such great expectations for his son, and I wished my father was like that. It was hard growing up with only my mother. She put me in hockey so I could be social at school. I didn’t ever think I would enjoy it so much. It was always hard to make friends, even in hockey, but it was always a lot easier to pick fights. My dad never cared about what I did, he never taught me anything either, everything I had to learn myself. Maybe it was the fact that I was gay. But here was Magnus’s father so proud that his son was out and proud to be who he was; I just got more comfortable talking to him.
“Alright! Enough chit-chat!” Magnus came out of nowhere interrupting us. “Do you mind?” He looked to me and pulled me over the wall. Wow, he was strong. And he didn’t stop there he dragged me to the center of the rink. “I’m willing to do this, if you are willing to do this.”
“Why couldn’t you tell me that over there?”
“Shut up, answer my question, are you willing to do this?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m complicated, you better get used to it and fast.”
“Believe me, I think I already am.”
“Good, so we’ll continue this tomorrow.”
“Um, alright.” I shrugged, was that it. I could leave now? He just looked at me, and I couldn’t help but get lost in his eyes. He had really nice features. I wondered then if he had a boyfriend not that it mattered…there was no fucking way I’d ever hook up with him. But right now I didn’t like the silence. “Do you want to go grab something to eat with me or something?” I’d thought I’d ask, it would be nice to get to know him a little more – it was the least I could do – he was the one skating all by himself debating if he wanted to work with me or not. And why the hell I ever agreed to it was beyond me so yeah it was definitely the least I could do.
“Are you asking me out?” He raised his eyebrows and put his hands on his hips.
“No, I’m asking if you want to go to dinner.”
“Like a date?”
“No, it’s not a date unless you want it to be.”
“No, I don’t want it to be! You are so stupid, I swear." There was that eye roll again, but he really needed to chill on calling me stupid.
"Whatever, it was just a question. If I was hitting on you, believe me, you’d know.” I retorted back, and just started to skate off, he was impossible. I couldn’t even fathom how the hell this entire situation was going to work.
“I want to.” He said just above a whisper for me to hear. I turned back around on the ice and didn’t fall, I hope I looked graceful.
“Where?” I asked curiously now.
“McDonald's. Nothing fancy, it’s not a date, remember?” He gave me a wink and skated passed. “Meet me in the parking lot."
I did as he said right after I got off my skates and grabbed my hoodie. He did the same thing and we were in silence again meeting in the parking lot at the same time. "I’ll drive,” I said.
“I was going to suggest you do and then you’d have to drive me back here to meet with my father…I don’t drive.”
I just nodded that was one confession he told me. I was going to keep track. I felt like he was getting scared of me because even if I was stupid, I obviously wasn’t taking his crap.
—–
I completely underestimated Magnus. This really wasn’t a date. He ordered himself and paid for himself. I would have offered but he was set on the entire thing. We took a seat, and he started to eat rather quickly. “You aren’t bulimic are you?"
"What makes you think that? Because I’m a figure skater, skinny and eating like a pig?”
“Well yeah…”
“That’s stereotype. For your information…NO. I am not.”
Well great, I pissed him off.
“I was just saying…”
“Yeah, you were assuming…”
“…well you can’t blame me.”
“Yeah I can, I burn off all my calories with a fast metabolism and I work out every morning…”
I just gave a nod, I didn’t know what to say to that. And then I just went back to finishing my french fries.
He looked up from his food directly at me when he was done. He grabbed his drink and slurped it before speaking, “So, I just realized something, Lightwood…”
I raised an eyebrow and gave a curious look for him to continue on.
“…You know my first name, and last name but all I know is your last name.”
“Would you like to know my name?” I asked, to be honest, I expected him to just say ‘no’ proceed to get up and leave me to put his garbage away.
“I wouldn’t have said, you know… if I didn’t want to know…”
That damn stupid eye roll happened again.
I laughed a bit, he was still sarcastic about it. “My name is Alec.”
“Alec.” He repeated in this really different accent that I didn’t even know he had up until right now. “Nice to meet you, Alexander.” He bowed a bit with his head and extended his hand. I didn't correct him, no one called me Alexander before but I figured he was being proper, and it kind of just fit coming out of his mouth, but now what…was he was trying to be cute with me? I just shook my head at him and gave him my own eye roll but still took his hand to shake. He gave a smirk and pulled his hand away.
Well fuck.
He must have felt it too.
Damn, this was going to be harder than I thought…