, speeding up to reach the park bench Carter was already sitting on. He had his hands buried in his coat pocket, a red Canada toque covered his hazelnut hair, and he sat watching the clouds of air that formed every time he exhaled.

"Hey champ," Malayna greeted softly, her black converse slapping against the pavement as she tackled Carter in a hug.

A laugh escaped the boys lips as he fell back against the park bench with Malayna engulfing him in a tight hug. She pulled back slightly, giving him a quick peck on the lips, sliding off him and shuffling to sit right beside him.

"Hi babe," he replied using the same tone as her, pulling Malayna's growing cold body into his warm side. "I missed you, I'm sorry I didn't text sooner," he apologized, Malayna pulling back from his grasp to look at her boyfriend. God, calling Carter that was still foreign to her.

"First of all, you saw me right after the game, and second, you were busy celebrating, I understand," she told him honestly. It was just past midnight, however that didn't matter to her.

"I know, but," Carter pulled the blonde back into his side. "You left as soon as the picture was taken. I wish I could've properly thanked you for being my good luck charm."

Right after the horn blared, signalling the end of the game, Malayna and her father stayed seated as she watched everyone receive their medals. Once the ceremony was finished, Malayna and her father went down to ice level where Carter had greeted her with open arms, hugging her tightly in excitement. His mom snapped a quick picture of the two together, both dad's in a deep conversation about something sports related. Carter had given her a long kiss, promising he'd text her later, before Malayna and her father stalked off the ice.

Malayna chuckled as Carter pressed his lips to the top of her head. "That was all you C, that wasn't me who won. Plus, this was your time to celebrate with friends and family. We're here now and thats all that matters," she declared.

"My mom likes you," Carter said absently as he played with a strand of Malayna's blonde hair. "She said you are great at eating hotdogs too," he murmured as a chuckle emitted from his mouth.

Malayna groaned, "I don't understand why its always hotdogs. Why can't they catch me drinking a drink? Its always the damn hotdogs."

"I think it's adorable," Carter stated, his free hand tracing patterns aimlessly on Malayna's thigh.

Malayna rolled her eyes chuckling before sighing, "your mom was super nice. Maybe sometime in the future I could come and meet your whole family?"

"I'd love that," he breathed, Malayna was fiddling with the small ring on her finger, the one her grandmother had given her.

"The distance wouldn't affect anything, will it?"

"You mean us?"

Malayna sighed, nodding her head in response. "I really, really like you. I want to make this work."

"And we will, I didn't ask you to be my girlfriend for no reason, you're stuck with me now," he stated seriously though he chuckled like he always does.

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Malayna murmured, sighing in content. "You know," she started after a moment of silence. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you," Carter mumbled as his lips came in contact with the top of his girlfriends head, once again. They let the topic drop, both already talking excitedly about the goal Carter scored when they saw each other directly after the win.

The couple sat in silence, their gazes roaming over the deserted park that had became their spot. They had met there just over a week ago, and here they were on the last night, back where it all began. It was quite fitting.

This was the end of something, the end of the tournament, the end of whatever thing the couple had going on. It was the end of morning coffee runs just for Carter, it was the end of teenage make out sessions in the equipment room and the end of coaches and teammates catching them in the act.

But it was also the beginning of something to. It was the start of a beautiful relationship, one that was innocent and pure, one that was filled with both casting loving and longing glances at each other whenever the other wasn't looking. It was the start of countless arguments and many makeup kisses. It was the start of making memories and having fun. It was the start of something beautiful.

"I have a confession to make," Carter blurted after almost ten minutes of silence.

"Okay..." Malayna trailed off, casting a glance up at the boy who was just starting to shift his gaze down to her.

"Well it's quite funny actually..." He chuckled nervously, "I don't actually like coffee." He stated simply, his one eye hammering shut and his shoulders tensing up as if he was waiting for the impact of a slap.

"What?" Malayna gaped at the boy, "so you made me buy you coffee when you didn't even like it?" Her voice rising a little though she was trying not to smile as her mouth hung open.

"Well- I wanted to see you again so of course when you offered to get me a coffee, I said yes. And then when we won, I knew I couldn't change anything. You had to get me a coffee. And look what that got us! A gold medal!"

Malayna shook her head, "goalies," she mumbled with a soft smile on her pink lips. "So what'd you do with the coffees?"

Carter laughed through his nose, his shoulders slumping as he scratched his neck with one hand. At this point, Malayna was sitting up, facing the boy with her one hand resting comfortably on his knee.

"I gave them to Colton."

"Unbelievable," Malayna muttered, shaking her head slightly. Before she could muster another word, Carter's lips were on hers to shut her up. After a moment, he pulled back smiling.

"Hey, I appreciate the gesture, and it worked. And, Colton really enjoyed the coffees, he said he looked forward to them everyday. Apparently they're a lot better than the ones at the rink."

"You are something else, Carter Hart." Malayna laughed through her nose, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

"Hey, not so fast. You got any confessions?"

Malayna bit her lip before giving in. "Alright," she paused, meeting his gaze with a shy smile. "The reason I was here the first night, the reason why we met was because I couldn't stop thinking about you. You giving me that damn puck was all I could think about. So I decided to come here and clear my head. As you can see-" she gestured to the two of them. "- It didn't work. Though, I'm happy about that."

"Me too," he smiled, trying to retain the warm, fuzzy feeling that was spreading throughout his stomach at the thought of Malayna not being able to stop thinking about him.

"What about you? Why were you out running?" She questioned innocently.

Carter smiled, summing it up in one sentence.

"I went running through the park because the pretty girl who loves hotdogs, was running through my mind."

anddd thats the end! well... not exactly. because you all asked, im delivering! i had this big paragraph planned out but i dont need that anymore because theres a sequel coming! if you want to check it out, you can (its not gonna be the nice and happy story this one is,, but im so excited for it!) It should be up later todayyy :) i hope you all enjoyed this, thank you so so much for all the positive feedback, comments and support. it means the world to me.😇😇 (shameless self promo) i have a new freddie andersen book out, it would mean a lot if you checked it outi love you all so so much, thank you again for everything❣️❤️💝💗💓💖💕💘