𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘

❝ i got no use for moonlight or sappy poetry ❞

•••

the car the next day Dean was with Kenny and Sophie on the way to the ice rink. Sophie sat in the middle of the back seat with Dean on her left side and Kenny on her right. Almost immediately after the car started moving, Sophie grabbed onto Kenny's pinky finger with her own pinky. She was unsure why she felt uneasy but she was attempting to put it to the side. She wanted to have a good day and get to know her team mates better.

Dean saw Kenny and Sophie's fingers intertwined and made a mental note to ask about it later. He looked back out the window and was lost in his thoughts for the rest of the car ride to the ice rink.

The three walked into their lockerroom and started to get ready for their second practice as a team. The entire time that they had been around each other during the morning, Sophie had been avoiding Dean. She felt slightly awkward about the interaction between the two and her father the night before and didn't know what to do about it.

"Hey Soph. You doing okay?" Luis asked as he set a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder and giving her a concerned look.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm fine, just, lost in thought I guess," Sophie said as she folder her shirt and set it in her locker.

"Okay. You just seemed really spaced out is all," Luis smiled before moving back to his locker.

Sophie sighed and sat down on one of the benches, resting her face in her hands. Dean was looking at the girl with a concerned look before looking to the door when someone walked in. Fulton had walked in and over to his sister and sat beside her. He whispered something to her that Dean couldn't hear so the boy went back to getting ready for practice.

"I'm sorry about Dad last night. He told me about you two and the conversation you had," Fulton had whispered to Sophie as he set a hand on her back.

"It's fine. He was his normal self when it comes to me," Sophie bitterly smiled at her brother before hiding her face back in her hands.

"That doesn't make it okay Soph. He also told me that the Portman kid was with you. Why was that?" Fulton was still talking in a low voice but Dean heard his name.

Dean slowly looked in the siblings' direction to see if they were looking at him. He made eye contact with Sophie as she took her face out of her hands and looked towards him. The boy gave a small, tight-lipped smile before turning back to his locker once again.

"You don't need to be apologizing for him. He isn't sorry about it so I don't see why you are," Sophie said as she turned to her brother, rolling her eyes.

"You didn't answer my question," Fulton said rolling his eyes as well.

"I was at the diner and he just happened to go to the same place for dinner. He saw me and asked to sit with me. There's nothing going on," Sophie muttered and started to get up from the bench.

"Okay. No need to get defensive. I was just wondering," Fulton chuckled as he also stood from the bench. "You ready to get on the ice?"

"Sure. Let's go Kenny!" Sophie called to her friend as she started walking out of the room with Fulton.

Kenny moved as quickly as he could to keep up with the siblings. He almost fell on his face but Dean pulled the back of his jersey to help keep him up right. Kenny looked over his shoulder and smiled at the taller boy in gratitude. Once Kenny was out the door, Dean stood by it and waited about thirty seconds so it wouldn't be obvious that he had been following Sophie out of the lockerroom.

For practice they were tied up and had to learn to skate as one. They failed for a while until they all decided to work together as a team instead of one person leading. They had a fun practice that wouldn't take too much out of them because they had a school session before they got on their plane for California later in the evening.

In their session with Miss MacKay, they learned about Ancient Greece and their sporting events. It was lighthearted as there were jokes as some teasing but they enjoyed themselves. Sophie made fun of her brother when he asked if America always won in the ancient sporting events.

"This is why I was always a grade above you," Sophie jokingly said as she looked up from where she was sitting at Fulton's feet.

After their tutoring session, the team had a conditioning practice. They skated around to help build their stamina. Once they arrived back at the hotel, the Ducks parents dropped off their kids' luggage and said their goodbyes. Sophie went with her brother to say bye to their father.

"Bye dad," Sophie said as they stood awkwardly after Fulton walked away.

"Bye Soph."

"Hey Soph, need any help?" Dean asked as he walked up to the pair.

She gave him a soft smile in gratitude before nodding and Dean grabbed her suitcase. She grabbed her hockey bag, backpack, and her other small duffel bag before following after the boy.

Sophie sat in between her brother and Adam in one of the vans that would drive the team to the airport. Adam and Sophie talked throughout the ride as the girl leaned against her brother who had fallen asleep on her shoulder fairly early into their ride.

"And you were unconscious?" Sophie gasped.

"For a couple minutes yeah but I was conscious again before I even left the ice," Adam explained the story of the peewee championship game.

"Well I'm glad you're okay now. You're a really good player Banksie."

The team eventually arrived at the airport. They checked their bags that weren't carry ons before making their way to the busy security line. With their large team, it took a while for them to get through security. Once everyone was out of the line and had all their things, they made their way to their gate and sat down. They didn't have to wait too long because their plane was set to board about fifteen minutes after they got through security.

Kenny was sitting in the window seat and Sophie was in the middle seat. They were turned and faced each other, playing sticks and waiting for someone on the team to sit next to Sophie or until the plane took off. Sophie felt someone sit next to her but she was too focused trying to find a way to beat Kenny. The boy looked over his best friend's shoulder and sent a smile to Dean who now occupied the other seat next to Sophie.

"There's no way you can win this Soph," Kenny chuckled as Sophie thought through her next move.

She groaned and threw her hands in her lap and faced forward. The two boys on either side of her laughed at her antics. She looked over to Dean and raised her eyebrow.

"What are you looking at?" She joked and internally groaned as she noticed his facial expression.

"The smartest and most beautiful girl I'll ever meet," Dean smiled at her.

Sophie payfully rolled her eyes but none the less blushed at the comment. She took out her headphones and walkman, setting them in her lap before turning and asking Kenny a question. A few moments later the plane began to prepare for take off.

About thirty minutes into the flight, Sophie was asleep with her headphones on. Dean moved carefully so he wouldn't wake her as he reached into his backpack that he used as his carry on item. He pulled out a pencil and a sketchbook and opened it to a clean page. He looked next to him at the sleeping girl and smiled as he began sketching.

When the flight attendant came over the intercom telling everyone to prepare for landing, Dean tore the page from the sketchbook. He folded the piece of paper before slipping it into his back pocket and putting the sketchbook along with the pencil back into his backpack. It was one thing if the team found out he could draw. But he refused to let anyone know he drew Sophie. Dean wasn't one for mushy emotions or relationships and if anyone found the drawing of Sophie, his tough guy reputation would be no more.

"Hey Soph you gotta wake up," Dean spoke softly and slightly shaking her, not wanting to scare her.

Once they were allowed to stand up and grab their things, Dean stood up and walked up a few aisles to where one of his bags were. Sophie looked down and noticed a piece of paper on the ground and picked it up. She unfolded it and smiled as she saw the sketch. She folded it back up before slipping it into her sweatshirt pocket and picking up her backpack.

Once everyone was off the plane and had their luggage, Coach Bombay and Mr. Tibbles took them to the bus that they would be using to go to the hotel as well as games or any places the group needed to go throughout their stay.