After having a whole weekend off from hockey, practice was especially rough on Monday afternoon as we prepared for our two games this week. Although I loved hockey, I was glad when practice wrapped up for the night so I could get some rest.

"Guys," Fox shouted, grabbing the attention of the team. "Don't forget you have to get your permission slips signed so you can leave during last period on Friday for the game. If it's not signed, you're not coming."

Everyone let out assurances that they heard Fox and would have their slips signed by Friday. Since the game was quite far, we needed to leave during last period to get there on time to have a practice before the start of the game.

"Bruins game at my house tonight, you in?" Fox asked me, clapping a hand down on my shoulder.

I sighed, grabbing my hockey bag. "I guess."

Fox smirked. "Don't sound too excited."

I playfully rolled my eyes at him and he followed me out of the locker room.

"Can I just head there with you now?" I asked, realizing I didn't want to get caught up in a talk with my father.

Dad made it clear he wanted to talk to me about what happened on Thanksgiving and I just wanted to avoid the topic all together.

"Sure," Fox replied with a shrug.

"Going to Fox's!" I shouted over at Josh who was getting into the driver's seat of his car.

Josh gave me a strange look but ultimately nodded before shutting the car door.

"Any reason you're dying to come home with me?" Fox teased as the two of us got into his car.

I rested my arm on the center console and tapped my fingers against it, effectively ignoring Fox's question. He placed his hand over mine to stop my tapping, sending a shock directly to my chest. I suddenly pulled my hand away and looked toward him with a frightened expression. His teasing grin sent shivers through my spine. I couldn't help but think Fox's smile was something out of a dream.

The way he looked at me when he smiled paralyzed me, so I wasn't able to look away from him. Flutters crept through my stomach like a herd of monarch butterflies were in there flying south for their migration. All he had to do was smile and I was putty in his hands.

I had no idea what had gotten into me. I shook my head to clear my mind and finally looked away.

Fox laughed. "What's the matter? You're acting like I just stabbed you."

"I'm not," I grumbled, looking out the window.

Fox scoffed, sounding as if he didn't believe me, but didn't say anything else.

Eventually, we made it to his house where it appeared that no one else was home.

"Your parents aren't here?" I asked him as we stepped into the house.

"Mom works late and Dad travels," he replied, stopping to place his hockey bag in the hall closet.

"Please don't tell me the goons are coming over," an unfamiliar voice spoke out from behind us. Fox and I turned to see the girl standing with her hands on her hips. I recognized her from the family portrait.

"Okay, I won't tell you," Fox retorted, causing the girl to roll her eyes. She looked me up and down in confusion.

"You're new," she said.

"Kinda," I replied.

"Raven, Elijah. Elijah, Raven," Fox introduced us. We greeted each other briefly before Raven turned back to her brother.

"Just don't be too loud down here, I'm doing homework and Fawn has a friend over," Raven warned, causing Fox's eyes to darken.

"What friend?" he questioned with aggression in his voice.

Raven shrugged. "Some kid. Teddy maybe? I don't know."

"Eddie," Fox said in a hard tone, moving toward the stairs. Raven and I shared confused looks before I finally realized who Eddie was.

"Fox, wait," I tried to stop him, catching his arm in my hand as I sprinted toward the stairs. He didn't even turn to look at me.

"I'm not waiting. That kid probably has his grimy hands all over my sister," Fox spat, ripping his arm out of my grasp.

"She's going to be mad at you if you go up there," I warned him, but he didn't listen as he continued up the stairs.

I sighed from the bottom of the stairs as I finally lost sight of Fox.

"She's going to kill him," Raven said from behind me.

I turned to look at her and nodded in agreement. "He deserves it."

Raven snorted out a laugh. "He does. Robin used to be the same way when I had boys over."

"I'm not like that with my sister," I chuckled. "She's tougher than me."

"Most girls are tough," Raven said with a grin. "It's just our meat-head fathers and brothers that think they need to protect us for some reason."

I laughed and nodded along. I could relate to having a protective father.

A few moments later there was high-pitched screaming and then Fox came running down the stairs.

"She hit me!" he exclaimed, looking to me for sympathy.

Raven rolled her eyes. "You deserved it. Anyway, if your friends are coming over then I'm hiding up in my room."

"You don't want to watch the game with us?" he asked.

"Not with your friends," she replied with a raised eyebrow. "They all check me out."

Fox rolled his eyes. "They do not."

"Yes, they do. Except him," Raven retorted, pointing toward me.

"He's gay," Fox told her and I gave him an annoyed look.

"Good," was the last thing Raven said before she turned on her heel to storm up the stairs.

Fox sighed and led me over to the couch where we sat down beside each other. He shook his head and let out another frustrated sigh, causing me to look at him expectantly.

"I'm not going to be able to think straight with Fawn having that boy in her room," Fox complained, resting his elbow on the arm of the couch and placing his head in his hand.

A smile crept on my face as I watched his worrisome expression. It was cute seeing him all concerned about his sister.

"She'll be fine," I assured him. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes with a look of disbelief.

"You'll be like this when Ava starts bringing boys over," Fox grumbled, turning his attention back to the TV.

I chuckled. "No, I won't. And she might not even be interested in boys."

"Let's hope," Fox muttered.

I shook my head at him and pulled out my phone to see that I had a text message from Trevor. He and I were pretty much back to normal after the whole kissing incident, though I could tell he still had a crush on me.

Are you doing anything special for your birthday next week?

"Who are you texting?" Fox asked, suddenly interested and leaning over to check out my phone.

"Just Trevor," I replied. Fox's expression darkened.

"What does he want?" he mumbled.

"He's just asking if I'm doing anything for my birthday next week. He likes to plan ahead," I told him with a confused look.

"Your birthday is next week? Why is he trying to plan something for you? Did you hookup with him?"

My eyes widened at Fox's sudden questions.

"Woah," I said to stop him. "Where the hell did all that come from? No, I didn't hookup with him."

"Good, don't," Fox quickly responded.

I quirked my head in confusion. "You were the one that told me I should."

"I changed my mind," he told me. "I don't think it's a good idea anymore."

"Okay..."

Fox's jaw clenched as he stared forward at the television. He bit down on the inside of his cheek before allowing his eyes to travel toward me.

"What are you staring at me for?" he snapped, giving me a hard glare.

I just shrugged and turned away from him. I couldn't help but think that he was acting strange and I couldn't shake an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach as I sat close to him. Maybe I was the one acting strange.

The two of us sat in silence before the rest of the group came barging into Fox's house. Alex and Ian squeezed onto the couch with us, causing me to have to move even closer to Fox, out legs touching. The same shock from when Fox touched my hand in the car traveled through me at the feeling of our legs being pressed together.

"They're actually playing good!" Alex happily exclaimed, backhanding my shoulder and dragging my attention to the hockey game that had already started.

"We'll see how long they can keep this up," Ian grumbled, leaning his elbow on the arm of the couch and putting his chin in his hand.

The first period was uneventful and the only noises coming from the guys were sounds of disappointment at mistakes by the players and a few cheers at near-goals.

"So, I finally got with Beth over the weekend," Alex boastfully announced. I just rolled my eyes at him.

"About time!" Ryan cheered.

Instead of listening to Alex rehash his weekend spent with Beth, I turned to focus on Fox who looked like he wasn't paying much attention either. When he noticed me looking at him, he turned to look back, a small smile taking over his face.

That was enough to set my insides on fire. I mentally punched myself for feeling this type of way about Fox, but still I couldn't stop the fluttering feeling of when he had his eyes on me.

A warm smile spread on my own face at the sight of his, causing Josh to loudly clear his throat. Both of our gazes shot over to Josh in confusion, but he just looked away.

"Josh come with me to the kitchen for a sec," Fox instructed, pushing his hand down on my leg to heave himself off of the couch.

Josh sighed in annoyance, but followed him anyway.

I was left with a quizzical expression in the heat of my own confusion.

***

I rushed to the locker room on Friday afternoon to hand in my permission slip and board the bus for the away game.

"I'm sorry Ian, but I can't let you come," I heard Coach Silva say as I rounded the corner toward his office.

My eyebrows furrowed and my steps slowed as I listened in on the conversation.

"Coach," Ian complained, "my parents would let me skip last period, I just wasn't able to get them to sign the slip."

"I understand that, but I can't take you out of class for the game without their permission. You need to go back to class."

Ian let out a loud sigh and nearly bumped into me when he exited Coach's office, sending a scowl my way.

"Looks like you're on your own tonight," Ian muttered, pushing past me to leave the locker room.

Coach came out of his office a moment later.

"Have your slip?" he asked me.

I wordlessly nodded and handed it to him. He checked that I had it signed before motioning his head toward the door.

"You can go out to the bus."

I wasted no time grabbing my hockey bag and rushing out to the bus where the rest of the team, except for Ian, was already waiting. Fox was leaning back against the bus with his arms crossed over his chest with an impatient look on his face as if he was waiting for me.

"Ian's not coming," I said, stopping in front of him.

"I know. I told him Coach wouldn't let him leave last period without the slip," Fox replied with a sigh.

"What are we going to do?"

Fox let out another exaggerated sigh, leaning his head back. "We'll probably have to double shift you."

"So you're going to break up another pairing?"

Fox sent me an irritated look. "Well I can't double shift anyone else. You and Ian are the best defensemen we have, so we need to make up for that loss."

"Okay," I agreed, hoping his gaze would soften. "You're right."

"On the bus, boys," Coach Silva instructed as he came out of the school.

I followed Fox onto the bus and tossed my bag down in the first few seats with the others before sitting down beside Fox, who looked annoyed that I'd decided to accompany him.

"You're really going to sit with me when there's an empty seat right over there?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in question.

I nodded. "I want to sit with you."

Fox slowly but surely wiped the annoyed look off his face and morphed it into a more content one.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked him as he leaned back in the seat, propping his knees up on the seat in front of us.

"Hm?"

"What did you talk to Josh about during the game the other night?"

Fox scoffed. "A little thing called none of your business."

I had a strong feeling whatever they spoke about was concerning me and I hated being talked about behind my back. Especially when it was Josh doing it.

I banged my shoulder into Fox's, shoving him against the window. He let out a groan of annoyance and sent me a scowl.

"Tell me," I urged him.

He reached toward me and used his hand to push my chest back. I hated the way my skin burned whenever we had contact. Or, I loved it. I couldn't tell.

"I'm going to knock you into the aisle if you come at me again," Fox warned.

"Just tell me!"

"No."

I groaned aloud and crossed my arms over my chest, staring down at my lap with a scowl. My scowl only deepened when I heard a chuckle come from Fox.

When I glanced up at him to shoot him a glare, I was met with a glowing expression. Fox's smile was wide as he looked down at me and the scowl was knocked off of my face and replaced with an impassive look as my breath hitched in my throat.

The way Fox had been affecting me lately was messing with my head. All he did was smile at me, actually he laughed at me, and all I wanted to do was throw my arms around him and kiss him.

Maybe I did need therapy.

"Fine... uh... be that way," I stuttered.

All he did was wink at me.

He winked at me.

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I quickly averted my gaze elsewhere. Fox chuckled from beside me before glancing out the window.

By the time we got to the rink, I couldn't get away from Fox fast enough. I didn't like the things he was doing to my head, even if he didn't realize he was doing them.

As the bus came to a stop, Fox and I stood up at the same time. The aisle filled up quick with all the other players, causing me to stand in front of Fox in a rigid stance. He stood so close to me I could feel the heat from his body on my skin. When the aisle cleared enough for us to get out of the seat, Fox lightly placed his hand on my lower back to guide me forward. I jumped at his touch as goosebumps covered me all over.

"Every time I touch you, you act like I stabbed you," Fox pointed out as we made our way off the bus. "What's your deal?"

"Nothing," I muttered, grabbing my back out of one of the front seats and stepping off the bus.

Fox just scoffed as he copied my actions.

I did my best to avoid Fox as we practiced on the ice prior to the game, but he made it difficult. Every chance he got, he skated by me and nonchalantly brushed up against my body. It was like he was purposely trying to rattle me.

Eventually the game started and I was able to keep my mind off of Fox. Or so I thought.

My mind was playing tricks on me and I couldn't stop thinking about the way I felt when he touched me or how good he looked when he was so focused on the game.

I was so distracted that I wasn't paying attention during a play and ended up getting launched into the boards head first by the opposing team. The referee's whistle blew for a penalty as I sat on the ice with my head in my hands.

"Ellis, you alright?" Fox asked, quickly skating over to me.

I dragged my stare up to him to see a concerned expression on his face and quickly averted my gaze. Every time I looked at him, I couldn't think straight, and it was affecting how I was playing. Not to mention, I didn't have Ian here to pick up my slack.

I nodded. "I'm fine."

I kept my eyes away from him as I got up from the ice on my own.

"You need any help to the bench?" he asked, coming toward me with his arm stretched out.

I flinched away from him. "I'm good. Don't touch me."

I couldn't have him touching me anymore. It did things to my head.

Fox's eyes narrowed into slits before he shook his head and skated to where the face-off would be. I took my position off to the side and tried to clear my head. Fox easily won the face-off and batted the puck over to Josh who brought it to the offensive zone. I took my place on the point as Josh went straight for the net. He passed it off to Alex, who was coming up fast behind him.

The other team blocked Alex and kept him from getting a shot on. He looked around for a moment before slapping the puck back toward me just as Fox came into my line of view. Fox's stupid, handsome face distracted me, causing the puck to slide right by my stick and out of the zone.

"Ellis!" Fox exclaimed as he skated out of our zone.

I quickly followed behind him. The other team got a shot on goal, our goalie covering the puck to stop the play and allow us to have a line change.

"What the hell was that, Ellis?" Fox asked in an annoyed tone as we got back to the bench, smacking me in the back of the head. "Is your head okay?"

I glared at him. "It was fine until you just hit me."

Fox just rolled his eyes and sat down beside me on the bench. "Get your head out of the clouds and make the play next time."

I didn't even grant him a response, not being able to think straight with him being so close. I needed to get him out of my head. It was obviously doing me no good to have him consuming my thoughts.

And I guess that was why I played like shit the rest of the night.

**