Josh and Ian were standing by the elevator when Fox and I finally walked away from Micah. Fox's hand was tightly clasped in mine, his expression tense as he slammed the button for the elevator. We only had a few minutes to go upstairs and put our skates away before we had to be at dinner, but just the elevator ride felt like an eternity.

"What did that asshole want?" Ian asked as the four of us stepped into the elevator.

I debated on telling them, mostly because of Josh. Once he found out about everything Micah said, he wouldn't leave me alone. However, I knew I had to call my dad, and I wouldn't put it past him to make the seven hour drive all the way up here.

"Let's just get to the room," I muttered, Fox slamming the button to our floor.

We were quiet as we made our way back to the hotel room, but once the four of us were inside and the door was shut, Josh turned to me with a stern expression.

"What's going on?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

I sighed, sitting down at the end of the bed as Fox leaned against the wall and looked down at me.

"I have to call Dad," I told him, fishing my phone out of my pocket.

Josh sat down beside me with a look of worry.

"What's going on?" he repeated more urgently this time.

"Dave and my mom are here," I admitted, looking down at my phone.

There was no use keeping it from Josh. He would find out once he saw them and it would be better if I gave him a heads up.

"Shit, Elijah," Josh cursed, letting out a heavy breath.

"Is that bad?" Ian wondered in a confused tone.

"Yes, it's bad," Fox snapped.

Ian gave him a look. "Chill."

I ignored them, dialing the phone for my Dad. He picked up right away which was quite on brand for him.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Dad asked.

"Mom and Dave are here," I told him.

"At the tournament?"

"Yes."

He was silent for a few moments as if he was trying to register what I had just said.

"I can take a few sick days," he finally said. "I'll take some sick days and go up there."

"You don't have to do that," I said with a sigh.

It wasn't like I felt as if I was in danger with them being here. It was uncomfortable and I didn't want to have to see either of them, but I doubted Dave would be punching me with so many people around.

"It's fine, Dad, really," I assured him. "I'll stick with Josh. We might not even have to play them."

"I'm going to call your coach," Dad said in an even tone. "I'll let him know the situation."

"Okay."

"I love you, Elijah," he said. "Call me tomorrow, okay?"

"I will," I replied. "I love you too."

Once I hung up I noticed all eyes were on me, and I couldn't keep mine from drifting over to Fox. He stood against the wall, his eyes filled with concern and his hands in fists.

"We should head down to dinner," I told the guys, standing up from the bed.

Fox groaned and heaved himself away from the wall. "I don't want to."

Ian snickered at him. "You just don't want to see the guys after you made out with Ellis in front of everyone."

I scoffed as Josh stood up beside me. "We didn't make out."

"I wasn't watching when it started," Ian admitted as we left the hotel room, Fox sneaking his hand into mine. "But Alex was like 'Oh my God, they're making out!'" Ian did a high pitched voice to mimic Alex, placing his hands on his cheeks.

"Ryan was pretty much the only one not shocked," Josh said as we went back into the elevator.

Fox scoffed as the doors shut. "That's because Ryan is the only smart one. To be honest Josh, it took you way too long to put two and two together. Are you sure you're alright in the head?"

Josh let out a humorless chuckle, flipping Fox off in the process.

"Sorry, I get yelled at every time I ask anything about Elijah's life," Josh said with a pointed look directed at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him and gave him an exasperated look. "You do more than just ask. You get into my business because you're nosy."

Once we got out of the elevator, we made our way to where dinner was being held. The entire team was already there, including the coaches. Coach Silva was on the phone in the corner of the room, looking straight at me as he spoke. Dad really didn't waste any time.

Coach Silva pointed at me then motioned with his finger for me to go to him. I sighed, letting go of Fox's hand.

"I have to go talk to Coach," I told him in a low tone, walking past the stares we received at the table.

Coach finished saying something and then hung up the phone as I stopped in front of him.

"I just got off the phone with your dad," he told me, causing me to nod. "He let me know about your mother and her husband. I'll do what I can to keep them away from you."

"Thanks coach," I replied.

He just nodded and motioned toward the table filled with the team.

"Go eat," he said. "Let's not stress too much about it."

Fox watched my every move as I went back to the table, getting food from the buffet, before sitting down next to him. There was an awkward silence among the team as they stared us down.

"I'm going to punch you all in the throat if you don't stop looking at me," Fox threatened, causing most of the guys to look down at their plates.

Alex kept his gaze on us. "So..."

"Don't," Fox warned.

"You're not going to explain what's going on?" Alex asked with an incredulous look.

"Not our business," Ryan interjected as he took a sip of water.

"Thank you, Ryan," Fox said, his glare hard on Alex.

"Stop looking at me like you want to kill me," Alex responded with a wide eyed expression.

"I do want to kill you."

Alex huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he almost incoherently mumbled, "I ship it."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Fox snapped.

"I said I ship it!" Alex exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and gaining the attention of the rest of the table.

My lips quirked up in a grin as I glanced at Alex's exasperated expression. He and Fox continued giving each other looks before Alex changed his gaze over to me.

"So I guess this is why you never got with Trevor," he said with a look of realization.

"Alex—" Fox started with a sneer.

"Fox, stop it," I interjected with a stern expression, causing him to stop and lean back in his seat.

There were snickers among the guys, Jude letting out a subtle, "Whipped," that was masked by a cough.

"So," Jude started, looking between the two of us with an amused expression.

"Don't start," Fox grumbled, taking a bite of his food.

"Hey, you don't get to be mad at us when you were hiding that you're dating Ellis," Jude argued, holding his hands out in front of him.

"We're not dating," Fox immediately shot back with a scowl before slowly turning to me with a softened expression and asking, "Are we dating?"

Laughs rumbled out from the team, causing Fox's expression to sour again, his eyebrows knitting together in annoyance. I couldn't help but chuckle at him, hiding my smile with the back of my hand.

"Oh my God, how did I not see this sooner?" Alex laughed out, his hands over his face. "You're so whipped!"

"Shut your mouth," Fox spat, pointing a finger at Alex.

"You're all just oblivious," Ian said with a long eye roll.

"How come I didn't know you knew?" Josh asked him with a puzzled expression, an eyebrow lifting higher.

Ian shrugged. "I didn't know you knew."

"You both knew?" Alex dramatically gasped.

"Like I said," Ian started. "You're oblivious."

A look of realization spread over Fox's face, his eyes going round as he looked over toward the coaches then back to the team.

"Hey," Fox said in a low tone. "Don't let the coaches find out until we're home."

Jude sent him a look of confusion. "Why?"

"Because if they find out they'll take me out of Elijah's room."

I hadn't thought of that being a possibility, so I was glad Fox had.

"It's not like you two are going to have sex with his brother in the room," Jude commented.

Ryan shook his head before turning to Fox. "We won't say anything," he promised. "You guys up for hitting the pool tonight?"

And with that, conversation seemed to go back to normal.

***

"We don't have to go to the pool if you don't want to," Fox said as the two of us walked down the hall toward the elevator. Josh and Ian had already gone down with the guys. Fox decided to take his sweet time getting ready and I had just woken up from a nap, so the other two were sick of waiting for us.

"Are you sure you want to go?" I asked him, quirking my head to the side as the doors closed us in.

He sighed, staring straight ahead at our reflections in the metal doors. I felt my heart slowly sinking as I waited for his response.

"I just don't want them to treat me different," he mumbled, biting down on his bottom lip.

Before I could say anything, the elevator doors opened and Fox walked out. I followed closely behind him as he headed toward the pool, the smell of chlorine overtaking the air around us. Shouts and splashes from the guys could be heard as we walked down the hall and into the pool area.

We were quickly greeted by the rest of the team when they saw us enter. I followed Fox over to one of the tables where we put our stuff down, Fox pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it down on one of the chairs.

"Elijah, come play chicken!" Alex shouted from the pool, splashing water and hitting Ian in the face with it. Ian's expression soured and he wrapped an arm around Alex's neck, pulling him under the water.

"Don't drown him," Fox warned as he walked over to the pool. "We're gonna need him tomorrow."

Ian let Alex up, earning a shove from him. I slid into the pool after taking my shirt off, Fox following behind me.

"I don't want to play chicken," I told Alex. I was met with a pout and a splash of water sent to my chest.

"Anyway, are we ever going to get the story about how you two got together?" Alex asked, leaning against the side of the pool while Fox was talking to Ian.

I didn't know how much Fox was willing to tell. He was freshly out of the closet and I didn't want to upset him by spilling details he didn't want coming out.

"It's a long story," I said with a shrug, catching Fox's attention.

"What is?" he asked, looking between Alex and me.

"How you two got together!" Alex exclaimed, gaining the attention of the guys around us.

Fox's eyes swept across the team as they awaited his response. He sighed, looking over to me with a softened gaze. Before he could open his mouth, a commotion from the entrance caused us to turn our heads to the group walking into the pool area.

My stomach dropped as my eyes widened when I realized who they were. They were faces I would recognize anywhere. My eyes locked with Landon and I instantly reached out for Fox, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him toward me.

"We have to go," I rushed out, pulling Fox toward the pool steps.

"What's going on?" he asked as he followed me. "Is that your old team."

All I could do was nod as I rushed us over toward our things, not even bothering to dry off as I pulled my shirt over my head and grabbed my phone. Landon watched with amusement as Fox stood close to me, glaring over at them.

"Are they the ones sending you messages?" Fox asked in a low tone, not even looking at me as he continued his stare at the group.

"We can talk about it upstairs," I said, picking his shirt up off the chair and shoving it into his chest.

"Elijah," Josh called out as he rushed over to us.

"We're going," I told him.

As the three of us tried going for the exit, Landon and his group stopped in front of us. Landon stood directly in front of me with a blank expression on his face. I knew what he was capable of. He had beat me before, getting all of his followers to join in. He wasn't a nice guy and he wasn't afraid to hurt me.

Fox shoved me behind him and stood face to face with Landon. Landon smirked, looking behind Fox at me.

"You got a little boyfriend sticking up for you now?" Landon asked in a humorous tone.

"Fuck off," Fox spat, stepping closer to him. Landon raised his eyebrows, looking him up and down.

"Two fucking faggots on the same team," Landon hissed, narrowing his eyes at Fox.

"Fox, let's go," I begged, though I wasn't sure we'd be able to get by them without something happening.

"Call us faggots one more time," Fox seethed in a threatening tone.

By this time, the rest of our team had gotten out of the pool and made their way over to us. Ian and Ryan got themselves to the front of the crowd beside me as if they were ready to defend Fox at any moment.

"Fucking," Landon said, stepping closer. "Faggots."

On his last word, Landon shoved Fox backwards and caused him to bump into me. Fox was quick to react, grabbing Landon by the throat and restraining him in a headlock. The group behind him looked as if they were ready to fight, but thought better of it.

"You really want to start a fight right now?" Fox snapped. "There's twenty of us and six of you and you want to fight?"

Landon squirmed in his grip, grabbing at his arm to try to get him to release him.

"Fox, let him go," I said and Fox almost instantly did. I walked ahead of Fox to come directly in front of Landon's beet red face. The redness was more from his embarrassment than from Fox holding him.

"If you have a problem with me, then you take it up with me on the ice," I seethed, my jaw clenched as he stared at me in disgust. "But you bring him into it and we're going to have a bigger problem."

I wasn't going to let Landon and his stupidity ruin Fox's first day being out of the closet. He was always anxious about how people would perceive him, and I wasn't going to let people from my past hurt him. It wasn't fair to him and I wouldn't be able to bear it.

The team followed me out of the pool area as I left Landon before he could reply to my words.

"That guy is fuckin' stupid dude," Jude said aloud as we all made our way to the elevators.

Fox was quiet the whole way to the room as we parted with the rest of the team.

"Since pool time got cut short, Ryan invited us over to their room for a little bit, you in?" Ian asked as we got to the door.

"Nah, we'll stay here," Fox answered for us as he unlocked the door. Josh sent me a look of concern but ultimately followed Ian down to Ryan's room while I entered ours with Fox.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. I felt awkward and unsure. Not knowing what he was thinking was pulling my insecurities out in full force.

"Will you tell me about the messages?" Fox dodged the question.

I sighed but nodded anyway, sitting down on the edge of our bed. "Just a few of the guys from my old team sending me mean stuff."

"Like what? Did they threaten you?"

"Kind of," I sheepishly admitted. Fox's expression soured as he looked at me with a glare.

"What is 'kind of?' Did they or didn't they?" he asked, his tone indicating that he was fed up.

"They did," I confirmed.

Fox sighed, pulling at his hair. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I let out a humorless laugh. "Fox, I didn't know where I stood with you. I still don't."

His expression softened slightly, but he still looked utterly pissed off.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking down at the floor. "We can figure it out after the tournament, alright? After I come out to my family."

"You're going to come out to them?"

"They're the people I was least worried about knowing," he said. "Well, besides Wren and he already knows."

I hummed in agreement as he sat down beside me.

"I know you don't wanna hide, I really don't either," Fox admitted, a content look on his face as his eyes stared into mine.

My face heat up as my lips slowly quirked into a smile.

"So you want to be a couple?" I asked. "After you tell your family?"

Fox nodded. "Yes."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, that's what I want too," I clarified.

Fox looked relieved, his posture slacking slightly and his lips curling upward. He leaned closer to me, his eyes darting toward my lips. My face seemed to be pulled by magnetic force, meeting his in the middle and brushing our lips together.

The kiss started off soft until Fox took more control, shifting so that he was on top of me and lying my body down on the bed. My lips moved at the same quick pace as his, our tongues clashing as I reached to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. His hips were grinding against mine as his lips traveled to the side of my jaw.

"We smell like chlorine," he said in a breathless tone against my skin.

I let out a content sigh as he continued kissing my skin.

"Wanna shower?" he asked, pulling away from me and sitting up on my hips.

My eyes shot open at his words. I looked at him to see if he was joking, but his face was questioning, not a joke in sight.

"Just shower...?" I apprehensively wondered. "Or something more because we don't have—"

"I bought some," Fox cut me off with a coy expression.

I raised my eyebrows, propping myself up on my elbows.

"You bought some?" I echoed. "What, did you just know you were going to get lucky?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "It was just wishful thinking."

"When did you even have time to buy it?"

"I went to the convenience store downstairs while you napped earlier," Fox answered with a shrug.

"They sell condoms and lube at that store?"

"Apparently."

I bit my bottom lip, looking up at Fox. He smirked down at me like he knew he had me right where he wanted me. And he did.

A few moments later we were rushing into the bathroom, the shower steaming up the room.

**