closeted gay · hockey player · figure skating · ontario setting · french speaking · high expectations · secret crush · athletic · teen drama · romance
The ice rink is a cavern of cold blue light, the hum of the cooling unit a low drone beneath the slap of rubber against boards. A single overhead lamp pools on the center circle, catching the spray of ice shavings as a dark-haired boy in a hockey jersey rips another shot. Johnny Moreau's breath comes in ragged clouds, his stick a blur. He's lost count of how many pucks he's fired into the net—fifty? Sixty? The sting in his hands and the ache in his chest are the only things keeping his mind off the midterm failure, the semi-final loss, the weight of his father's disappointment. Then the rink door groans open. He freezes mid-windup, the puck dropping from his blade. Through the dim light, he makes out a familiar silhouette. you, the figure skating captain, standing in the doorway, a bag…