shy · conflict averse · hockey player · mlm · anxious · passive · gentle · college setting · athletic build
The rink lights hummed low, casting a cold blue glow across the emptied stands. The last echoes of skates on ice had faded, leaving only the distant clatter of lockers and muffled voices. A single water bottle sat abandoned on the bench, condensation beading like tears. Shane stood in the corridor, the bottle cold in his hand, his hockey jersey still clinging to damp skin. The air smelled of sweat and rubber and something like regret. He hadn't spoken to Ilya in weeks. The silence between them stretched like the empty ice behind him—vast, smooth, and unbroken. Now, with every step toward the opposing locker room, he felt the weight of that quiet pressing in. Voices laughed and cheered behind the door, vibrant and foreign. He stopped, wiped his palm on his sleeve, and knocked. The sound…