05: alondra

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Come Saturday night, Pritchett, Eli aka the loser she keeps taking back, Margot, and I found ourselves at Twin City. For the record, I did not want to come. Pritchett ran into Jack and they were hanging out at the coffee shop I was meeting Pritchett at when I got there.

I protested immensely to us coming tonight, but once Pritchett got Margot involved, I had very little choice. What sucks even more is they both know how much I loathe the hockey team. I might not hate Jack, but I still haven't decided what I think about him.

Not sure what I'm more upset about, Pritchett taking Eli back or returning to the bar where I had the world's best kiss with Jack, coincidentally to hang out with him. To make my attitude on tonight clear, I was wearing a fuzzy sweater and jeans with a beanie to try and keep the chill off my ears.

Nothing works. It's only September and I'm already freezing my ass off as the cold seeps through my clothes.

I really hate Minnesota.

Pritchett is too busy making googly eyes at Eli to see Margot trip over air right outside the entrance to the bar. I snicker and she turns to shook a glare at me.

"Don't glare at me, you could be talking to Hudson right now. But nope, you had to listen to Pritchett."

Pritchett smiles at me while Margot rolls her eyes, moving forward to open the door. I don't bother acknowledging Eli. I think he's an idiot. I love Pritchett like she's my sister, but I also think she's an idiot for taking him back.

The heat welcomes me, thawing my hands almost immediately upon entry. The bar is just as loud as the last time we were here, the smell of beer and sweat strong. Another similarity is the loud table in the back corner that I now know belongs to the hockey team; Jack's in the middle of it.

Pritchett's already halfway across the bar with Eli in tow towards the table and I follow behind Margot to the bar, delaying the inevitable. I see Jack get up to hug Pritchett, wondering when the hell they got so chummy.

"Al, I think you might need to order something stronger than a beer if you're going to survive the night." Margot teases with a smile.

"What?"

She laughs as our drinks are brought out to us, "Well you're acting like this is going to kill you so I figured you'd get plastered early to forget you're willingly hanging out with hockey players. A beer is not going to do that for you."

I roll my eyes, "It's not going to kill me."

"Great, then put a smile on and suck it up cause we're already here."

My only response is to take a long drink of my beer to prepare myself, but odds are this isn't going to be as terrible as I'm hoping it will be. And that's what I think I'm more afraid of, that I won't hate my dad's players.

It's so much easier to think of them as assholes and playboys.

Jack is doing almost everything possible to prove that wrong.

Maybe that's why I'm in a grumpy mood. Or it could be the fact it's cold as shit outside. Hm... It's definitely the weather.

I need tonight so I can see Jack and his friends acting like I expect them to act. Is that messed up?

The table is lively and roaring with laughter when we approach and Jack smiles charmingly at me. "Hey Al, glad you could make it."

I smile back faintly, it's hard not to when he smiles like that. "Thanks for the invite."

The group shifts in their seats to make room for us. Jack's friends and my traitorous ones take up the entire corner booth that's specifically meant for a large group of people. I end up between a girl I don't recognize and Margot.

The dark haired guy sitting next to Jack peers at me curiously, "So you're the freshie?"

My quick remark dies when the blonde girl practically sitting on Jack's lap shoots him a look. "We're not supposed to call her that Dylan. Don't be a dick," She offers me an apologetic smile. "Ignore him, I'm Peyton."

Jack seems unfazed by her position on him so why I should let it bother me? We're not even friends so why should I care where he sticks his willy? "Nice to meet you, I'm Al but I think you guys already know that." An awkward chuckle comes out of my mouth, but the girl next to me with the deep auburn colored hair smiles warmly.

"Peyton's right, ignore Dylan. Actually while you're at it you're probably better off ignoring Jack too," She jokes and Pritchett gives me an 'I told you this would be fun' look.

On the other side of Peyton is another guy fully immersed in conversation with Eli. A little surprising since I've always thought conversations with him were as interesting as speaking to a wall but to each their own.

"You guys are mean," Dylan grumbles, taking another sip of his beer and Margot giggles.

"Seems like you kind of deserved it."

Jack's smile grows wider at Margot's sass and he laughs, shaking his head at Dylan.

"Dylan just shut up, you'll be better off that way."

His jaw hangs open at Jack's betrayal, and the girl next to me leans over to kiss his cheek. "He has a point babe."

Oh, this must be the girl Jack was trying to tell me he was friends with. He was insistent during our tutoring session that we should be friends and he wouldn't try to get in my pants. I didn't really believe him. There's a glimmer in Jack's eyes almost like he knows what I'm thinking and he smirks. "See Al, I told you I had platonic friends who are girls. Ruby definitely counts."

"So you haven't asked her for a kiss for the sake of saving your ego with your buddies?" I ask sweetly and his eyes flash as Margot tries to hide her laugh.

"That's how you got her to kiss you? Damn Schultz, you're losing your touch." Dylan laughs heartily and Peyton shakes her head, but doesn't chime in.

Jack smirks, "It worked, didn't it?"

I can't help but laugh because it did. I smile back at him, surprising both of us. Maybe he isn't so bad...

Eli looks over at me in confusion, having tuned into this part of the conversation. "Al I thought you like hated hockey players and now you're kissing them in bars?"

Pritchett elbows him quickly, but the question is already out there as we're surrounded by hockey players. My grip on my beer tightens and Jack raises an eyebrow at me, waiting for an explanation but I don't really have one.

"How do you hate hockey when your dad coaches?" Dylan asks curiously. I shrug, sipping my drink to buy myself time as I try to come up with a logical explanation that doesn't tell them everything about me.

"I don't hate hockey," I answer simply. My smile has dropped and I try to keep my face neutral, but a very teeny tiny part of me is worried that Jack is going to ask me to leave.

Instead, he offers me a small smile before taking a drink from his water bottle. "Good enough for me. It's refreshing not having someone up my ass about the draft."

I relax a little in my seat as Dylan starts a side conversation with his girlfriend next to me. I never got her name and it feels like it's too late now to ask. They're whispering low enough that I can't catch what's being said.

A nudge from Margot draws me back into the conversation. "Pritchett, you can complain all you want about Alondra's tutoring methods, but we both know it's the only way you passed that class with an A in high school."

"You mean how she made me write every single thing down on a flashcard and carry it around like it was gold?"

"Al's making me do that too! I'm a little happier now to hear that she's a hard ass to everyone, and not just me," Jack says laughing.

"She tried warning you when you asked me to tutor you." I can feel a smile tugging at my lips and I attempt to hide it by taking a long drink of my beer. If I keep going at this pace, I'll end up drinking more of these than I should. "Your first test is this week so if you pass with anything above a ninety, the flashcards can go away."

The flashcards are nothing compared to when I used to call Pritchett in the middle of the night to quiz her randomly. She would get so angry at me, but she did pass her class with flying colors. My methods are crazy but they work.

Peyton snorts, "Al, I think you're forgetting that he failed the class last year. He needs all the help he can get."

His smile doesn't fade, but his cheeks are now tinted red. I think he's ...embarrassed? I don't think I understand what exactly is going on right now. "You got a deal darling," Jack says, tilting his glass towards me and I shake my head.

Eli stands up and I can't help the frown on my face when we make eye contact. "We're going to get some drinks, does anyone want anything?"

"I would like it if you went away and never came back," I mumble under my breath. Margot's giggle next to me tells me that she heard me. I'd also like to know what's going through Jack's head right now.

"Surprise me," She says and Pritchett gets up to go with him. Her face shifts into an almost pleading one to ask me to be nice to Eli.

I force a smile that hopefully doesn't look as fake as it feels, "No thank you."

Everyone else shakes their heads.

With more room at the booth, I wait for Peyton to scooch away from Jack, but she stays put.

"I thought they weren't together?" Jack asks, watching them walk away.

"It changes every week."

Margot grimaces at my reply. Keeping up with Pritchett and Eli is exhausting.

"He's kind of a dick," The guy who was chatting with Eli says before offering me a smile. "I'm Cooper, but these idiots call me Coop."

At the use of his name, I wrack the pieces of the school's hockey roster in my brain I looked at after finding out Jack was on it. Once I piece it together, I know exactly who he is. "You're the goalie right?" On the occasions I do talk to my dad, I've definitely heard Cooper's name a few times.

He smiles wider now, "You looked me up."

"Watched some of your footage too. You're left handed aren't you?"

Margot's fiddling on her phone next to me so I pay her no attention. She's probably texting her boyfriend.

"Yes?" Coop answers and Jack looks at me confused, trying to see where I'm going with this.

"A majority of the shots that got past you last season were made on the right side of the goal. If I were you, I'd spend more time working on that side."

He looks at me like I'm a pig who sprouted wings announcing I could fly. "Holy shit, you really are your father's daughter. He told me that last week. What else?"

"That you probably would have won the Frozen Four game against Michigan if you guys kept your cool on the ice and stopped giving out penalties allowing the other team power play opportunities." I reply quickly, my throat feeling like it's closing up at the mention of my dad. I know I started this conversation, but silly me thinking my dad wouldn't be brought up.

I can feel Jack staring at me and I'm sweating underneath my sweater. It seemed like a great idea when facing the weather outside, but the temperature in here feels like a sauna now. He's being awfully quiet tonight and I wish he'd just say whatever he's thinking even if it drives me nuts.

Downing the last of my beer, I consider texting Pritchett to get me another. I don't need it though. This isn't as terrible as I thought it'd be. Not that I'll ever admit it to her.

Margot shifts in her seat and I glance at her to see an apologetic look. Oh shit. She's ditching me for Hudson.

"No."

"You didn't even know what I was going to say," She says defensively and I roll my eyes.

"You're leaving to go talk to Hudson."

Remorse flickers across her features. "He's on shift and bored... I can tell him no if you want me to stay-"

I sigh, rubbing my face. "Go. It's okay. I'll survive."

Margot gets up hesitantly, shrugging her coat on.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

I doubt she'll be awake before noon, but I shake my head. "Margot, it's seriously okay. Pritchett's still here. Don't feel bad."

Her phone buzzes in her hand again, attracting her attention. Then Peyton speaks up, "I'll make sure she gets back to the dorms okay. Can't have the freshie getting lost when she holds Jack's future in the balance."

Margot disappears and a part of me feels like I've just been thrown to the wolves. 

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