First attempt
1253 Words
Selena's POV
My plan was simple. Return Ashford's handkerchief. Thank him for yesterday. Then... maybe start a proper conversation.
If the Moon Goddess was feeling particularly generous, perhaps he'd even remember my name.
I smiled to myself as I walked toward the arena. Step one was easy. Step two… Well, that depended entirely on whether my legs stopped shaking the moment I saw him.
Hopefully, they would.
The hockey arena was already buzzing with activity when I arrived. Volunteers hurried from one corner to another, carrying medical supplies, towels, and boxes of sports drinks.
Oddly enough, there wasn't a single hockey player in sight.
"Hmm..."
I spotted Female 3 arranging bottles of water on a trolley and walked over.
"Where are the hockey players?" I asked. "Aren't they practicing today?"
She glanced at me before raising an eyebrow.
"Why?" she asked suspiciously. "Do you have business with one of them?"
"N-No..." I answered a little too quickly.
A smug smile spread across her face. "Don't tell me you've got a crush on a hockey player."
Heat rushed to my cheeks. "I don't..."
I stopped halfway through the sentence. Lying wasn't exactly my strongest skill.
Female 3 folded her arms, looking far too pleased with herself. "Interesting."
I arched my eyebrows. "What is?"
She shrugged casually. "Now that you mentioned this. I've noticed Gabriel asking about you a few times."
I blinked. "... Gabriel? The coach's son?"
"Don't get excited." She rolled her eyes. "It's probably because he enjoys making your life miserable."
My smile disappeared immediately. If there was one hockey player I hoped never to see again, it was Gabriel. So how dare she tell me to my face that I had a crush on him?
Female 3 noticed the change in my expression and quickly looked away.
"Anyway..." she muttered. "The team isn't using the main locker room today."
She pointed toward a hallway farther down the arena. "They're getting ready in the spare locker room."
"Oh..." I murmured. At least I knew where to find Ashford now.
"Thanks," I said.
Without waiting for another response, I turned and headed toward the hallway.
"The girl is strange," Female 3 whispered after I walked away.
"I know," another volunteer replied. "She hardly talks, then suddenly asks about hockey players. Her eyes also creep me out."
I pretended not to hear them. People had been talking behind my back for as long as I could remember. Besides… none of that mattered. The most important person was Ashford.
And maybe, just maybe, today I'd manage to have my first real conversation with my mate.
When I reached the spare locker room. My heart was pounding too fast. I pulled Ashford's neatly folded handkerchief out of my pocket.
I smoothed out the wrinkles even though there aren't any. And I quietly rehearsed what I'd say to him.
"Don't overthink it, Selena," I muttered to myself. "Just give it back with a smile."
I took a deep breath. "...Right. Easy."
My stomach immediately twisted into knots. "Who am I kidding?"
I covered my face with both hands. "Moon Goddess... why is talking to my own mate so terrifying? Why can't I act like a perfectly normal person?”
Because I wasn't perfectly normal.
Just as I was about to give up and walk away, a certain familiar voice stopped me.
"Looking for someone?"
I jumped at the sudden voice and quickly hid the handkerchief.
Gabriel entered. He was leaning against the wall with his hockey bag over one shoulder, and he immediately noticed I was hiding something behind my back.
"Captain Ashford is inside." He murmured under his breath.
I froze. "I wasn't looking for him."
Gabriel chuckled. "Really?"
He slowly stepped closer. "Then why are you standing outside the hockey locker room?"
I had no answer to that question, and I wasn't able to think of one because my mind couldn't process why Gabriel wasn't bullying me as usual.
“Oh, this is the hockey locker room?” I asked, feigning ignorance. “I got lost. Where's the bathroom?”
Gabriel reluctantly pointed at another corner. When I turned my back to leave, he noticed the handkerchief in my hands. Maybe he even recognized the logo on it.
"Do scholarship students get lost this often? Or are you blind because of the trash you eat daily?" He asked with a… jealous tone.
I paused and slowly faced him. I wanted to get away from him. I wanted to tell him to shut the f**k up. But at that moment, all I could do was listen, because I was in new territory.
“Do you like Ashford? During class today, you kept staring at him like some kind of weirdo,” he continued with a menacing smile. “Would you like me to tell him?”
My eyes widened. “Why are you monitoring me, Gabriel? What do you want?”
Gabriel studied me for a minute. "Girls like Bella chase Ashford because of his fame and money." He paused and looked me up and down. "Girls like you chase him because they think he's their way out of poverty. You're nothing but a golddigger."
That line felt like a stab to my chest. Because I actually was trying to get close to Ashford... but for completely different reasons.
Before Gabriel could continue, the locker-room door opened. Ashford walked out while reading something on his phone.
He stopped and looked between Gabriel and me.
“Hi,” I said, waving at him. My voice cracked from anxiety.
Ashford barely looked at me, his eyes were fixed on Gabriel.
"Aren't you supposed to be practicing? Or do you plan to keep playing so sloppily?" Ashford said to Gabriel with a calm expression.
I noticed how Gabriel clenched his fists like he wanted to punch Ashford, but he didn't do that. Instead, he faked a smile.
“You don't have to humiliate me, captain. I was just about to leave,” he murmured.
Ashford looked unfazed. "Get moving then. Coach wants everyone on the ice immediately."
Gabriel clicked his tongue and walked away. Before leaving, he whispered to me,
"This conversation isn't over.”
I paid no attention to his words, and when he left, I held out the handkerchief.
"Hi again. I... came to return this."
Ashford looked surprised. "You washed it."
I nodded with a bright smile. "I couldn't exactly give it back with coffee stains."
He smiled. It wasn't a flirtatious smile, he looked genuine.
"Thank you, Selena,” he said and collected the handkerchief.
We stared at each other as an awkward silence settled. I was even fidgeting with my fingers.
Before meeting him, I had prepared dozens of things to say. But in front of him, I remembered none of them.
Ashford waited. His eyes stared at me, expecting me to say something.
But I kept staring at the walls. Finally, I blurted out—
"...Your eyebrows are nice."
Immediately I said that, I wished the ground would swallow me.
Ashford blinked. "Emm…Thanks?"
Lucas called from down the hallway. "Captain!"
Ashford looked over. Then back at me.
"I'll see you around.” He smiled and left.
I stood there completely frozen.
My wolf hissed, and I could sense her frustration. “You complimented his eyebrows?”
I stamped my foot on the floor. "I panicked, okay? It's not my fault he looked too good."
My wolf still looked displeased. “Out of his entire face... you chose his eyebrows.”
"I KNOW!”
- Writer
