The hockey star's rival

Chap.2

SONG OF THE CHAPTER: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY BY QUEEN.

JADE'S POV:

The blare of an alarm jolts me awake.

I bolt upright, my hair tangled and my heart hammering, until I realize it isn’t mine. It’s blaring from across the room;some obnoxious heavy metal riff vibrating through tinny speakers.

Groaning, I shove the blanket off and blink against the pale winter light leaking through the blinds. My head is still foggy from the move, the fight, the humiliation of being dumped in a boys’ boarding school like some kind of punishment project.

The alarm finally shuts off, and Dominic Vance rolls out of bed like a six-foot-three thundercloud. His black hair is perfectly messy, his jaw shadowed like he woke up already camera-ready. His eyes flick toward me as if my existence is an inconvenience.

He would have looked like a sexy sight to behold if he wasn't getting on my damn nerves this early in the morning.

“Oh, right,” he mutters, voice rough with sleep. “The mistake.”

I glare at him from across the room. “Good morning to you too, roommate.”

Caleb stretches in his bed with a lazy grin, his blonde hair sticking up in every direction. “I don’t know about you, but I think this mistake is the best thing that’s happened to this room all semester.”

Noah, sprawled diagonally across his bed with his phone glowing in his hand, doesn’t even look up. “Speak for yourself, Monroe. Some of us actually enjoy our privacy. Now I have to deal with hormonal hockey boys and the mysterious girl who punches captains for breakfast.”

I smirk despite myself. “At least I’m famous already.”

Dominic pulls on a hoodie, his dark eyes cutting into me. “Infamous. Don’t flatter yourself. You’re a distraction.”

“Funny,” I shoot back, sliding out of bed, “I thought hockey was about focus. If I can distract you, maybe you’re not as good as they say.”

His jaw tightens, and for a moment, I think he might actually lunge at me. But instead, he just shakes his head with a scoff. “You won’t last a week here.”

I shrug, tugging a sweatshirt over my head. “Guess we’ll see.”

~~

The smell of syrup and burnt toast hangs heavy in the air as I follow the boys into the cavernous dining hall. Long tables stretch wall to wall, filled with loud voices, laughter, and the unmistakable sound of teenage boys inhaling food like it’s a sport.

Conversations dim as I walk in. Heads swivel. Forks pause mid-air. It’s like a scene from one of those bad high school movies where the new kid trips in the cafeteria except I don’t trip. I keep my head high, even as whispers hiss through the room.

He would have loved this school.. Definitely would have sat down with the popular boys and had so much fun...

I feel my chest tightening but thankfully the whispers help my mind return to the present.

“That’s her.”

“Girl in the dorms.”

“She fought Mark on the rink.”

“She’s hot, but... dude, no way.”

Dominic strides past like he owns the place, ignoring the chatter. Caleb winks at a group of girls from the cheer squad, apparently they hang out here too and Noah mutters under his breath, “Oh good, the zoo animals noticed the new exhibit.”

I drop my tray onto the table they choose, trying to act unfazed. Dominic doesn’t even glance at me as he digs into his eggs. Caleb, on the other hand, leans close, his grin easy.

“So, Hayes,” he says, “what’s your type? Because I feel like I could check a few boxes if you’d let me.”

I snort. “My type isn’t cocky blondes who think they’re God’s gift to hockey.”

“Then you’re in luck,” Noah says without missing a beat. “Caleb is more like a re-gift. You know, the sweater you didn’t ask for but shows up at Christmas anyway.”

Caleb throws a grape at him. Noah catches it mid-air, pops it in his mouth, and winks at me. I can’t help it... I laugh.

Dominic slams his fork down, eyes narrowing. “This isn’t a social club. You don’t belong here.”

The words land heavier than I expect. The whispers, the stares, the fact that even breakfast feels like walking into enemy territory. My chest tightens, but I force a smirk.

“Good thing I didn’t come here to belong,” I say. “I came to win.”

After breakfast, the four of us head to the rink. My breath fogs in the morning air as we step onto the ice, the familiar scrape of skates against frozen surface tugging something deep in my chest. Home... even if it’s hostile.

The team is already gathering, boys tossing pucks, laughing, jostling each other. Their laughter dims when they see me.

“Is this a joke?” one mutters.

“She’s not seriously-”

“Coach will never allow it.”

Dominic shoulders past me without looking. Caleb claps me lightly on the back. “Ignore them. You’ll shut them up soon enough.”

Noah skates a lazy circle around me, smirking. “Don’t worry, Jade. If you fall flat on your face, I’ll tell people it was performance art.”

“Thanks, Noah.”

The whistle blows. Coach Harris strides onto the ice, built like a linebacker, gray hair sticking out from under his cap. His sharp eyes sweep the rink, then land on me. He sighs like the weight of the world just landed on his shoulders.

“Hayes,” he says flatly. “The administration informed me of… the situation.”

“It’s not a situation,” I shoot back, chin high. “I’m here to play.”

The team snickers. Dominic folds his arms, his smirk daring me to keep talking.

Coach steps closer, his voice low but carrying across the ice. “Listen carefully, Hayes. This isn’t co-ed. This isn’t recreational. This is elite-level training. The only reason you’re standing here is because of a clerical error.”

I swallow hard but don’t back down. “Then let me make this clerical error worth it. Put me on the ice.”

He studies me for a long, tense moment. The air crackles, every boy on the team holding their breath. Finally, Coach nods once.

“You get one chance. One scrimmage. You prove you belong, you stay. You fall behind…” His gaze hardens. “You’re gone.”

Dominic’s smirk widens, satisfied. “Sounds fair to me.”

Caleb bumps my shoulder gently. “Don’t worry, Hayes. You’ll do fine.”

Noah, skating past, mutters just loud enough for me to hear: “No pressure, obviously. Just your entire future on the line.”

I exhale slowly, steadying my grip on the stick. Fear and adrenaline churn in my chest, but beneath it all is the fire. The same fire that kept me swinging on the rink back home, the same fire that refused to let the boys shove me out.

Dominic wants me gone. The team wants me gone. Even the coach is waiting for me to fail.

Good.

Let them watch me prove every single one of them wrong.

~~

That night, as I collapse into bed, exhaustion pulling at my limbs, the day replays in my head. The whispers, the stares, Dominic’s words, Caleb’s grin and Noah’s relentless sarcasm.

It doesn’t matter.

Tomorrow, the scrimmage will decide everything and I swear on every bruise, every scar, every drop of sweat I’ve ever shed on the ice that Dominic Vance will regret underestimating me.