#cheersing with the beer bottle mid-match

[homoeroticgrappling]

Clips of Orange Cassidy & Willow Nightingale VS Mr Frog & Rachel via AdultSwim's instagram stories at SDCC on 25/07/24

[rosecolouredash]

Star-crossed; Hockey!Calum

Pairing: Hockey!Calum x fem!OC

Summary: It was just his luck that he found her pretty.

Warnings: Minor language, sports-related violence

Notes: So this is the third Hockey!Calum one shot I’ve posted in a row (the fourth, if you count Hockey!Cashton…) I DON’T KNOW WHO I AM. Ehhm. ANYWAYS thank you to the amazing @casht0n-hoodwin for sending me this blurb idea. As you can see Mak, I kinda ran with it and I might keep running with it for a lil while longer… Also, I tried something new and wrote this in the third person and with OCs! Let me know what you think. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy! It was nice to get back into some writing again.

Calum watched, slightly bleary eyed, as his captain ordered another round of shots. The group of college boys occupying the local bar started their night out thinking they’d have a casual drink with the team. Each boy was at least three drinks in, at this point.

The dark-haired boy laughed as he took the small glass that was offered to him by a fellow defensemen. After cheersing the teammates closest to him, Calum tapped the bottom of the glass on the bar before he brought it up to his lips and downed the shot in an instant - the liquor coating his throat with a somewhat pleasant burn.

The Timberwolves hockey team celebrated their recent win at regionals. They were now headed into the national championship.

“All right, lads. Try not to stay out late tonight,” Ashton started, using a tone of voice the team was familiar with during practice. “We have an early practice tomorrow and then our semi-final game against the Grizzlies on Saturday night.”

The team had less than a week to prepare for one of the most important games of their college hockey careers.

The Grizzlies were a relatively unknown team from the town over that qualified for nationals this year.

Their success was largely due to their captain, Blake Weaver, a rising forward who currently held the college league’s record of most goals in a single season. Their dark horse status left the Timberwolves apprehensive, especially their captain. Ashton was adamant on being ready to play against them.

Michael lifted his beer bottle to the team. “Here’s to a successful bear hunt, this weekend. Eh, boys?”

Howls of laughter filled the space.

As he took a moment to gaze around the small bar, Calum caught eyes with a pretty blonde who offered him a sweet smile.

He finished one more drink before declaring that he was headed out. Bidding farewell to his family of a team, some with much difficulty - Luke almost convinced him to stay - he left the crowded bar.

The late-evening air was cool on his skin.

Before he had the chance to begin walking back to his apartment, a couple of blocks away, the heavy door of the bar swung open again.

It was the blonde Calum had shared a smile with.

“Calling it a night, too?” He asked, kindly.

“Mm, something like that.” She grinned, her dimples becoming apparent. “The boys in there are getting a little rowdy.”

She continued to recount that as she left, a tall curly-haired boy had started double-fisting bottles of beer. Calum chuckled at the comment; confident that she was describing his best friend.

Falling into an easy-going conversation, Calum admired her eyes. They were a lighter shade of brown, unlike his own.

He learned that she was visiting town and that this particular dive bar was a recommendation. He listed other places to visit which she appreciated immensely. When she asked about dog-friendly spots, the dark-haired boy was elated to share the places in which he brought his little pup, Duke. At that point, he asked if she wanted to see pictures of him. He was halfway through pulling out his phone when she happily obliged; while sharing pictures of her own puppy.

Mid-way through their conversation, Calum realized he never properly introduced himself. As he gave his name, Ashton and Michael exited the bar with Luke - one of his arms draped over the two aforementioned boys.

“Cal, you’re still here?” Ashton questioned when he noticed that a girl was with him. She was shy of his height by a few inches.

Confused at the enquiry, Calum glanced at his phone, still out from sharing pictures of Duke and checked the time. He figured out that they were stood outside the bar talking for over an hour now.

Calum introduced his best friends, each of them giving her some form of greeting, safe for Luke who let out a small burp then giggled. His laugh was infectious and so she couldn’t help but join in.

They were telling her that they played on the college hockey team when a car pulled up to the curb of the bar.

“Oh! There’s my ride,” she apologized, cutting Michael off from his story from their last game. After wishing them goodnight, she got in and waved from the interior of the vehicle. She greeted the green-eyed boy in the driver’s seat who gave the foursome one last stare before speeding away.

“She was nice,” Luke hummed and then rested his head on Michael’s shoulder. “What’s her name?”

“Shit,” Calum realized she hadn’t said. Though, he did know her dog’s name was Rococo.

“That’s a nice name.”

Ashton snorted at Luke’s half-coherent response, rubbing his back. “Let’s get you home, mate.”

—

“That must be him.”

Calum looked over to the opposing team’s bench.

It was Saturday night and the semi-final game, between the Timberwolves and the Grizzlies, was about to begin. From his place on the ice, the defenseman watched as a tall fellow spoke to the Grizzlies head coach; WEAVER glaring from the back of his jersey in red fabric.

“You think you can take him, Cal?” The boy in blue looked over to his captain. It was decided that Calum would stay on Weaver; the entire game. He responded with a reassuring nod.

They got into their positions when the referee moved to center ice for the puck drop.

Ashton faced his opponent when a feeling of recognition washed over him. The Timberwolves’ captain raised his eyebrow at the boy. “Have we ever met before?”

Weaver stayed silent, his glare unnerving.

Michael let out a chuckle from his place on Ashton’s left. “Strong, silent type, huh?”

Their opponent shifted his gaze over to the left-winged player, “I let my actions on the ice speak for me.”

Before Michael could respond, the referee blew his whistle to signal the beginning of the game.

The puck went down and Ashton won the face-off. He quickly passed it to Luke, who then passed it up to Michael. Unfortunately, the left-wing had skated too far up on the ice and one of the Grizzlies got in-between to steal the puck.

Calum, who was about to cover Weaver, swore under his breath and fell back to play on the defensive.

It went back and forth like this between the two teams for a while.

At one point in the first period, the captain of the Grizzlies had possession of the puck.

This was Calum’s chance. He focused solely on the stitching of WEAVER on the back of the white jersey and went in for the hit. When Calum made contact, the defensemen could have sworn he heard a whimper when Weaver crashed into the boards and fell down onto the ice.

Before Weaver was hit, the puck was passed to a Grizzlies teammate that was off-side so the play was whistled down to a stop.

“Damn.” Calum heard from Weaver who was trying to get up from the ice. Feeling a little bad, the defensemen did the sportsmanly thing and offered a gloved hand. Before grabbing ahold of it, a voice cut through the ice, making them pull away from each other.

“Get away from my sister!”

“Sister?” Michael questioned, skating over to his best friend. He and Calum shared a confused look.

The boy who had called out, crouched down onto the ice and went to remove Weaver’s helmet. “You ok, Blake?”

“Woah, wait a minute…” Michael chimed in again but the rest of his sentence died out in his throat.

Underneath the headgear, blonde hair was revealed; bits of it falling out of a braided crown that wrapped around her head.

When Ashton too skated over, he realized why the guy he shared the face-off circle with seemed so familiar.

Luke was the last to join his teammates and best friends. Skating to a halt, he overlooked the scene and uttered the first words that came to his mind, “well fuck, there’s two of you?”

At that, Calum was broken out of his reverie. He locked eyes again with the pretty blonde they’d met a couple of nights ago at the bar.

She offered him a sheepish smile, her dimples matching those of her twin brother until he began to frown at the foursome. “It’s nice to see you boys again.”

Tagged: @irwinkitten @calpops @rosecoloredash @lilbabycalum @gorgeouslygrace @rainingcal @casht0n-hoodwin @lockthisheartinchains @americanhorrorstudies @lovableah