#even before he got involved in the loop he shoved zach out of the way of a beam that would've speared zach through the head

[mage-witha-glock]

Zach when his cover for his house getting attacked was that he wasn't at home because he was out partying, when in reality he was there and got hit so bad he probably would've died if not for his friend who somehow always manages to be able to swoop in and save his ass

[brokensmilefanfiction]

Chapter Five

After that phone call, my relationship with Kit changed. There was something deeper about it, something serious. Sure we still had light hearted and funny conversations and more often than not, Kit was laughing.

But I found myself thinking about him in a different way.

I couldn’t believe that he thought I was beautiful. But Kit, he was beautiful. Not just for his looks but, for he was. I liked that I could talk to him, I liked that he made me think about things in a different way, a deeper way. I liked him.

I wasn’t willing to examine the depth of those feelings just yet.

But to say I was excited to see the back of that horrid tour bus and get on the plane to head Belfast was an understatement. I felt strangely nervous to be meeting Kit at the airport. I actually felt like a little girl, giddy with excitement.

When I came out of the terminal, he was there, standing with his hands in his pockets, the sun streaming in from the window behind him.

I had to admit it, he looked handsome. His black shirt was tight and showed off his muscled chest. I had no idea that he liked to wear such tight clothing. Had he gotten hotter since I saw him last?

To be fair, the last time I had seen him, he had been vomiting into a toilet.

He smiled when he saw me and raised his hand in a wave.

I smiled and quickened my step, dragging my suitcase behind me. My scarf that bunched around my neck, bounced with my steps I was so eager to get to him. He opened his arms and I let go of the handle of my suitcase and wrapped my arms around his middle in a hug.

It sound cliché and I hated even thinking it, but something about being in his arms felt right.

But before I could let myself dissolve into a puddle of romantic movie muchness, I pulled back to look at him, smiling widely, “How have you been?”

“Good. Good.” He assured me, “How was your flight?”

“Bigger than a tour bus, so I’m happy.” I grinned.

“You got any other luggage?” he asked as he went to take my suitcase handle.

“Yes sadly, this is just my carry on.” I sighed.

“What’s in here?” he asked curiously as we walked through the airport.

“My monkey.” I grinned.

“Why did you make that sound dirty?” he laughed.

Going to the baggage claim, I suddenly had an idea as I handed Kit my phone, “Do me a favour?”

“What?”

“Film what I’m about to do? It’s for the vlog.” I smiled.

“Why do I feel like I’m about to be an accessory to a crime?” he asked.

“It’s only a crime if you get caught.” I grinned as I backed away from him.

He simply smiled and shook his head.

Going to the shoot of the baggage claim, I waited until my black suitcase covered in monkey stickers came out before I climbed on top of it. I could see Kit and half of the other people waiting for their bags laughing as I effectively rode my case along the conveyer belt.

Once I got to the end, I dismounted and took a bow while the patrons by the belt cheered. I then walked back over to Kit, dragging my suitcase behind me as he pointed my phone at me.

“Did you get it?” I asked.

“Yep.” He smiled as he handed my phone back to me, “You’re crazy.”

“To quote a friend of mine, I’m not crazy, my mother had me tested.” I grinned.

He laughed and then, to my surprise, he linked his arm through mine and we walked through the airport together. I didn’t say anything about our entwined arms but as we got to the exit, I noticed there were quite a few paparazzi waiting for us.

I hadn’t had much interactions with paparazzi before. But I knew they were all about speculation, so I expected Kit to step away from me, to not give them any ammunition to say the two of us were dating or anything, but he didn’t.

We walked through that paparazzi gauntlet arm in arm, suitcases trailing behind us.

                                                         …

The Lyric Theatre in Belfast had a seating capacity of five-hundred and twenty people. For the last forty days I had been performing in little one-hundred seat theatres. So it was a nice change to be playing big rooms again.

It was obviously not the biggest show I had played, that was reserved for the comedy festivals I had done to sell-out crowds of two-thousand. Not to mention the Emmy’s which had been televised.

But it was one of the most expensive shows I had ever played, each seat went for a minimum of a hundred and fifty pounds! I didn’t bother working out what that would be in Australian dollars.

Apart from the Game of Thrones cast, which involved Kit, Maisie and Sophie, there was also Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Alfie Allen, John Bradley and Gwendoline Christie, there was going to be a few comedians performing.

There was me, Andy Samberg, Zach Braff and Jack Whitehall.

Ed Sheeran would be performing a few songs as well.

It was all for charity and it looked like it was going to be a good night.

After getting me from the airport, we didn’t even have time to go to the hotel so I could dump my suitcases, we had to go straight to the theatre where we had to go through some tech rehearsals for the show that night.

Going into the theatre, Kit introduced me to everyone, I already knew Maisie, Sophie, Andy and Jack but I was pleased to meet everyone else and Zach Braff.

“I’m a huge Scrubs fan.” I smiled as I shook his hand.

“Thanks. I loved your bit at the Emmys.” He said.

“Thanks.” I smiled.

I then went and sat down in the front row next to Kit while we watched everyone go through the technical rehearsals of their skits.

When Kit got on stage I was surprised to see there was a band setting up.

“Well this isn’t nerve wracking at all.” He said as he stepped up to the microphone stand, “About to try and do some comedy in front of comedians. Fantastic.” He grumbled.

I thought, for none of them being really trained in comedy, that all of the Game of Thrones cast was doing quite well. I had laughed at several acts. But all of them seemed to be intimidated by myself, Jack, Andy and Zach. Which I couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t like we were going to judge them if they weren’t funny, if anything we were going to be far more supportive because we knew how hard it was to get a laugh.

I even gave Maisie and Sophie some pointers when they asked for it. Gwendoline and Peter however were absolute naturals up there and I thoroughly enjoyed their acts.  

I was more than a little surprised that Kit was going to be doing a musical number, “Can he sing?” I asked Andy.

“No.” he replied.

I grinned, this was going to be funny.

The music started and it actually took me until he started singing to recognize the song, “Wildling… You make my heart sing. You pull your bow string...”

I cackled with laughter, clapping my hands in amusement. He wasn’t a bad singer, but he definitely wasn’t a good one.  

“And shoot me… Wildling, I think I love you…”

I could see Kit was nervous, he was staring out into the crowd, but he wasn’t moving around, he wasn’t selling the song. Even though he was still funny, if he performed it as though he was serious that would have really worked in selling it.

“But I wanna know for sure… I want to take you into that cave and kiss you... down there.”

I giggled, before I turned to Andy, “This is pretty good.”

“Yeah, too bad she broke his heart.” He said seriously.

“Who did?”

“Rose. The Wildling.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Kit and I had briefly touched on the topic of his ex-girlfriend and I knew that it was something that had caused him a bit of pain. But talking about it now, given the way I was feeling about him, felt weird.

“I think he’s getting over her now though.” Commented Andy.

“What makes you say that?” I asked, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them.

“He’s happier now. Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time.” He said before he nudged me, “I think that’s because of you.” He said quietly.

“Me?” I asked in confusion.

“Yeah. You make him laugh. It’s good for him.” He said seriously.

“Well I’m happy to be there for him. He’s a great guy.” I said just as seriously.

“Yeah! Wildling...” he sung.

We cheered as he took his bow.

“Alright Bridgette! Can we get you up there?” called a voice over the public announcement system.

“Yeah.” I said as I hauled myself out of my seat and went over to my smaller suitcase that had been my carry on which housed my puppet.

Grabbing my handbag, I headed up onto the stage.

It was sad to say that I actually found in more nerve racking to perform for an audience of ten then I did for an audience of ten thousand. These just weren’t any people they were all professional entertainers, actors and worst of all other comedians. They were my peers, not that I thought I was even remotely on the same level as them and I knew they would judge me harshly.

“Alright,” I breathed into the microphone as it made that horrible crackling sound, “So I suppose I should just cut the crap and get the monkey out.” I said speaking out loud.

“Yes!” called Jack enthusiastically from the audience.

“Ok,” I said as I shoved my hand into my handbag, supporting the bottom of it with my lower hand, “Alright Monk, out on one, two, three,” I began. I don’t know why I was counting down, it made no difference but it did help to prepare myself.

Out popped the monkey’s head from the bag, “Hello!” he greeted.

Everyone in the audience cheered.

“Alright, get rid of the bag.” I said, speaking out loud.

Normally I would just take my hand away from the bottom of the handbag and let it fall but for some reason when I did that this time, it didn’t fall. Both Monk and myself looked down to see what the problem was and I realized in my haste to have Monk out on stage to distract the attention from me, I had shoved my hand through one of the bag loops and it was now stuck on my wrist.

“Oh dear, you’ll have to go through.” I said as I grabbed the bag strap and began to slide it over Monk’s head.

“Sort it out bitch.” He commented dryly.

The guys in the audience laughed as the bag fell to the ground.

“There’s no going back now.” He commented.

“No, there’s no going back.” I agreed as I tried to stare out at the vast amounts of empty seats in the auditorium and not the ten occupied seats in the front row.

“What’s that thing in front of us?” asked Monk.

“That’s my microphone.” I replied.

“Where’s mine?” he asked.

“You haven’t got one.” I told him.

“Well that screws up the illusion.” He commented.

The boys in the audience cackled with laughter.

“You don’t need one, you can talk into mine.” I told him.

He leaned forward and spoke with his mouth next to the microphone, “testing, testing, one, two, three.” He said before he leaned back and spoke away from the microphone, “testing, testing, one, two, three. It makes no fucking difference!”

They laughed.

“Monk! This is going on television. You can’t swear.” I chastised.

“They can beep me.” He said.

“They can’t beep you.” I sighed “Come on,” I said addressing the audience, “I wanted to start by saying that most ventriloquist-”

“Are dead.” Interrupted Monk.

“Not dead.” I scolded.

“Or at least lonely.” He added.

“No, most ventriloquist-”

“Can’t afford to feed their kids.” He interrupted again.

“Monk, shut up. No, most of them-”

“Die on cruise ships.” He butted in.

“Monk!” I sighed in apparent defeat as the boys laughed, “Am I going to get to the end of my sentence or are you going to keep interrupting me?”

“How would you not know that Bridgette?” he asked pointedly.

They laughed again.

“Ok, fine. But can you not deconstruct our act all the time?” I asked.

“What, you think they think you’re talking to a real monkey?” he asked.

They laughed harder.

“She’s in denial.” Said Monk.

“That’s not true.” I countered.

“She’s getting therapy. From me.” He added.

I shook my head, “So what do you want to do? Do you want to tell a joke?”

“Go on then.” He encouraged.

“Why did the monkey cross the road?” I asked.

“Because he saw you standing behind him, rolling up your sleeve.” He replied.

They burst out laughing once more.

“I hate my life.” Commented Monk, “My vicarious life.”

“You hate it?” I asked.

“Yes. I don’t even have my own problems I have yours.” He said.

They giggled.

“I can’t sleep at night I’m so worried about her student loan.” He said as he looked down, “what’s that?” he asked.

“What’s what?”

“I’ve got a tag.” He declared.

“Yeah you do. Just ignore it.” I said.

“It says ‘made in china.’” He read aloud before he turned back to me, “and yet I sound like Sean Connery.”

Everyone laughed and I could see some of them were getting quite red in the face from laughter.

“I think he’s my dad.” Said Monk.

“How could Sean Connery be your dad?” I asked.

“I don’t know, maybe he got sexy with an oven mitten.” He replied.

The boys laughed and I couldn’t help but laugh in relief when I realized that I wasn’t dying up here and that they actually found me funny.

“Look at you, standing there laughing at your own jokes.” Commented Monk.

Everyone laughed harder just as a voice came over the P.A system.

“Alright Bridgette, that’s all we needed. Thank you.” They said.

“Oh, ok.” I said, a little surprised that my sound check had finished so quickly.

The boys clapped, the sound echoing around the empty hall as I did a small curtsey, far too relieved that my time was over before I turned, grabbed my handbag off the ground and placed Monk back inside.

                                                       …

I was in the dressing room that I was sharing with Emilia and Gwen. I’d finished getting dressed for the show, I was wearing one of my nicer pairs of jeans with a royal blue top and a yellow jacket; with matching dark blue heels and earrings. I was just beginning to put my make-up on for the show when there was a polite knock at the door.

“Come in!” I called.

Kit popped his head inside and looked around before he spotted me and smiled, “Hey.”

“Hey.” I smiled.

Slipping inside he shut the door behind him, “You look nice.” He commented.

“Yeah I bet your outfit cost more than mine.” I teased as I stared at his reflection in the mirror.

“You nervous about tonight?” he asked as he leaned against the dressing table, his arms folded across his chest as he stared down at me intently.

“No. I’m an old pro at this kind of thing.” I dismissed as I ran my make-up brush over my nose.

Kit nodded, pursing his lips seriously as he looked down at the ground. I may not have been nervous, but I could tell he was.

“You’ll do great.” I told him seriously, “You love live theatre. This isn’t anything different.” I soothed.

“Yeah, I just didn’t really think I was funny. And this is for charity so I want to make it good.” He said turning to look at me, “Got any pointers?”

I hesitated before I answered, on the one hand he had asked for my advice, but on the other hand, if I was to tell him how to improve his act, it might undermine his confidence and I didn’t want to do that.

“The song is great. It’s funny and people will laugh for sure.” I assured him, “But I think if you really get into it, you pretend you’re a rock star and throw some Mick Jagger moves in there you’ll take it to the next level.” I told him.

He nodded, seeming thoughtful as he absorbed the information, “Thanks Bridge.”

I shrugged, “Don’t mention it.”

                                                           …

The night was a huge success! I wasn’t sure how much money we made exactly for the Red Nose Foundation but it was close to eighty grand. With that success in mind we all decided to head out to a bar and celebrate, Ed Sheeran, the musical guest for the night decided to join us while Peter, Gwendoline and Emilia went home.

If it wasn’t for Sophie and Maisie I would have been the only girl hanging out with all the boys.

A round of shots was ordered and we all clinked glasses in celebration.

“Pace yourself. Remember last time?” I grinned as Kit placed his empty shot down on the bar.

“Yes, thank you so much for reminding me.” He said, rolling his eyes, “That’s not embarrassing at all.”

I giggled in amusement, “Seriously though, you were great tonight. You sang that song like you owned it! Twirling the microphone and stuff, it was great.”

“Well thank you.” He smiled.

“Kit! You on for a game of pool?” asked Alfie Allen from over at the pool table.

“Yeah!” he called before he turned to me, “Want to play doubles?”

“I can’t play for shit. But I’ll come and commentate.” I smiled.

Heading over to the pool table it was decided that Kit and Alfie would verse Ed and Andy while everyone else sat around drinking and talking.

“Bridge I have to ask; how do you do that monkey voice without moving your lips?” asked John Bradley curiously.

“It’s all about muscle control and practice. You have to just go against your instincts and situate your voice more in your mouth rather than in your lips.” I told him.

“Wow. That’s so interesting.” He said.

“You should try it. It makes you an excellent kisser.” I grinned.

He burst out laughing.

“If only I was lesbian. I’d be drowning in booty.” I joked.

He laughed harder, as did Alfie, Maisie, Zach and Sophie, who were within ear shot.

“Hey Kit! This one’s a keeper!” called John.

I turned to Kit and waited for him to correct him, to tell him I was not a keeper because I wasn’t a girlfriend but he didn’t. He simply smiled and leaned down to take a shot on the table.

“How’d you come up with the character of the monkey?” asked Zach.

“Well people think monkey’s should have like a high and squeaky voice and I just wanted to do the exact opposite. I wanted this cute little puppet to just be really dark and sarcastic.” I explained.

“That’s so cool.” Commented Maisie.

The rest of the night was great. We ended up having a girl versus boy’s competition in pool. Then Comedian’s versus actors. Then Starks versus everyone else. We basically didn’t leave the pool table the whole night. It was great.

But the bar shut at three in the morning so we all headed back to our hotels. Kit and I were staying on the same floor so he walked me to my door.

“So what’s next for you?” he asked curiously.

“Well I’m flying back to London tomorrow to meet up with some movie executives to discuss the promotional stuff for the movie, which comes out at the end of the month, so two weeks from now… god where did the time go?” I asked, marvelling a little at how crazy my schedule was about to get, “Then after the movie I’m going to be playing in pubs around London for a month. Try and branch out to the UK audiences.”

“Sounds pretty hectic.” He commented.

“Yeah, but I like to keep busy.” I told him, “I’m just nervous about the movie coming out. I didn’t realize how close it was.” I said honestly.

“Hey,” he said, hooking his hand around my arm and pulling me to stop so I looked at him, “It’s going to be fine. Your movie is going to be great. You’re going to be great. Don’t worry about it.” He said.

I let loose a long breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding before I stepped forward and leaned my head against his chest. I needed to hear that. I needed to hear that this large gamble in my career would pay off and not crash and burn like I was so sure it would.

He wrapped an arm around me and rubbed my back soothingly.

Sighing I pulled back, staring at the floor, “I guess I should head to bed.” I announced before I looked up at him.

He was looking down at me with a strange look in his eye. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought his gaze flicked down to my lips. Was he thinking about kissing me? No! Of course not! We were friends. If he was thinking about kissing me, it was because he had more to drink than I realized.

Even so, the air between us crackled with tension. I felt as if there was some magnetic force pulling us together. Right in the centre of my chest, it was like I was drawn to him. Every time the thought of moving away cross my mind, the force of the pull intensified.

There was nothing for it. I would have to get closer to him. But I could be sneaky about it. Stepping closer, I placed my hand on his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek. That was innocent enough, something that friends did all the time. Even though I was positive that what I was feeling for Kit was not in the realm of ‘friendship’ anymore.

As I pressed my lips to the skin of his cheek, his facial hair tickling me, I felt him turn his head as his lips brushed the side of my face.

The pull from before had suddenly become internal and I felt as if my stomach was in knots that were clenching so tightly it was almost painful. Unable to take the proximity to him and the feeling in my stomach I pulled away and took an automatic step back.

I locked eyes with him and saw his brow was creased with confusion.

“Well, bye!” I said, far too loudly before I turned on my heel and practically fled to my room.

Closing the door, I leaned against it and released a long breath; that was close. Too close.

I’d barely been around Kit for twelve hours and I was already getting silly notions in my head that I could kiss him? I’d obviously confused our intimacy over the phone for a physical intimacy. Which there wasn’t.

Obviously.

[werenzki]

Zach Werenski #4

Anonymous said: If you don’t mind me asking, could you write a zach werenski imagine where you meet his team but you play for the Boston pride!? Thanks :))

A/N: so i went a little off what you asked for, but i hope you liked it :) but honestly I'll probably end up writing another part to this, which goes more along the lines of the request sorry haha

Word Count: 2,163

“Biosteel has finally got it’s head out of it’s ass, hey?” You smirked while tightening your skate and looping around till it was tied up just how you liked it. Being the first woman spokesperson for the company felt good, really good, but there was no doubt it was a little lonely in the dressing room. 

“This is a big deal, don’t go screwing it up with your smart mouth now,” your manager said as you stood up and turned to grab your team USA jersey. Even though the rest of the guys out there would be wearing their team jerseys, Biosteel and your manager agreed wearing your team USA jersey looked better - despite that fact your team, the Boston Pride, had won a damn cup this past season. 

“Don’t worry,” you said, “I’ll behave,” a smirk was on your lips while you grabbed ahold of your stick and walked out of the lonely dressing room. 

Just as you rounded the corner, you were met with the three other hockey players that would be joining you on the ice for the many videos and such being filmed today. 

Tyler Seguin was an old friend, you had tweeted a few times back in the day and ended up playing some pong hockey together during a break. Connor McDavid was the talk of the town, or the company, and you knew you were going to have some fun putting the new golden boy to work. Then there was the other newbie, Zach Werenski. You had heard some things about his first season in the NHL, he had sparked your interests the most - not just because how cute he was. You knew the rest of the Biosteel athletes were in the stands, getting to sit back and watch you four skate your asses off for the next few hours. 

“Hey,” Tyler smiled while bring your in for a hug. 

“Long time no see, Ty,” you said while pushing your hair back behind your shoulder. 

“Gotta have a pond hockey date sometime soon,” he winked and you straight up laughed at him. 

“Not a date,” you repeated the three words you had said several times in the past year since you hung out. Tyler smirked and you then turned your attention to the other two boys. They were closer to your age than Tyler was, but you had been playing in the NWHL longer than they had been in the NHL. Being drafted early had a perk - bragging right actually. 

“It’s nice to finally meet the golden boy,” you said while smiling at McDavid. 

“I could say the same to you,” he nodded, “but golden girl, I guess,” he seemed flustered while quickly fixing his mistake. You chuckled and shrugged one shoulder. You suppose that’s what the comparison was, as if NHL and NWHL players ever got compared much. 

“And you’re the other newbie,” you said while turning to Zach Werenski. He nodded and smiled, you were quick to notice the faint pink scar under his left eye. His last playoff game was one of the few Columbus games you watched. 

“Zach,” he introduced himself. 

“Y/N,” you smiled. As you stared at him longer, you realized just how cute he was - scar and all. 

Suddenly the director of Biosteel’s videos and the manager of the whole ordeal walked up. They first stated that cameras were on us the whole time, and that if audio was inappropriate in any way that it’d be cut out. You were thankfully simply for the banter between you and Tyler. And for the awkward smiley introduction between you and Zach.  After getting us four on the ice, they went through the first video run-through. It’d be Connor doing some shootout styled shots. 

You stood back and watched as Connor was off to his start at the blue line. You leaned back against the board, watching as Connor came to a shot and took a slapshot at the goaltender. You chuckled and he reset himself. Zach skated up beside you, leaning against the boards as well. 

“Congrats on the gold medal,” he said. You smiled and went to thank him, but he spoke up again. “And the cup, pretty big year for you hey?” 

You furrowed your brows together and turned towards him. “Keeping tabs on me or something, Werenski?” You asked in a teasing tone. 

Zach licked his lips and then looked off to where Connor was dangling the puck before sliding it past the goaltender again. Zach then shrugged his shoulders, “I follow you on Instagram,” he stated. 

“You do?” 

“Yeah,”

“Shit,” you murmured, “I’ll have to give you a follow back then,” 

“I mean, if you want,” he shrugged again. You looked off to where Tyler was standing, just a few feet away, he had his arms crossed and was watching Connor but his head was turned just a bit - he was listening. Prick. 

“Saw that last game of yours,” you said to Zach. “Played good, but maybe don’t block any more shots with that pretty face of yours,” you smirked and Zach chuckled and gave you a smug look in return. 

“Y/N,” you were being called by the director. You smiled at Zach, then skated off - while passing Tyler he was smirking at you, which you returned by giving him the finger. Your manager wasn’t going to be happy about that in the line of the camera. Oh well. 

“Yeah,” you said while coming to a stop beside the Biosteel people.

“First, drink this and ignore the camera,” the director passed you a bottle of that had ‘#DrinkThePink’ on the side. You shrugged and brought it to your lips, taking a few sips and ignored the fact the camera was getting at all angles before passing it back to the director. 

“Now what?”

“Zach!” With his name being called, you peered over to see all three of the guys were conversing - something made you feel as though it was about you. Zach quickly skated over and came to a stop beside you. 

“You’re going to play a sort of one-on-one, goaltender still in net, and Zach playing defence. Play your tricks,” the director smiled. 

“My tricks hey?” You questioned and raised a brow. 

“You know what I’m saying,” he waved you two off and you went to where the puck was resting at the centre line. Zach skated till he was by the blue line and then turned around. 

Giving him a smirk, your stick touched the puck and then you were flying down the ice before he could even give you a smile in return. He was good, you’d give him that much, but you rounded the net and slid the puck just before the goaltender could block it out. The red light went off and you heard cheers - you hair flew past you as you looked up at the stands full of other athletes. You gave them a wave and then went back to the centre line. 

This time you played withe the puck a little, even lifting it up into the air and bouncing it off your stick, you caught Zach standing there but then he was making a move towards you. You quickly let the puck fall back to the ice and let him get close enough to think he was going to get the puck away from you, but then you made the slick move and were past him in a flash. The red light went off again as Zach was catching up behind you, poking his stick between your skates and the goaltender wasn’t fast enough with his glove. 

“Two for two,” you smiled at Zach as you skated past. 

“It’s all for show,” 

“Then don’t go easy on me this time,” you held back the hint of anger in your voice and smiled. Zach chuckled and set his lips into a smirk as you got ahold of another puck. 

You skated forward, slowly as first, but then picked up speed. Zach began to skate backwards, then he was on you and batting at your stick in hopes to get the puck out of your possession. He chuckled and got closer into you, then you were laughing as well and did a sudden flip on him. He was so thrown off by your tricks that he was left standing still in the face-off circle while you took a wrist shot. 

“Was that you actually trying, Werenski?” You said loudly while skating around him. Your remark earned some chuckled from Connor and Tyler who were sitting on the players bench.

“One more shot,” he stated as you got to the red line again. 

You bent at your knees and played with the puck, thinking of what tricks you were going to go with this time. You decided to go through the defence, then try to stuff it into the net. You plan was going well, till Zach decided to actually no longer go easy on you. He shoved into you just a little too hard and you lost your footing as you poked the puck into the neck.

The red light was going off, but you didn’t see it as you were falling down. Your immediate thought was the fact you weren’t wearing a helmet. Then you felt a hand around the back of your head as you got tangled up into Zach’s body. You held your breath and waited for the impact of the boards, already shaking off the rough hit involving Zach’s body and the net coming off.

But the impact against the boards never happened, instead Zach let his legs slam into the boards and held you into him so only your right shoulders bumped lightly. You let out a deep breath and opened your eyes, no longer bracing for impact. Looking to your right you were met with the brown wide eyes of Zach’s. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, worry laced in each word. 

“Yeah,” you breathed. 

Suddenly you heard the hard stop of skates and Connor and Tyler were beside the two of you. The goaltender wasn’t far behind, same with many set people and even a trainer that you knew was here for emergencies. You chuckled and held out a hand. Tyler shook his head but grabbed onto it, lifting you up with ease while you brushed yourself off afterwards. 

“Maybe don’t use that shot,” you said to the director. He chuckled but then started to insist on getting checked out by the trainer. 

“I’m alright,” Zach muttered to the trainer as the three of you went towards the players bench. The director was getting Tyler and Connor set for their next shot. You took a seat and shoved off your gloves, letting them drop to the ground, then brushed your hair out of your face and held it up to put into a ponytail - only to drop it again knowing that it looked better down. 

“I’m sorry,” Zach said as he took the seat beside you. Seemed he had brushed off the worried trainer. 

You shook your head and smiled, “honestly, it’s fine,” 

“I shouldn’t have been so rough-”

“Why? Cause I’m a girl?” You cut him off. 

Zach furrowed his brows and then quickly shook his head, clearing seeing how touchy of a topic being a female hockey player among male players was for you. “No, not at all, it’s just it’s not the ideal situation to be so tough. No helmets and all that,” he explained while pointing to his head. 

You nodded, “right,” you paused and rolled your lips into your mouth. A sudden wave of nerves came over you, your stomach doing those lame flips as Zach stared at you. “Well, thank you, for holding my head before I could hit the ice,” 

“You’re welcome,” he smiled. 

There was the urge inside of you. You wanted to see more of this stupid Blue Jacket outside of this Biosteel crap. Running a hand through your hair, you took a deep breath and then exhaled through your nose. Zach was still watching you, which was only making you more nervous. But you were all about taking chances. Anyone on the Boston Pride team could vouch for that.

“Did you want you, I dunno, go for drinks or something after all this?” You asked. 

“Yeah,” Zach nodded and then smiled at you. Your lips tugged upwards and mirrored his smile. “I’d love to,” he added. 

“Maybe you’ll get that follow back on Instagram too,” you joked. Zach chuckled and then looked up to where Tyler and Connor were doing some sort of accuracy shooting drill. 

“If I’m lucky hey?” 

“Feeling lucky, Werenski?” You teased. Zach then turned his attention back to you and gave you a lopsided smile. 

“I mean, a very pretty girl did just ask me out to drinks,” he stated, making a blush creep onto your cheeks, “so yeah, I’m feeling quite lucky today,”