Chapter 39: The Safety Net

Aveline’s POV

Practice had ended almost thirty minutes ago, yet I was still on the ice.

The rink felt completely different when it was empty. No screaming teammates. No whistles. No music blasting through the speakers. Just the sound of skates scraping lightly against the ice and the occasional echo of hockey pucks slamming against the far wall.

Maybe that was why I stayed. Everything in my life had become too loud lately. Theo’s anger. Daphne’s concern. Kieran somehow became the one person I thought about even when I absolutely should not. My brain felt like a crowded room I couldn’t escape from.

So I stayed behind in the mascot suit pretending practice was the reason. The oversized costume made movement awkward. The giant padded feet kept catching against the ice while the heavy mascot head trapped heat against my skin. I could barely see properly through the mesh eyes, but at least nobody was around to witness how ridiculous I looked.

I gripped a hockey stick loosely and nudged a puck forward across the empty rink.

“Pathetic,” I muttered to myself after missing the tiny practice goal completely.

The mascot suit shifted awkwardly when I tried turning too quickly. My skate blade clipped the edge of the ice.

Then suddenly I lost balance completely.

“Shit" My feet slid out beneath me violently.

I crashed hard into the boards, shoulder-first, before collapsing awkwardly onto the ice. Pain shot through my hip instantly while the bulky mascot suit twisted beneath me, making it nearly impossible to sit up properly.

“Oh my God,” I groaned.

The giant mascot head shifted sideways from the impact, pressing awkwardly against my neck. My breathing became uneven immediately. I tried pushing myself upright but the heavy padding only made things worse.

I was about to die dressed as a giant wolf. Before panic could properly settle in, fast skates cut sharply across the ice toward me.

“Ash?”

Kieran, He must have stayed behind after practice because he was still in partial gear, hockey gloves hanging loosely from one hand while his stick clattered against the ice beside him.

The second he reached me, his expression changed to concern.

“You okay?” he asked quickly, already kneeling beside me.

“I’m never wearing this thing again,” I complained breathlessly.

That seemed to reassure him slightly because a faint laugh escaped his mouth.

“Yeah, you look miserable.”

“ That's not Helpful.”

“Hold still.” He reached forward carefully and lifted the oversized mascot head off me.

Cold air hit my face instantly.

I inhaled deeply while Kieran steadied the heavy head beside him. “You good ?”

“Barely.”

He stood first before grabbing both my hands and pulling me upward effortlessly. The mascot suit made balancing difficult so the second I nearly slipped again, Kieran’s hands instinctively landed on my waist.

He kept them there longer than necessary while making sure I stayed balanced.

“Careful there, Ash,” he said quietly, looking down at me. “Can’t have our lucky charm breaking a leg before the big game.”

Something softer settled awkwardly inside my chest.

“I think the mascot deserves hazard pay,” I muttered.

Kieran laughed properly that time. Not the cocky smirk he gave everybody else. An actual laugh.

We stayed standing there for a few seconds longer than normal people probably should have. The empty rink suddenly felt smaller. Quieter. His hands were still resting lightly against my waist.

Then realisation hit both of us at the same time. Kieran stepped back first then he left.

The next morning, Theo cornered me outside the student lounge before first period even started. He looked awful. His shoulders were tense while dark circles sat beneath his eyes like he barely slept at all.

“Ash,” he called quickly when he saw me.

I slowed immediately.

Theo rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before stepping in front of me. “Hey… I need to say sorry for crashing out the way I did.”

I blinked slightly.

“I was being an idiot,” he continued quietly. “I let my temper get the best of me because when people play with your innocence I just…” He stopped himself, exhaling heavily. “I really missed my best friend.”

The guilt in his expression hit me harder than expected.

Because Theo had always been there. Even when he annoyed me, overreact or even acted weirdly protective lately.

“There’s nothing wrong with caring, Theo,” I said honestly.

Relief crossed his face so fast it almost hurt to look at. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Theo smiled weakly before pulling me into a tight hug.

Maybe that was why I didn’t notice how temporary the feeling actually was.

Later that afternoon, Daphne, Theo and I were sitting inside one of the empty classrooms near the arts wing while I tried repairing a torn seam on the mascot suit’s shoulder.

The giant costume was spread across two desks looking completely ridiculous while Theo held the ripped fabric carefully in place.

“You are genuinely terrible at sewing,” he informed me.

“I’m trying my best.”

“Your best aren't enough so it seems.”

Daphne snorted softly from beside us while scrolling through her phone.

The atmosphere felt lighter than it had in days. Theo looked relaxed again. Comfortable. Like apologising had fixed everything between us. Maybe part of him believed things were finally going back to normal.

Then the classroom door opened, Kieran walked in And everything shifted immediately. He had clearly just finished practice because his black Crestwood hoodie sleeves were shoved carelessly to his elbows while damp hair fell messily across his forehead. A dark athletic bag hung from one shoulder.

Theo stiffened instantly beside me.

Kieran either didn’t notice or simply didn’t care. He walked straight toward our desk without hesitation.

“I found this,” he said casually, dropping a professional repair kit onto the table.

I blinked down at it.

Heavy-duty nylon thread, industrial sports fabric adhesive, and equipment repair needles.

“Coach said you needed a stronger thread for the mascot suit,” Kieran explained.

Then he leaned slightly over my shoulder to inspect the torn seam himself. The sudden closeness made my stomach flip annoyingly.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “That tear’s worse than I thought.”

I looked up at him automatically, smiling before I could stop myself. “Thanks, man. You’re a lifesaver.”

The words came out easily. Like I wasn’t forcing distance between us anymore.

Across the desk, Theo’s hands froze completely against the fabric. The shift happened so subtly that most people wouldn’t notice it.

Theo looked between us quietly. I think Theo finally understood something neither of us had been willing to admit out loud.

Things had changed, maybe permanently. Because no matter how much Theo apologised, no matter how badly he wanted things to return to how they used to be, there was now someone else standing in spaces that once belonged only to him.