The game was brutal, and I found myself closing my eyes a lot. Kimi, however, was like a tiny barbarian, loving and cheering everytime someone got rammed into a wall. The guys were silent, focused, like they were studying everything that was happening. I guess I was kind of relieved by that. At least they took the game seriously. I noticed that a team consisted of only five players, and that you could not use your hockey stick as a weapon, but apparently you could use your fists. I've seen quite a few people land some great punches and each one made me grab my face like it was me they hit. Since they only wore shin guards, knee pads, and shoulder pads, their faces were left exposed. That made me a little uneasy when I thought of my new good-looking friends going in there next. "I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom," I told Kimi, when really I needed some fresh air away from all the violence. I'm starting to see why Lauren doesn't come to these things. I got up and started walking toward the exit, but it was really hard with all the people sitting down that refused to make room for me to leave. I started to step over the row of bleachers that I was sitting on to the one behind me because less people were filling them, but my foot got caught and I started to fall. Luckily, someone grabbed me by my arm, another hand on my waist, stopping my fall onto cold hard metal. "Thanks," I said before looking up. "Oh, uh, it's you." I quickly gathered myself and tried not to notice that his green eyes were still on me, along with his hands. Thankfully, he soon moved them into his jacket pockets, and the cold air replaced the warmth that once was there. "Where are you going?" Drew asked. "Bathroom," I said, glad we weren't talking about the major "clutz" moment I just had. "It's that way," he stated, pointing in the other direction. "Yeah, I know." But, I still went the direction I was originally going in. I'm sure I looked weird to him, but I didn't care. We already couldn't stand one another; what did it matter if he thought I was weird, too? I stayed outside as long as I could, taking it the fresh air that wasn't coated in blood and ice. I would have stayed longer, but I got a text from Riley calling me back in. I shook my head at his text, and just headed back inside. When their game began, I could feel my heart start racing. Even Kimi didn't seem as enthusiastic as before. "Riley's Rebels, step onto the ice!" the announcers bellowed. I watched as the five boys I was just sitting with skated forward, Riley going straight to the goal. He must be the goalie. It made sense since he was the tallest person on their team. The rest of the guys got in formation, two in the front and two in the middle. "Benson Brothers, step onto the ice!" I turned my head to the other side of the ring and watched a large set of triplets come out, followed by two older guys that looked related to them. It was obvious they were all brothers, even without their team name. Once the game started, Jayden was the first to gain possession of the puck, and he glided easily past the first triplet. He passed it back to Greg who passed it off to Levi right before getting slammed into a wall farthest from us. I knew it hurt, but he shook it off and got back into the action. My eyes darted to the opponents goal when I heard a loud buzzer go off and I saw that Jayden scored. The rest of the game went pretty much the same; the boys scored while taking minimal damage, and the other team kept getting stopped by Riley whenever they took a shot. Halfway through the game, one of the older brothers rammed into Levi, sending him over the wall, and making my heart freeze. Thankfully, he hopped back over and onto the ice and my heart felt at ease. "This is more intense than I remember, but at least he's alright" Kimi said, clearly relieved that Levi was okay. I think someone is smitten. "Sounds like someone has a-" "WATCH OUT!" I heard a man scream from behind me, causing me to stop mid-sentence. When I looked forward, my eyes focused on the black puck soaring right at my face. I felt them grow in size, and my whole body freezed in fear. You better brace for impact, Natalie, and prepare to have a very broken face. I shut my eyes and waited for the pain to hit me, but it never did; my face remained in tact, and it was not a bloody mess writhing in pain. I was just as pretty as before, and it was all because of the guy in front of me who jumped in the way of the stray puck. On the other side of the wall that offerred no barrier between the crowd and the ice was Drew freakin' Collins, and his bright green eyes were staring right into my hazel ones. "Are you okay?" he asked, wincing, probably because he just took a hockey puck to the back. When I managed to nod my frozen head, he rushed back into the game like nothing ever happened, and I was just sitting there, tongue-tied. "Natalie, do you know what just happened?!" Kimi asked, shaking me out of my nightmare; the one where the boogeyman wasn't the bad guy, but the hero. I looked at her, and I knew I probably looked like a deer in headlights. I couldn't form any words. One second a thick heavy puck was destined to collide with my face and the next it wasn't; all because of Drew. Why would he do that? And more importantly, HOW did he do that? "He pretty much saved you," Kimi stated, crossing her arms while looking back to the game. "Yeah, he did." The boys ended up winning the game. Those other guys were demolished. They only scored once. From the amount of cheering that the crowd did, I'd say that most of them bet on Riley's team. Kimi and I were waiting outside for the guys to come out, and it was pretty dark. I checked my phone and it was almost eleven at night. "We are going to be so tired tomorrow," I complained, thinking about the long drive back we still had left. "I don't know about you, but I'm taking a nap in the backseat," Kimi declared, a yawn forcing her face to scrunch up. When the guys finally came out, they were holding money in their hands. Guess that's all the reason they need to play this stupid and dangerous game. "Great job, guys," I said, smiling, even though I was still a little shaken up about what happened, or almost happened. "Thanks, HP. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be holding this stack of cash right now," Riley said, resting his arm on my shoulder while fanning himself with his earnings. "I told you I'm not a good luck charm." "I beg to differ," he argued, walking us over to his car. I snuck a glance over at Drew's jeep, which was now surrounded by a group of fan-girls. Drew was talking to them while Jayden waited in the passenger seat of his car. I probably should've thanked Drew, but I didn't. Instead, I got into Riley's Chevy Tahoe and waited for him to take me and Kimi home. After he announced that he was leaving to his friends, Riley got in and drove back to LHHS so Kimi could drive her car back home. "Thanks for the invite, Natalie. I even got Levi's number," she winked at me as she got out. "Gross. I don't want to hear about your flirtations with my friends," Riley gagged, plugging his ears up with his fingers in a childish manner. I waved Kimi goodbye and mouthed that we'd talk later before Riley drove out of the lot. About ten minutes later, he pulled up in front of my house. "Today was...interesting," I said to Riley, still sitting in his car. "I hope that's a good thing." "Kinda. Did you see when that loose puck almost hit me?" I wondered, looking at him. We'd been in his car for almost and hour and a half and I never brought it up. "Huh? What are you talking about?!" he asked, his eyes getting big and his voice getting louder. I'll take that as a no. "One of those triplets hit the puck and it was headed straight at me, but it's okay. Crazy as it sounds, Drew stopped it." Riley froze, his face looking pained. "Man, Natalie, I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have dragged you out there if I'd known you could have gotten hurt," he sighed, apologetically. "Shut up, you big baby," I teased with a smile, trying to show him that I don't blame him. "It's not your fault. Besides, it was still kind of fun. Like the kind of fun you have when you're watching a scary movie." He smiled back at me, but I could tell he was still bothered by what happened. "Well, I told you he was a good guy," Riley finally said, starting to sound like his lighthearted self again. "Don't you want to be Drew's friend now?" I kindly wanted to wipe that pretty smile off his face for even asking such a dumb question. "Ha, no," I deadpanned. "But he may not be as heartless as I originally thought." Practically the whole ride back I was thinking that maybe I judged him too soon. I mean, there were some halfway decent people out there with terrible social skills. Maybe Drew was one of them. Sure, he was rude and obnoxious, had a god-complex about himself that was annoying, and pretty much acted like I didn't belong with him and his friends...but he also was a protective big brother and the guy literally took a puck for me. So, I may not have liked him or wanted to be around him, but I guess I also didn't hate him anymore. That was progress, right?