Chapter 157 Forever on the Ice

Chapter 157 Forever on the Ice
Forever on the Ice

Dylan’s POV

One Week Later

I stood beside the car, watching Liam finish loading the last of our bags into the trunk. When he was done, he turned back and gave Rosalie one final wave. She smiled through watery eyes, waving until he finally closed the trunk.

Before I could say goodbye properly, Vivian wrapped her arms tightly around me. She held on longer than she usually did, and I found myself hugging her just as tightly. It felt like neither of us wanted to let go. When she finally pulled away, she cupped my face and smiled.

"Take care of yourselves," she whispered.

"We will," I promised.

Liam walked over, leaned down, and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek

"Come on," he said softly. "Let's get in the car."

The drive was peaceful. Music played quietly through the speakers, but neither of us paid much attention to it. Liam kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other stayed wrapped around mine almost the entire journey. Every now and then, his thumb brushed across my fingers, and somehow that simple touch said more than words ever could. After everything we'd survived, it felt good just to sit beside him in comfortable silence.

When we reached the hockey academy, I frowned.

I looked over at Liam. "Why are we here?"

He only smiled, climbed out of the car, and walked around to open my door.

"Come on," he said.

Still confused, I followed him toward the entrance.

As we walked inside, he glanced at me with a grin. "Do you remember our first day here? Everything was so awkward between us."

I laughed before I could stop myself. "You were impossible."

He looked offended. "Excuse me? You weren't exactly easy to deal with either."

"Oh, really?" I nudged him with my shoulder. "Who was the one pretending not to like me?"

"I never pretended very well."

By then we were both laughing, the old memories coming back so easily that it almost felt like no time had passed at all.

The building was strangely quiet. I looked around the empty hallway, expecting to hear the usual noise from the players, but there was almost nothing.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

A staff member walking past smiled at us. "They're on their way. We asked you two to come a little earlier."

I exchanged a puzzled look with Liam. Before either of us could ask another question, we turned to head back toward the entrance.

The moment we did, voices suddenly exploded around us.

"Welcome back, Captain!"

I jumped in surprise.

Teammates poured into the hallway from every direction, clapping and cheering. My heart immediately started racing. Without thinking, I stepped closer to Liam until I was almost hiding behind him.

After everything that had happened before we left, I didn't know what to expect. Part of me was still waiting for the judgment, the whispers, or the looks we'd once gotten so used to.

One of our former teammates stepped forward first.

His expression was serious, and when he spoke, there wasn't a trace of mockery in his voice.

"We owe both of you an apology," he said. "When things got difficult, we should've stood beside you. Instead, we only thought about protecting ourselves."

He lowered his head for a moment before looking back at us.

"We were homophobic, and we treated you unfairly because of it. There isn't any excuse for what we did. We're sorry."

I looked around at the faces surrounding us and realized they all looked genuinely ashamed.

Then someone near the back smiled.

"So... enough of the depressing stuff." He clapped his hands together. "There's a party tonight, and it's for you two. Nobody's allowed to make excuses."

Laughter spread through the group, breaking the heavy silence.

The next hour passed in a blur. We greeted them, shook hands, accepted hugs, and laughed over stories we'd almost forgotten. It felt strange at first, but little by little the tension disappeared, replaced by something warm that I hadn't expected to feel again.

Eventually, Coach made his way over to us.

He looked older than I remembered, and the regret on his face was impossible to miss.

"I owe you both an apology," he said quietly. "I should've supported you from the beginning. Instead, I stayed silent when I should've spoken up."

He let out a slow breath.

"After everything happened, I started speaking publicly about athletes having the right to date whoever they love without fear of losing their careers. I thought I was fighting alone." A small smile appeared on his face. "Turns out I wasn't. A lot of coaches, players, and officials wanted that change too. We kept pushing, and eventually... we got it."

For a moment, none of us said anything.

Then Cole walked toward Liam, holding something in his hand.

It was the captain's tag.

Without saying a word, he carefully pinned it back onto Liam's shirt before pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm really glad you're back," Cole said, laughing as he stepped away. "Do you know how hard it is to keep this team from falling apart? I was one bad game away from giving myself high blood pressure."

Everyone laughed.

Cole pointed a finger at Liam.

"So congratulations. The nightmare is officially yours again. You're the only captain crazy enough to keep these idiots under control."

The room was filled with laughter once more, and for the first time in a long time, it felt like we were finally home.

Calen approached me and threw an arm over my shoulder, shaking his head dramatically.

"So this is what it's come to, right?" he sighed. "Your man finally made you forget your real friend."

I snorted. "Real friends don’t fuck me like my man does."

Calen let out an exaggerated gasp and burst into laughter.

"Wow! He must be eating you real good."

"Oh, shut up," I said, laughing as I shoved him lightly.

He stumbled back on purpose, acting like I'd nearly knocked him over, then pulled me into a quick hug. We both laughed so hard that a few of the others turned to look at us.



The party that night was louder than I expected. Music filled the room while everyone crowded around tables with food and drinks, swapping stories about old games and embarrassing moments from our years together.

Liam never let go of my hand. Even while talking to everyone else, his fingers stayed wrapped around mine, as if he wanted the whole room to know exactly where he belonged.

The teasing started soon enough.

"I still can't believe this guy is the same Liam," one teammate said. "Remember when he barely smiled?"

Another pointed at me. "Then this one showed up, and suddenly our captain became human."

The room filled with laughter.

Cole lifted his glass into the air.

"To the return of our captain!"

"Yes!" Liam and I answered at the same time.

The room exploded with cheers as everyone raised their drinks. Glasses clinked together, people shouted over one another, and before long I had lost count of how many times someone had dragged me into another conversation or handed me another drink.

By the time the night was in full swing, I was definitely feeling the alcohol.

That was when Liam quietly slipped his hand around my waist.

"Come with me."

Without giving me a chance to ask where we were going, he led me out of the building and into the cool night air. The music became quieter behind us until it was nothing more than a faint sound in the distance.

I turned to him, confused.

"What are we doing out here?"

Instead of answering, he took both of my hands.

Then, slowly, he lowered himself onto one knee.

My heart stopped.

He reached into his pocket and held out a small ring.

"Will you marry me?"

For a second, I couldn't even breathe.

I looked back toward the building and noticed faces watching us through the windows. Some of our teammates were standing just outside the doors, trying very hard to pretend they weren't watching.

That was when it hit me.

Everyone had known.

The early arrival at the academy, the celebration, the party... none of it had been a coincidence. They had all helped him plan this from the very beginning.

Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them.

I nodded over and over, unable to force out a single word.

"Yes."

The smile that spread across Liam's face was brighter than anything I'd ever seen.

He slipped the ring onto my finger with slightly shaking hands before standing up. The moment he did, I threw my arms around him and kissed him, smiling through my tears as the cheers from our friends echoed around us.

Long after the celebration had settled down and most of our teammates had gone home, Liam took my hand and led me away from the building once more.

The night had grown quiet. Above us, the moon shone brightly against the dark sky while soft clouds drifted across it.

We stood there in silence, neither of us needing to say anything.

At the same time, we let our vampire strength rise naturally. I felt my fangs appear, and I knew Liam felt the same change as we stood side by side beneath the moonlight.

I rested my head against his shoulder, and he leaned gently against mine. Our fingers stayed intertwined as we looked up at the sky, smiling quietly.

After everything we had lost, everything we had fought through, and every road that had brought us here, we had finally found our way home.

The End.