i sat on the couch with charlie while adam was at the doctors. practice had been cancelled for obvious reasons, and now we were just sitting there, twiddling our thumbs.

"so what do we do, char?" i turned to him, concerned about the state of our team,"we're short a player now."

charlie pressed his lips together, trying to think. i mean, really, what options did we have? there wasn't time to find and fly out another team member.

charlie's eyes lit up and i knew he had gotten an idea. 

he smiled,"come with me. i know just what to do."

he walked to the door slipping on his skates. i did the same and he led me all the way to russ tyler's neck of the woods.

i knew what his plan was, and i was impressed that he had thought of this. it was actually a pretty good solution.

he was in the middle of a game, but i knew it couldn't wait,"russ!"

he met my gaze and smiled,"scarlett, charlie! what's up?"

he skated over to us, resting his hands on the chain link fence that divided us.

i looked to charlie, waiting for him to explain, "basically, banksie got injured and now we're down a player...so we want you to join."

he knit his eyebrows together,"what happened to adam?"

i sighed,"long story short, his wrist is fucked up."

russ nodded, but he still wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of our team,"i mean, can i have a day to think about it?"

charlie shrugged,"yeah, sure. we've gotta talk to coach about it anyways, i just had this idea and i figured it couldn't wait."

"cool, i'll let you guys know. thanks." russ smiled and skated off.

i nodded and turned away, leaving with charlie,"well...it's something, right?"

"he'll join," charlie said confidentially,"i'm sure of it."

i knit my eyebrows,"what makes you so sure?"

charlie let out a breath,"cause if he doesn't, we're screwed. we need adam, but if we can't have him, at least russ is a strong enough player."

i nodded, admitting,"adam is our best."

"i know." charlie sighed.

we were trying to replace banks, but i wasn't entirely sure that was possible. i mean, is there another adam banks out there? is there anyone that could even compare?

i frowned, hating myself for even saying this,"i know this is selfish, but it just sucks for us," i gave a little, still reasoning with myself, "obviously, it sucks for banks more. but i just can't help but wonder what this means for the team."

charlie bit his lip,"yeah, i was thinking about that too. we haven't won anything without adam."

i chuckled,"that does not make me feel better, conway."

he held his hands up in surrender,"i'm just saying."

•

when i walked back into the lounge, adam was sitting on the couch with his arm in a sling. i frowned, realizing it was pretty serious. charlie had decided to go to his room, remembering some neglected homework from before.

he looked up at us and i smiled sympathetically at the poor boy,"hey, adam."

"hey, scar." he replied, watching as i took a seat next to him.

"so, how are you?" i asked, wanting to know about his injury.

he shrugged,"i don't know, it's like, a sprain or something."

i nodded,"well, at least you didn't fuck it up forever, right?"

he chuckled,"yeah, sure."

i realized that probably wasn't the exact right thing to say. i was never good with making people feel better, or really ever taking anything seriously.

"sorry, that was probably...not something i should have said." i chewed my lip and leaned down to take off my skates.

he shrugged,"it's all good. you're right, it could have been worse."

"i know, but you just really wanted to play iceland again." i frowned, feeling bad that he didn't get to play anymore.

he sighed,"yeah, i did," he nudged me playfully, "just make sure to check one of them for me. preferably gunnar stahl."

"god, he's terrible, isn't he?" i laughed, sitting back up, my skates successfully off my body.

"yeah, he's awful."

i shrugged,"cool accent though."

adam snorted,"that's so not the point."

i held my hands up in defense,"it had to be said. his accent is really cool, i wish i had one of my own."

adam rolled his eyes,"i think it sounds like he has the flu."

i knit my brows together, wondering how he had deduced that,"have you ever had the flu?"

he shook his head,"not exactly."

i chuckled and leaned back against the couch. i think he was just insulting gunnar, because i had complimented him. which was kind of cute, but also a little weird.

•

today was our game against russia. and also russ's first game. i looked at banksie, who was sitting in the stands, looking like a lost puppy.

he didn't belong up there, he should have been down here with us. if it wasn't for those damn iceland players. they ruined it for him, and that was something that only fueled my rage for them.

when we go face to face with them, i'll have a few cheap shots of my own to distribute. i'll call it reparations.

i turned my attention back to the game, watching russ play. he was actually very good, i wasn't sure how his skills would transfer from
pavement to ice, but he was doing a great job.

i couldn't tell you exactly what i had expected from the boy, but i was happy with the result. i knew charlie had make the right choice in asking him to join the team.

and i was glad he had accepted the offer. with him, our team was stronger, and that's all i could hope for at this moment in time.

"gilinksy," coach turned to me,"get out there."

dwayne hopped in the box and i got out. i skated towards the puck and and effortlessly made a goal.

there wasn't much to these russian players, they were much too distracted with the people already in the rink, they weren't paying attention to me. i went right under their noses and scored a goal.

"nice one!" julie smiled as i skated by.

"thank you." i returned the smile, until i was suddenly knocked to the ground by a russian player.

it was possible they weren't as distracted with other players now. i rolled my eyes and got up, shaking it off.

normally, i would have a reaction. it usually set me off, when i get checked by players, but i didn't feel like responding. it was like, without banks on the ice, i had lost my fire.

at least, i assumed that's why i didn't have any initial reaction. he's the missing element today, that was the only conclusion i could draw.

the puck dropped, so i stole it and passed it to russ. i shoved various players out of his way making sure he could get in his knuckle puck.

he managed to score the winning goal and i cheered.

i grinned as he skated by,"good job, russ!"

•

when we walked out of the locker room, there were a bunch of flashing camera's, snapping pictures. i knit my brows together, wondering where the sudden publicity had come from.

coach wasn't doing his sponsorship thing anymore, and even if he was, it never incited this kind of attention.

"i told him no visitors, but he wanted to come congratulate you." coach told us.

"what are you talking about?" i questioned, unaware of who he was mention.

wayne gretzky appeared in my line of vision and i gasped. that totally explained the cameras.

never in my life did i think i would be this close to such an iconic man. he shook our hands, congratulating us on the win.

we took a few pictures, and i was glad that this moment would be forever solidified in the media.