My Hockey Alpha
#Chapter 188: An Uneasy Feeling

Nina

As I stared up at the new transfer student in the VIP box, I swore I somehow knew him even though I had never seen his face before. He was tall and skinny, with short black hair and wide-set eyes, and looked nothing like anyone who I knew. And yet, I really felt as though I knew him.

The new boy and I just stared at each other with wide eyes for what must have really only been a few moments, but it felt like an eternity. My heart began to race more and more with each passing second, and at the same time, I felt as though I was coming closer and closer to putting my finger on who this boy was. It was as if his face was morphing, shifting into someone who was very familiar to me. Someone who I loved and missed very much...

“Enzo?” I murmured out loud.

“Uh, Nina?” Lori asked then, poking me in the arm and breaking my concentration. “Earth to Nina? Are you good?”

I blinked rapidly, shaking my head for a moment as I returned to my senses. I definitely didn't know that transfer student, and he definitely wasn’t Enzo. I realized that now. He didn’t even look remotely like him, and besides; if Enzo was here, why wouldn't he be coming to see me and his friends right away?

"Wh... What?" I asked as I finally tore my gaze away from the new transfer student. “Did I miss something?”

“Not really,” Jessica said with a laugh. “The game is over, though. You were really out for a minute, huh?”

I shrugged, feeling my face get hot. “Yeah, I guess,” I replied. “I'm just tired.”

The three of us stood as the hockey team skated off of the ice. I forced a smile as they approached, not wanting to ruin their fun; they were all too red-faced and happy to be playing hockey again for me to get in the way with my sullen attitude.

But then, suddenly, something completely unexpected happened.

Justin skated up to the barrier and reached over, grabbing my hand. He took me by surprise and pulled me forward, then kissed me deeply over the barrier.

Both the team and the crowd gasped in astonishment. Some of the townspeople cheered and clapped encouragingly at this display of young love, but I was fully taken aback. When we finally pulled apart, my face was beet red, and so was Justin's.

"S-Sorry,” Justin muttered, releasing his grip on my hand while I continued to stand there in total shock, still feeling the taste of his lips on mine. “I got a little carried away.”

“Ya think?” Lori said, storming up to Justin. “It's only been three weeks since—"

“It's fine, Lori,” I interrupted, putting my hand out to stop her. “Don’t worry about it.”

Justin's face went even more red. He skated over to the exit and stepped off of the ice, joining the rest of the team in taking their skates off. I was still stunned from our kiss, but I decided not to linger too much on it. Justin had been changing a lot recently. Ever since the night in the woods when I discovered that he was a rogue, I could tell that he was working on himself. And lately, he had been incredibly sweet and kind, and we had spent a lot of late nights talking in the infirmary. I didn't want to admit it, but his presence was a comfort when I needed it the most. I of course didn't want to take things any further, however — not with Enzo's disappearance being so fresh for all of us — but I wasn't going to drown out the possibility of us getting back together far down the road. And he did apologize for getting too carried away, so I decided to let it go.

“Hey, ladies,” Matt called from the bench as he yanked off his skates and his helmet. Lori and Jessica finally ripped their incredulous stares away from me and turned with me to look at Matt. “We're going out for some drinks. You guys should come.”

The three of us exchanged another glance, then nodded. “Sure,” I said, shoving one hand in my pocket while I gathered my medical bag with the other. “That could be a good idea.”

Later, we all gathered at a corner table in the local bar for some drinks. Things had slowly been returning to normal. Some townspeople who got wind of the fact that Mountainview was safe were returning and bringing news along with them from the neighboring areas. Apparently, it wasn't as bad out there as we thought, which was a relief. I supposed that that explained why those two new students transferred here; maybe they just needed to get away from the Crescents. I couldn't help but wonder if more transfer students would come to Mountainview in the coming weeks.

Since people were returning to town, some of the businesses reopened; one of which was the local bar. And because of that, the bar was packed tonight as people celebrated the first hockey game since the big attack. People were calling it the “apocalypse”, which was a bit over the top, but I didn't blame them. It really did feel like an apocalypse at the time. But once again, I was amazed by peoples’ resilience and ability to bounce back after something like that. And if people in the neighboring towns were finding ways to fight back against the Crescents, then I knew that there was hope. It made me think back to that one Crescent captain who we made friends with at the beginning of the Half-Moon tournament, and made me wonder if empathetic werewolves like him were scattered all around, helping people. The thought of it made me smile.

But my smile quickly faded as the two new transfer students suddenly walked through the door. The pit of dread grew in my stomach once again as I locked eyes with the boy — but even more than that, I felt my heart sink when I locked eyes with the girl next. There was something sinister behind her eyes. The way that she looked at me made me uneasy, as though she knew exactly who I was and that she had her eye on me. But the thing was: I didn’t know her in the slightest. What was up with these people?

As they walked in and headed to the bar, the girl gave me one last snobby look before tossing her hair over her shoulder. She then turned to face the boy and grabbed his shirt, pulling him down to her height for a deep, wet kiss.

"Ew," Jessica said, making a face. “Right in front of everyone.”

“What, are you jealous?” Lori asked as she leaned toward Jessica and puckered her lips. “Come on. Kiss me like that.”

Jessica made a disgusted sound and pushed Lori away, causing the rest of the group to laugh. But I wasn't laughing.

Because, for some reason after watching those two students kiss, I was terribly, hopelessly sad. Not only that... But I was also jealous, because deep down, I swore that I loved that boy somehow.

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