An unexpected clash

ABIGAIL’S POV

It felt like my stomach dropped out. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole, anything to escape this painfully awkward moment. I opened my mouth to respond, but absolutely nothing came out. For some reason, I was frozen-my voice had betrayed me.

Dominic's friends were handsome, there was no doubt about that, but nothing in comparison to him. The dark blond one was big and in gray sweatshirt and dark pants, and so toned the other with the dark pants and a blue polo shirt. Both were catch-eyes, but none as Dominic.

"Nah, she's. she's just someone.” Dominic answered indifferently.

Excuse me? Just someone? I felt a surge of embarrassment wash over me. If only the ground would open up now. I fought to keep my face composed, holding my expression in a straight, unaffected look.

That's when Dominic gave the dark blond guy a quick glance, and he seemed to catch on immediately.

“Ohhhh, bar girl," he said, realization dawning on him. "Good to finally meet you. I heard you were giving my man Dominic some trouble.”

“Bar girl? Wow, charming,” I shot back, “You don’t think I happen to have a name?”

“I would like to get back to what I was doing before you all interrupted.”I said, clearing my voice. "As you see, this seat is taken. There are plenty of other booths you can swoop into."

The muscular guy leaned back toward the blond one, cocking his head slightly with a smirk. “Damn, she’s something else.”

“Told ya.”Dominic chimed in.

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, and there was no way I was staying here one more minute, let alone sharing a booth with him.

I shot up from the seat, grabbing my things with more force than necessary. "You know what? Enjoy the table. I was done here anyway." My voice was steady, but inside I was boiling. Without looking back, I slung my bag over my shoulder and started walking away, my nails digging in my palms.

Dominic said nothing but I could feel his gaze on me as I walked out, denying him the satisfaction of me turning back.

Driving home, the weight of the day pressed upon me, and I pulled into a shop for ice cream, anything to cool off after everything that had gone down. With a small cup in hand, I headed back to the dorm, hoping for a quiet night. But as soon as I opened the door, yelling filled the air.

I froze for a second before running toward the couch, where the noise was coming from. Daphne lay there, topless, writhing in pain.

"Stop! Stop, please!" Daphne's voice cracked while her nails clawed into the couch cushions. A mess, and I barely knew what to do.

Normally, I wouldn't have stayed. I barely talked to Daphne, sometimes I forgot she even lived here. Every nerve in my body screamed for me to leave—but I couldn’t.

"Daph, we have to get it out, or it'll get worse," Adeline said low, intent, her brow furrowed in concentration as she leaned over Daphne with gentle care.

Another girl, probably one of Daphne's friends, was close by, sticking near as Daphne wheezed in pain.

Daph, I told you this was a bad idea," Adeline muttered, her face heavy with pity.

"I just wanted to look sexy for John," Daphne whimpered, her eyes still squeezed shut in pain.

The whole scene screamed disaster, and it didn’t take much to guess that Daphne’s friend was the one behind the botched piercing.

"What’s going on here?" I asked, stepping fully into the room.

Adeline looked up, trying to appear unperturbed. "Abby, hi," she said, a little too brightly-the transparent effort of concealing the panic in the air.

I ignored the strained note and moved closer. "Is she okay?"

"Not really," Adeline replied, looking hassled. "They tried piercing at home, and it went.wrong."

I let out a sigh; my gaze flicked across to Daphne's navel-pink, swollen, and bleeding. "Should we call emergency? Can she move?

Adeline shook her head, not knowing. I breathed a little deeper and spoke softly, "This kind of thing needs a professional, not some DIY kit."

Daphne groaned in pain, her hand now gripping the couch cushion like it might save her from the agony.

"Okay, listen," I said, taking a calming breath. "We need to stop the bleeding, first of all."

Adeline nodded quickly, darting to grab a towel or something while I stayed by Daphne’s side. Her friend, who had been hovering nervously, handed me a cold compress. I placed it gently over Daphne’s belly.

It seemed a bit too much to call an ambulance, but a quick visit to urgent care might spare Daphne further pain and infection.

"Do you want me to drive you to urgent care?" I asked as neutrally as possible, even though my heart was racing.

Daphne looked up at me with teary eyes and nodded weakly.

"You don't think they'll ask a lot of questions?" Daphne’s friend asked.

“You mean why you thought this was a good idea? Probably. But that's not our main concern right now. Let's just get her help." Adeline replied.”

I helped Daphne stand, gingerly supporting her while Adeline grabbed her keys.

I couldn't believe how I got roped into this mess, but there was no turning back now.

DOMINIC’s POV

The sound of my blades carving into the ice echoed throughout the rink as I sprinted down the stretch, stick in hand, eyes glued to the puck. My team was in the midst of the most aggro match we'd played all season, the Furies were not letting up, neither was I.

My forehead was moist from sweat as I dodged a check from one of their defenders, slipping easily past him. Fire adrenaline coursed through my veins, my muscles tensed in readiness for action.

The puck danced along the ice, and I plunged for it, my body going on instinct. I heard the roar of the crowd, the pound of my pulse in my ears. My vision tunneled in on the goal-the sound of the skirmish behind me faded to the background. Nothing else mattered. Just this moment. Just the game.

The sharp scrape of skates behind me told me their defense was closing in. Fast. But I was faster. In an instant, I'd flicked my wrist and sent the puck flying straight past the goalie to the satisfying clang of the back of the net.

Goal.

The horn exploded across the arena, but I barely heard it. My teammates were yelling and pounding their sticks on the ice, celebrating the point. I raised my own stick in acknowledgement.

Skating toward the bench, I caught sight of Enzo, a wide grin spreading across his face as he smacked me on the back when I slid onto the bench beside him.

"Nice shot, man," he said, still breathing heavily from the last shift. "You're on fire tonight."

“Thanks man.” I replied.

Even though Jake kept hogging the puck, we were still able to win against the Furies.

After freshening, I decided that I was going to confront him, I mean if anyone had to tell him, it was me.

“Nice win, Jake. Must feel good knowing you almost cost us the game, huh? "

"Cost us? Dude, I scored two goals! I basically carried us out there."

Jake just shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, and you ignored three open passes. We're lucky we didn't fall apart because you were too busy playing hero."

I took a step forward. My voice cooled.

"Relax, Dom. We won, didn't we? Guess my moves worked."

He laughed, shrugging it off as if it was no big deal.

"This isn't just about winning, You're part of a team Jake. You can't just decide to go rogue whenever you feel like it." I replied, my eyes narrowing on him and my voice firm.

The air was thick with tension now, and I could tell the rest of the team had started to take notice. Jake's grin began to falter as he realized I wasn't kidding around.

He crossed his arms over his chest, getting defensive.

"What's wrong with you, man? You're yelling like I lost the whole game. I'm simply trying to win, same as you."

I closed in, my voice going up a little.

"My problem? You almost lost us the game because you wanted the spotlight. You can't put yourself above the team-not when everything's on the line."

"Maybe if you weren't so uptight, you'd realize I was trying to keep momentum. You think you're the only one who gets to make big plays?” Jake turned to me, his annoyance evident.

My fists had clenched before I was even aware of it. Anger blistered through my veins, a hot, wild tide that sharpened my senses and set the adrenaline still racing from the game surging anew. I could feel the wolf inside me, pressing at the edges, wanting out. For a moment, my vision flickered with that telltale glow, but I stamped down on it, forced myself to stay in control.

I stepped closer, voice low and deadly.

"I am the captain for a reason, Jake. You gotta start thinking about the team instead of your stats. Next time, you follow the play."

"Come on, guys. We won. Let's not make this a bigger deal than it is. It's over." Enzo slid in his easy tone cut through the tension.

"Yeah, Dom, lighten up. You're acting like I'm the problem. Maybe if you weren't always so hung up on having control over everything, we'd play a hell of a lot better."

Jake visibly provoked snapped back at him.

Those words struck a blow to my ego, and the anger swelled up in my stomach. I felt my temper flare, breathing increasing with a tongue-lashing ready to be let loose, but Enzo stepped between us, his voice soft, even.

"Not here, man. Let it go."

I stood there, chest rising and falling as I tried to get a grip. Jake's words hung in the air, stinging. We might've won the game, but this? It was far from over. Watching Jake storm off, frustration clear on his face, I bit down the urge to chase after him and tear into him right there.

But I didn't. Instead, I stood there, fists tight, jaw clenched, letting it go barely.

For now.

“Forget him man, lets get out of here.” Enzo said tapping my chest, leaving the locker room.

I headed to my locker, grabbing the last of my stuff and tossing it into my backpack. Slinging it over my shoulder, I started to leave the room, but then I heard Jake's voice, low, talking on the phone. I thought about how dumb he acted, and my gut told me I should go deal with him. If anyone was going to check him, it had to be me.

there he was, looking like the same cocky jerk. Every fiber in my body was screaming at me to take him down a peg, but then it clicked-if I did anything too extreme, it'd get me in trouble. A fight with him could get me suspended, and that would mess up everything I've worked for.

He's not worth it. But I'll still give him a warning.

I walked up to him, dropping my bag to the floor. In one move, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Don’t ever talk to me like that again, got it?"

I had Jake up against the wall when the door burst open and the coach filled it. His voice boomed through the locker room.

"What the hell's going on here?"

I stood frozen, my hand clenching onto Jake's collar. Coach had his stare fixed on me in a combination of anger and disbelief. The air shifted from tension to unease as the other guys fell silent, waiting for what was gonna go down.

I slowly released my grip from him, bringing him to the ground.

“What’s your fucking problem?” He shoved me in the chest, his face twisted in anger.

Before I could respond, Coach’s voice cut through the room like a knife.

“Walter, in my office. Now.” His expression stern.

Coach’s stare hit me like a brick wall, leaving no room for argument. I had no choice but to face him.