Practice Makes Perfect.

That first step onto the ice, changed everything. My worries were gone. I wasn't nervous to be skating in front of professionals, I wasn't scared to skate- seeing as I haven't in over a year. But one thing for sure, that I was afraid, was what if my mom did catch on to what was going on. But right now, this moment.. is mine. I pushed all thoughts to the back of my head as I skated slightly faster. I drew a deep breath and let the ice crunch beneath my feet as I skated to Dan.
All eyes were on me, as I neared them. I felt my cheeks burn as I caught Kris Letang's gaze on me. Lifting my stick up to hold, I stopped in front of the bench where Dan was standing. He too was in skates. He smiled at the sight of me, and I couldn't help but grin back right at him. He placed a hand on my shoulder, turned me around towards the guys. I went to bit my top lip, only to remember I had my guard in. I growled at myself in thought. The guys, still staring and probably not going to stop or take a pause and look away.

" Boys, meet Courtney. Courtney, meet the guys!" Dan said to us. I lifted my hand up and shook it slightly at them. I then quickly brought my hand down and felt the intense heat rise in my face again. It was quiet for at least... a couple seconds until Tyler Kennedy broke it.

" Whoo! Yeah! New person, give me five!" he shouted, thrusting his gloved hand out. I chuckled and bumped my glove on his. He grinned largely at me, and a few others began to follow suit. Jordan piped out a "hello" and gave me a fist bump, same goes for most of them. Them being Evgeni, Pascal, Chris, James, along with the others. Sidney being a gentlemen pulled off his glove and introduced himself,

" Hey, I'm Sidney." he greeted. I threw off my glove onto the ice and shook hands with him. Matt Cooke giving a howl, he laughed out,

" Oh, look! She can throw her gloves off fast! Are you a fighter?" He questioned with a giant smile. I only laughed at his reactions. Max and Marc-Andre gave me a hug.. well if you could call it a hug. It was more of an attack with shouting. Kris was still eye balling me, when I gave him a shy wave. His face darkened a cherry red as he waved back with an impish grin. Dan laughed at our introductions and then told us to start stretching. I went to grab my glove, only to find it missing. I heard a slight cough and I shot back up to find Kris with my glove on the end of his stick. He had a slight smile, and tilted his stick to me. Grabbing my glove off, I thanked him. He shrugged, grinned and skated away with some of the guys. Dan called me over. I skated to him.

" How are you doing, kid?" he asked me when I got to him. I smiled and replied back,

" Great!" But the thought of my mom came back and my face fell. Dan noticing the changed asked,

" Hey, come on, what's wrong?" I sighed and told him,

" My mom... I mean, what if she finds out? That'll mean for sure, no more hockey... wait, no more freedom. I just can't seem to shake that thought away.." I looked down at my skates. I heard Dan sigh, he grabbed onto my shoulders.

" Look at me," I raised my head to look at him, " Nothing, I repeat, nothing is going to happen. You are safe here. We have everything under control. I will tell the guys what's going on, I'm sure you will too. We have everything planned. Your stuff stays here and you'll shower and all, go home, and your mom won't find out. You are safe." He finished. I couldn't help but smile. He was a hero. He was my hero, and I couldn't be any happier. He patted my back and pushed me over to the guys. I skated by, settling in between Pascal and Evgeni. I then stretched my legs, touching my toes. Laid on the ground, but raising my upper half to stretch my back. Lifted my right leg up and my other knee down. I repeat with the other leg. I stood up and skated away, twisting my stick around to loosen my wrists and arms. I repeated with the other arm. I took a couple of long strides around the rink. Being on the ice, it felt amazing. And no one could bring me down.
We did a couple of drills. Skating top circles, a few suicides, and basic puck drills and passing. We then had about ten minutes left of practice. Dan seeing that we needed a break, gave us one. I skated around, catching a few breaths. I skated backwards slowly, relaxing when I bumped into some one. I turned around to apologize, when the person told me not to. Tyler Kennedy laughed at my facial expression. I just sheepishly smiled back. He calmed down and motioned me to skate with him around. I followed him.

" So what brings you here, if you don't mind asking. Dan doesn't really let people come on the ice unless the person is really important." he told me. I looked up at his tall figure. I sighed, and said,

" It's a long story." He looked at me again, and smiled.

" Well... Long story short...." he drew out the end of "short" with a grin. I shook my head at his playful manor.

" Mom doesn't want me playing, she banned hockey from me. And now, I'm forced to take figure skating." I told him with a sick expression. He as well, drew a "yucky" face at me. Jordan skated by us.

" I wouldn't mind seeing you in a small tutu." Jordan smirked and winked at me, skating faster away. My face flushed the most incredibly red you'd ever see. Tyler laughed, making me glare at him hard. He only laughed harder. I rolled my eyes at him and skated away. We walked off the ice, and separated to the the locker rooms. I got undressed from my gear. And placed it in my new bag the Dan also got. I had a special way to place my stuff in my bags. Pants first, then chest protector, knee pads on the long side, gloves on the right side. I placed my skates in the middle, and my helmet in the end. Elbow pads on the other end. I put my under armor and jersey in a draw bag, and my accessories in a different draw bag. I zippered it up, and grabbed my clothes and put them on. I placed the bag in the corner, along with my stick. I placed my phone in my shorts pocket and left the locker room, turning off the lights.
I walked out the hallways and to the boys' locker room. The guard recognizing me, peeked inside and told the boys to cover up or get in the shower. I heard the boys' freaking out and rushing around. I only chuckled. The guard let me in. I walked in cautiously to avoid any embarrassment. I looked around, waving to a few of the guys that were still in their gear. I went to head to Dan's office, when a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I shrieked out flailing my arms to get the person off me. I heard a deep chuckle behind me. The person squeezed me and let go. Trying to regain my breath, I turned around. Max stood laughing at me.

" I was only trying to give you a hug!" his French-Canadian accent rippling through is husky voice. I mentally swooned at how nice it sound. But I returned it, by punching him on the arm. He stopped laughing, and muttered an "ow" at me. He walked away yelling,

" You love me!" I shook my head at his immaturity. I then stalked off to Dan's office. I knocked and he yelled to come on in. I walked in, and he smiled at me. He got up and said,

" You did great! And for not playing for over a year, that was good! You're impressive for your age and physical aspect. Well done." He accomplished me. I smiled and thanked him. Before I walked he hugged me again.

" Like I said, you're safe here. Be careful walking home, alright?" I nodded and thanked him again. I walked out of the office and talked a bit with the guys. I sat next to Brooks and talked about defensive skills with him. He told me he could help me out a bit, and I took the chance. Kris came over and sat next to me. He said,

" You're good, you know? For your age and all." He smiled. I basically melted into a puddle. I grinned and thanked him.

" Thanks. And thanks for putting up with my slow ways... I was a bit rusty out there-" he cut me off.

" No! I mean, no.. you're fine.. I mean I-I, I mean you did great! he stuttered out, after realizing how bad his last statement was. I laughed at him, getting him to flush. I mentally "awwed" at how cute he was. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jordan and Max wink at me. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Kris. We talked for a few more, and we decided to go home. We gave our farewells and left.
This day was great. This day was amazing. This day I would never forget. Today was a great day for hockey.