forum Apaixonar: The act of falling in love.//OxO//Romance//CLOSED

Started March 29, 2019 by @croccin-champagne

tune

Henry's smile slipped away. "You're right. Nevermind, it was terrible." He turned back to his skates, tieing them with well practiced knots.

"I-" Babe turned to look at him, needing him to understand her fear, for whatever reason. "It;s not that it;s necessarily a bad idea. I just…I don't want to be to blame if somehow, an accident does happen."

Henry looked back up at her, nodding gently. "I know. it isn't worth getting someone hurt." Especially if it meant hurting Babe.

Babe visibly relaxed with a sigh, and then perked up a bit. "But, you did give me an idea. Not my best idea, but hey, save that for the prize, right?"

Henry watched her carefully, hiding his nerves as best he could. "What kind of idea are you talking about?" His tone was hesitant, but still slightly eager.

"Oh, I'm not gonna spoil it that easy." Babe grinned, standing and somehow managing to walk easily on the skates. "You try and think of a few prize ideas. I've gotta go grab some things."

Henry sighed and rubbed his head as he watched her go. What had he gotten himself into? He sighed heavily and pushed off onto the ice, circling the rink with an even, precise strength.

Babe was still gone as the others showed up, and only arrived after they were all on the ice. She had two buckets balanced on each arm, full of equipment, and a wild grin on her face. "Who's ready to play?"

Henry slowed to a stop and tilted his head, looking at her nervously. "Babe, what is this?" The other boys skated up and lined up around Babe, looking at her curiously and waiting for an explanation. Hawk sat back, willing to give them all the time for their shenanigans they would need.

"Line up on the red-line!" Babe ordered, ignoring the questions. She shot Hawk a wink, before waving for the guys to move. "What are ya waitin' for, a written invitation?"

They shuffled into place, bumping each other and whispering. Each of the boys kept an eye on Babe, watching her for any hints of what she was planning. Hawk set down a folder and leaned forward to watch easier.

Babe looked different. Unlike her usual relaxed, easy going demeanor, she was straight backed, and something about her made others seem more inclined to listen to her. "You get to do pro drills today. How fun is that?"

Henry raised an eyebrow as he watched Babe questioningly. Pro drills? Babe, what do you mean pro drills? He shifted, sliding a little sideways on the ice.

Babe smirked at the confused looks on everyone's faces. "That's what the challenge is. I'm puttin' you cupcakes through a series of drills, set up like an elimination competition. Whoever makes it to the end is the winner."

Understanding slowly dawned on each of the faces, and a cautious smile showed on Henry's face. He was fairly confident that if Babe came up with these, he'd manage to get through them. There was no way any of the boys could beat him when it came to drills.

"Alright, enough gawking." Babe said, quickly, and with a practiced ease, setting up the first drill station. These were drills she'd done since she was a kid, but she figured they hadn't. She caught Kai in the stands, a grin on his face. "You'll be competing in pairs."

Henry paused. Pairs? Interesting. He leaned around, fidgeting slightly. The set ups were foreign, and he didn't recognize any of what she was planning. All they'd ever done for drills were straightforward, either running around the building, skating around the rink, or hitting the puck across the whole rink until you got it in the net.

"The pairs'll switch up, so each drill, you'll have a new teammate." Babe continued explaining while she set up, pulling out the whistle she'd stolen off of Hawk to string it around her neck. "First pair is your choice."

Kevin bumped Henry, a cocky grin on his face. "Totally ready, right twinkle toes?" Henry watched Babe with sad eyes, looking at her for some kind of help.
"Right. We'll see." Yeah, that was the best comeback he could think of.

"Watch it, [insert Kevin's last name here]." Babe said, shooting him a look. "Footwork is one of the main components of a few o' these. Anyway, thanks for volunteering you and your partner first."

"Wait, who said anything about first?" Henry's eyes widened as Kevin pulled him forward. At least if footwork mattered, he had a slight advantage over the rest of them.

"Your buddy decided for you." Babe said, shrugging a shoulder as she shot him a wicked grin. "Up at start, you two-" She pointed at another team. "-are the competition." She gave a quick description of the drill, and how it would work to eliminate a team.

Bae lifted the whistle to her lips, ignoring Hawk's confused "Hey, wait-?" And blew sharply. "What;re ya waitin' for? Go!"

Henry shot off, ignoring the surroundings. This was his chance to show the others that his 'twinkle toes' were better for hockey than the rest. He stayed low to the ice, his skates flashing up and down as they cut through the ice.

Babe called out occasional corrections, adding in tips that were carefully veiled. She seemed pretty in to playing the part of coach, skating around her set up to watch the boys. "To wide, Jacobs! I wanna see sharper turns!"

Henry controlled his grin, following her tips and feeling the improvement they made and how his movements were more controlled, faster. He finished, slowing down and turning back to look over at the rest of the boys as they each finished and joined him over at the edge.