CatPower23

The buzzer overhead rang out, bringing all the chaos on the ice to a halt. The bodies that had just been at battle were now calmly filing out of the rink. The once boisterous crowd quieted, all finding their own idle nothings to keep their attention during intermission. It was in these brief moments before the Zamboni came through, that the Ottawa Ice Hole found her peace. It gave her time to think. To just breathe, yet it didn’t come with the crushing isolation that set in once the lights went down. A soft, unfamiliar voice broke the subtle hum of conversation. “Excuse me?”

Ottawa Ice Hole looked up, her mind momentarily blanking in awe of the woman she saw before her.  “Sorry, I don’t mean to bother you.” Montreal Glass Crack smiled. “I just wanted to say I’m a huge fan. I saw your debut at TD Place, and it was just… spectacular.” she sighed wistfully. Ottawa Ice Hole felt her mouth dry as she floundered to conjure up a response.

“Thank you.” She managed to stammer out, a bit louder than intended. “I uh, I could say the same about you.” It felt as though Montreal Glass Crack’s gaze had her trapped. Her glassy exterior made it hard for Ottawa Ice Hole to know her true intentions, but her beautiful shine drew her in nonetheless. 

“Me? No, you’re just saying that.” A fog appeared on Montreal Glass Crack’s pane as she blushed. “You’re the real star here. I was forgotten after the first period. They didn’t even need to leave the ice for me.”

“Hey.” The calmness in her own voice surprised Ottawa Ice Hole. “You were the talk of the lb. You had Ann-Renée Desbiens running over to help change out the panel. They showed you later on, on the stream! You are a star, whether you believe it or not.” Ottawa Ice Hole reached up, the cold clink of ice against plexiglass couldn’t chill the heat building between the two of them. 

A small tear welled up in the corner of one of the faint cracks that made up Montreal Glass Crack’s visage. A soft chuckle fell from her. “You had people talking about you for days. You had the game delayed for an hour! Articles were written about you… I could never live up to that.”

“You don’t need to.” Ottawa Ice Hole smiled up at Montreal Glass Crack gently, wiping the falling tear away and holding her face. “You are your own phenomenon. You don’t need to compare yourself to me.” She looked around quickly, seeing the audience sit back in their seats, snacks in hand. Along with both teams emerging from the locker rooms. “Hey, we don’t have a lot of time left, but what are you doing after this? Want to grab a drink with me?”