Dare You to Chase the Soccer Player (Rock Valley High 5)

Might lose a finger too.

I groaned before I typed again.

Me: Tell me you’re not into hockey.

Battlescar13: Dude – I’m the best guy on the team.

You should come to the game.

We can finally meet in person.

It’s at Rock Valley High.

Panic darted through me as I stared at his messages. I’d known Battlescar13 was from the area, but I’d never considered until now that he could actually go to my school. It couldn’t be possible. He was obviously hassling me. There was no way the only online friend I’d made was here. At Rock Valley.

Mentally, I scoured my memory of who played for the hockey team. Not a single one of them came close to Battlescar13’s level. Most of the guys were jerks, like the twins. He had to play for the other team.

And even if that were true, there was no way we could ever meet up. Not when he thought I was some dude online. After Michael Corrigan’s comments, I’d never live it down if word of that came out.

Closing the app, I slipped it back into my sweatpants pocket and hurried back to my bench seat next to my friends. Anxiety was all I needed to keep me warm now. Several minutes went by and then both teams came back onto the ice. My eyes darted over their helmets, as I wondered if my online friend was telling the truth. He’d never lied to me before. Why would he start now?

“Hey, Beth, are you sure you don’t want some coffee?”

I turned to see Lexi watching me carefully, concern etched in the line between her eyebrows. Her eyes darted down to my knee that had been bouncing nervously ever since I got back from my concession stand run. I laughed nervously and forced it to be still.

“I think I’ve got already plenty of energy, don’t you? Probably shouldn’t have any caffeine.”

“Um...yeah.” She squinted at my face and studied me. It was a look I got often from her. Usually, it was followed by a plea for me to allow her to give me a makeover. I’d flatly refused that offer at least a dozen times.

“Look, Lex, they’re about to start.” Zane wrapped his arm over Lexi’s shoulders, redirecting her gaze toward the ice.

I let out a nervous breath, glad to have dodged another makeover request by my best friend. It was hard to tell her no. Even harder to explain to her why I didn’t think even her amazing talent with an eyeliner pen could make me look good.

My gaze returned to the ice. The other team wore blue jerseys. Sucking my lower lip between my teeth, I watched them pile back into their bench. If I had my guess, Battlescar13 would be proudly wearing his favorite number on his jersey. But there was no number thirteen on the opposing team. As my attention slid to our side, I immediately caught sight of thirteen in big, bold black numbers on the back of a white jersey. He was lining up in the center, where the puck would start.

“Lexi, who’s that guy?” I pointed at number thirteen, my anxiety climbing. Could that be Battlescar13?

“Why? Do you think he’s cute?” She wagged her eyebrows at me suggestively.

“Not a chance,” I shot back. Her smile dulled slightly, which made me feel a little guilty. Lexi was always trying to fix me up with someone. She probably felt guilty for being so happy in a relationship while I was perpetually single. “I’m just curious. Do you have the listings?”

“Hmm, let me check.” She looked down at the program in her lap. Running her gloved finger down the line, she paused at a name printed in black. “It’s one of the Corrigan boys.”

Dread washed over me. It couldn’t be. I felt the blood leave my face and pool in my loudly thumping heart. “Which one?”

Not that it mattered much. A Corrigan boy was still a Corrigan boy. If Battlescar13 truly was one of the twins, there was no way I could continue engaging with him online. I’d lost a close friend in the blink of an eye.

“Looks like number thirteen is Gabriel,” Lexi said, glancing up at me. “You know, he’s in my Economics class. Never says a word. I’m not really sure he can talk. No one knows what’s going on up there in that brain of his.”

Subconsciously, I nodded along to her words, but my brain was reeling. Lexi was wrong. If my suspicions were correct, there was one person who’d caught a little glimpse inside that brain of his and she was sitting right here. Not that it counted for much. Now that I knew I’d been chatting with a Corrigan twin for months, it was all over. There would be no more glimpses behind the curtain.

Still, as the game began and Gabriel took possession of the puck, I slid my phone back out of my pocket to see the message notification on the screen. Against my better judgement, I reopened the Battlegrounds app to read it.

Battlescar13: You’re going to miss a heck of a game.

But I’ll be on again tomorrow.

You’d better be there. We’ve got tourneys to dominate.