The air horn blared throughout the arena, signalling the end of practice. Cole Cross let the puck spin off his stick and drift a few inches away as he spun on his edges and glided towards the bench. It was his first day skating with the ULA Raiders, after missing the opening practice due to a visa issue that caused him to miss his entire first week at school. The wiry 5'7, 165lb left winger looked comically tiny skating alongside his teammates, who all mostly surpassed 6 feet and at least 190 pounds. As he stepped into the bench area and started to walk down the tunnel to the locker room, the coach reached out and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Cross, get over here"

He stepped out of the line, balancing carefully on the edge of the skate blade, he quickly stuffed one glove under his arm and reached up with his bare hand to tug out his mouth guard, his hand brushing against the sweat-soaked, close-shaven beard he was sporting.
"Yes sir coach Bombay?"
"Ya did good out there today kid, managed to keep pace despite missing last week" The older man said. He had a kind smile peeking out under the ball cap he wore sporting the team logo.
"Thank you sir, sorry again about that."
"Don't worry about it, I heard about the issue. You did, however, miss the evaluations session. I got a little look at your skills today, but I like to know exactly how my players tick before I make any decisions on the lineup, so I'm gonna schedule you in here with my assistants for Saturday morning, 7am, they'll see where you're at and report back to me. You'll know where you stand by next week, that acceptable?"
"Yes sir, thank you" Cole said, still panting slightly as he caught his breath, he nodded and turned to leave when the coach called him again.
"Hey, before you go, what number you wanna wear?"
"I used to wear 5 back home, 55 otherwise."
"Ahh, both are taken I'm pretty sure, how about 50?"
"That's perfectly fine coach."
"Alright, the boys'll have that ready for you, go on now, see you next week."

Cole smiled, nodded, and headed off down the hallway. In the locker room, most of te guys were still sitting at their stalls, or had already gone to shower. He was still learning most of their names, the only ones he really knew were the captain, Greg McCullough, a heavyweight center who was the team's top scorer two years running, and the lead goaltender, Tyler Julian, who had introduced himself and shown Cole around the practice facility when he had arrived the day before. Some of the boys teased him as he got undressed and packed away his gear, calling him coaches pet and all of that. He just laughed along and rolled with it as he cleaned up. By the time he had showered, and dried off his dark hair (which he kept kind of long up top, but close cut along the sides) most of the others had filed out. Not long after, he was headed out himself, he picked up his bag, heaved it over his shoulder and headed out.

Someone called after him as he was going through the door, he turned his head to look back, shifted the bag's weight more to his front, and collided right with someone waiting just outside the door. A mortified look filled his face as he whipped his head around, dropped his bag and scrambled to help the girl to her feet.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry!"

Alex Hawke walked through the campus of ULA. This was her freshman year and she was ecstatic to make the school's newspaper, even if she only did the small articles no one read. She expected to get the bottom of the bucket in terms of roles on the team, but this didn't bother her too much. She knew all she had to do was impress the right people and get more students to read her articles and she would quickly climb the ranks. Unlike other school newspapers, this one wasn't treated as an elective or a club, rather it was similar to working on an actual newspaper. Alex got paid for her work.

Finally she made it to the hockey stadium's home locker room. Their practice was finishing up within the next ten minutes and she wanted to make sure she didn't miss her chance. Alex looked down to the paper in her hand. "Cole Cross," she muttered, reading the name. The paper had a copy of his school ID photo, which she was grateful for. She would be able to find him easily in the sea of players. Or so she thought.

Though she didn't know much about Cole, or hockey in general for that matter, the young woman was assigned to interview him. Rumors spread about an issue with his visa, which prevented him from arriving in Los Angeles on time. She decided to take this story with a grain of salt.

Eventually, the team began to come out of the locker rooms in groups. Alex didn't see Cole make his exit. Maybe he blended in with the group? They were all so tall, much taller than her 5'3" self. She couldn't see all of their faces so well. Alex stuck around a couple more minutes before deciding that Cole must have left.

She sighed and tapped her pen on her head in frustration. If she couldn't manage something as simple as an interview how could she ever manage a bigger job?

Alex moved to make her leave, running her hands through her wavy brown hair in an attempt to relax her frustration, but something knocked her back. Hard.

The young woman flew down to the ground, dropping her folders and pens, even hitting her head quite hard against the pavement. She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again to see who had hit her.

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" Alex assured him, though the pain in her head and tailbone were was pretty bothersome. She took his hand and stood as he pulled her up to his chest.

Alex looked up to him, her body pressed to his. Time stood still momentarily. She was incredibly embarrassed, so much show that a blush quickly appeared on her cheeks. But then she realized something. Taking a step back and smoothing her clothes down, she stated confidently, "You're Cole Cross, right? I'm here for your interview."

Then she realized her folders and pens were still on the floor. She awkwardly scrambled to pick them up, then returned to face him, "Do you have time for an interview? It's for the school's online newspaper."

When they pressed together momentarily (though it felt like an eternity) Cole's eyes widened as her gaze met his. She was incredibly cute, like the unfiltered definition of drop-dead gorgeous. He noticed, she was in pain and immediately felt worse for knocking her over, even though she insisted that she was fine. He released the breath he didn't realize he was holding and scrambled to get his bag as she gathered her things and tried to process what she was saying.

"Interview? What?" he stammered out "uh, yeah sure! Are you sure you're ok?

"Never been better!" Alex replied with a slight chuckle. She didn't like when people worried about her, especially over something so small. But he just met her and he had no idea that she wasn't as fragile as a lot of other girls. How could he? So, she brushed it off.

"I was thinking we could go to 'Lunch, Lunch, Lunch?' It might be easier to get this done there," she suggested, "You just finished practice, so you must be hungry right?" That was normal for guys on sports teams: Practice, Eat, Sleep, Repeat. She wondered if Cole was the same.

"Yeah, I could definitely eat! You'll have to lead the way though, I still don't know my way around campus" Cole chuckled, lightening up a little as she seemed to be fine. He shifted the bag back over his shoulder again and apologized once more, sheepishly blushing.

"I really am sorry, someone back in the room shouted at me, I wasn't watching where I was going. Let me make it up to you, I'll pay?"

"Sure thing, 'New Kid'," Alex replied playfully, though she had only been here a week longer than him if the rumors were true. She turned to lead him away to the on-campus restaurant.

"No worries, I didn't fall that bad," she assured him, but quickly added, "I don't mind paying for myself, this place isn't too pricey."

The one thing she absolutely loved about campus was how green it was. There were plenty of trees around the brick pathways. Many patches of flowers were planted as well bringing a welcomed pop of color to the campus.

"Please, it's really the least I can do" Cole offered as he took in the sunny California atmosphere. He was still getting used to the heat and the good weather in general. Usually around this time of year in Toronto, the days would vary between mild summer heat, and frigid winds mixed with rain. Here, it seemed like the summer would last forever.

They soon arrived and picked out a table. It was after 4pm, so the place was mostly empty, save for the employees and a few groups of students clustered around tables. It was quiet enough that they'd definitely hear each other talk. Cole deposited his bag on the floor next to the seat and looked to the girl to ask.
"Ok, what can I get for you miss..... sorry, I just realized I never caught your name?"

"Well..." Alex began hesitantly, "Alright then."

They finally made it to the restaurant. Alex was thankful for the quietness of the place. They didn't have to tell over each other or do anything crazy just to be able to hear.

"Oh, sorry, I'm Alex Hawke," Alex said, feeling awfully rude for not introducing herself earlier. She held out her hand for a handshake, something that she did for anyone she interviewed or spoke to for the newspaper. Somehow this felt a little too formal. "And you're Cole Cross, the student from Toronto, right? I heard there was a problem with your visa."

He took her hand graciously and shook it.
"Nice to meet you Alex" he said with a smile. Acknowledging her first question, he sheepishly said "Yeah, deciding to come here was kind of a last minute thing. In the rush, a few papers weren't properly filled out, and that set me back, seems to be the way things go for me. First things first, I guess, what're we eating?"

"Oh yeah," Alex said, almost forgetting about the food. Right off of the bat this guy was incredibly sweet, and not to mention handsome. Both of these traits distracted her from her main mission of the interview and the side mission of lunch. She looked over to the waitress and smiled, signaling they were ready to have their orders taken. The waitress gave them their menus and a quick rundown of the food before waiting for their orders.

"Can I just get a burger and a water?" Alex asked, not wanting to order anything too expensive. Not that there was anything over thirteen bucks anyway, but still.

The waitress wrote it down then waited for Cole's order, pen at the ready.

"As good as a burger sounds, I gotta stay on my meal plan, so can I get the grilled chicken and vegetables? Water too, thank you"

He passed back the menu and thanked her again.
"Shouldn't be too long guys" she said with a smile as she headed off.

"It's a nice place" he said, smiling at Alex "I guess, we can get started if you've got your questions ready? Unless you wanna wait until we're fed?" he chuckled a little and reached up to flick a longer strand of hair away from his eye, trying to hide his nervousness.

"I guess we can get some of them done while we wait," Alex decided and pulled out a few papers from her folder. "Don't worry," she assured him, picking up on his nervousness, "There aren't any out-of-the-blue questions."

The waitress came by and dropped off their waters before attending another table. Alex took a long, grateful sip of water before continuing, "The first couple are real simple. When and where were you born and where did you grow up?"

He took a sip of water, and breathed a little easier after she assured him there wouldn't be any surprises.

"Well, I was born in 1999 at the children's hospital in Toronto. I grew up in Oakville, which is just outside the city, on the shore of Lake Ontario, though it's still in what they call the Greater Toronto Area" he broke into a grin as he added "You can just put down Toronto for both answers if you really want, there's not a huge difference to be honest."

The statement was a bit funnier for him than it would be for her.

Alex's pen scribbled down notes as quickly as he spoke. She could have brought a laptop to keep track of their conversation, sure, but she figured that writing everything by hand made everything more personal. She chuckled a bit at his joke, "That's kinda like LA. I was born a few cities over but it always makes it easier to tell people 'Los Angeles.'"

The waitress brought out the food. "You guys need anything just call me over, okay?" With that, their waitress zoomed away again to help other customers.

"Never ate here before?" Alex questioned Cole before starting on her burger.

"No, I haven't" he said as he took the knife and fork and sawed off a bit of chicken. It was done to perfection, and the small amounts of seasoning they used made the normally bland dish pop with flavor. He wanted to explain further so once he swallowed he added.

"It's Tuesday right? Well, I just got here Sunday night. Rushed through an orientation all day yesterday, got my class schedule, room assignment, and then one of the guys on the team showed me around a bit, we just ate at the dorm commissary though. Jet lag's been killing me to be honest, I'm surprised I actually made it through practice without passing out!"

"Oh wow!" Alex exclaimed after finishing a bite of juicy burger, "So you really haven't had much time to rest then?" She quickly made a mental note not to keep him here too long. She could only imagine how much sleep he had to catch up on as well as how much class time he missed in the week. There was about a four and a half hour time difference from LA to Toronto if she wasn't mistaken.

"If you ever need any help around campus I'm not too far. I live in the female dorms across from here, so it's no biggie. Actually it's pretty close to the hockey arena," she added, though in a more hushed tone.

"Rest isn't a huge issue, I'll be ok in a day or so. I've spent most of the last couple years flying back and forth between Toronto and Newfoundland, that's an island all the way out east, most easterly point in North America I'm pretty sure. My mom's from there, so whenever I wasn't playing, I was there. Oh, and thanks for offering to show me around, I really appreciate it!" Cole said warmly. He was terrible at picking up signals, but in that moment, he felt a bit of a vibe. He liked this girl, not only was she cute, but she seemed nice, and genuinely friendly. He hadn't dated in a very long time, and the only girls that had shown the slightest bit of interest in him since seemingly only did so because he was a player in one of the OHL premiere teams. This was different, sure, she was interviewing him, but the conversation felt more like two people who were just getting to know each other.

"I might have to take you up on that once I'm all caught up on everything" he said, turning his attention momentarily to his plate to load up his fork with another bite. Wanting to keep their conversation going, he threw out the first question that jumped into his tired, jumbled mind.
"You, uh, been going here long? What are you studying?"

"Oh okay, I'm glad it doesn't affect you too much then!" Alex replied, genuinely happy that he wasn't feeling too bad from the time difference.

"Well, I'm actually studying to get a degree in Dietary Nutrition," she explained, "Health and fitness mean a lot to me and I know not everyone knows how to eat properly, especially people who have restrictions or diseases. It can be really hard to adjust to a new diet, it's a whole lifestyle change. I didn't realize how badly I ate before I started learning." Alex looked down at the burger that was almost gone, "Okay, I still eat a bit bad now and then! But it's really not that bad if you eat certain foods in moderation and keep exercising." Then she realized how much she talked. She couldn't help it, this was something she was passionate about. Her cheeks began to turn a rose color, "Sorry, I just really like this stuff you know?"

Cole couldn't help but chuckle, that same dopey smile still on his face "Don't apologize, you've fond what you're passionate about, it's a great feeling isn't it? Wish you the best of luck in it!"

He took another bite and started to scrape some more of the chicken and veggies scattered over his plate together into a neat pile.
"So, will you be reporting on all of the team's games?"

"Thanks! And I wish you the best in hockey too!" Alex responded, glad that he could appreciate her passion. "No, I won't be reporting on the games. I'm not part of the sports section of the newspaper," Alex explained, "They give me the little articles they don't expect many people to read. It's weird, but that's how they are."

"What got you into hockey? Is it a Canada thing or..?"