It all starts with a bet. Chanyeol is stupid enough to say yes. 

"Let's have a hockey game at the end of the semester," Yuta suggests, though it rings through as a command in everyone's ears.

They're in the common room of the dorm, sprawled out over multiple couches, all surveying the drama playing on the TV with varying levels of interest. At Yuta's words, everyone perks up, eyes searching between each other for a hint of resistance. When there's none found, they all begin to nod slowly. 

"Us," Yuta wraps strong arms around the two boys nearest him. His eyebrows raise in a challenge, almost cockily, and he nods towards Chanyeol's friend group. "Against you guys." 

Chanyeol feels his pride get shot at, little by little, with each second that passes. He makes eye contact with Yixing, spares a glance at Sehun, before he's nodding. He'll be damned if he lets guys from the basketball team think they're better than the football team.

They've always had a rivalry -- a stupid one, but a rivalry, nonetheless -- and Chanyeol wants to cement his team as superior before his senior year is up.

Even if this game is only between a few of the members of each team, Chanyeol feels like it's his duty to represent his squad and win. It's his last chance, and he's being challenged by an underclassman. He can't turn it down. 

"What do we get?" Chanyeol asks confidently, though he wonders how much of it he's faking. Kyungsoo seems to wonder this, too, because he lets out a little chuckle from next to him.

"Bragging rights?" Doyoung hollers out. Yuta nods to his teammate, seemingly satisfied with the bet, and he stands up.

It's almost funny, how much tension is in the room over a game where the only risk is bragging rights.

Chanyeol stands, too, knowing instinctively that this must be the moment when they seal the deal and make the bet. He supposes that, as captain of the football team, it makes sense for him to be in charge of this kind of stuff, but it doesn't mean he feels any more comfortable doing it. Especially when Yuta smashes their hands together in a promise, eyes teeming with pride. 

Chanyeol is fairly sure that Kyungsoo has a friend who can skate, is certain Sehun and Yixing are roommates with a hockey player. He can find someone to teach him to skate. It won't be that hard, he reasons, and so he smiles confidently into the handshake.

--

Baekhyun doesn't know what he's done to deserve this, for Jongdae to be begging him, eyes wide, and nodding toward an obnoxiously tall boy across the courtyard. 

He doesn't know the boy's name, but he knows the face, and he also knows that this tall boy is captain of the football team. The same people Baekhyun has sworn to hate for his years in college, if only out of spite. 

You see, Baekhyun had fallen in love with skating when he was young. Nothing came as naturally to him as gliding over ice, skates skidding and cutting through, his body twisting and jumping. It was what he loved.

But, he seemed to be the only one who thought that way. He'd been called it all -- every slur, every insult that he could think of -- in his high school years, after everyone realized he was serious about becoming a professional figure skater. And no one was quite as cruel to him as the jocks were; they'd deemed it a girly sport, one that didn't deserve any credit, one that Baekhyun was an idiot for appreciating. 

Thus, Baekhyun hates every single boy on the football team, without fail. It's petty, and he knows it, but he doesn't intend to change his mind anytime soon.

So why -- God why? -- is Jongdae making puppy dog eyes while talking about this tall boy? Jongdae's thick fingers wrap around Baekhyun's hand, squeezing in a comforting way, and he nods once more in the boy's direction. 

"He just wants you to teach him how to skate," Jongdae repeats, this time slower, eyes kind. Baekhyun glares at him suspiciously. Jongdae knows how he feels about guys like the captain, knows that he would never do this. 

"Why?" Baekhyun is skeptical. And slightly angry.

Is Jongdae being bullied into this? Is this an elaborate scheme so that tall-captain-jerk can beat me up when we're alone? 

"He made some bet? I don't know. He needs to learn how to skate," Jongdae waves his lack of explanation away with a hand. "Kyungsoo asked Jongin and Jongin said he was too busy with teaching Kyungsoo, so he can't, and apparently Chanyeol -- he's the captain, tall guy, you know -- is really, really bad at skating, so the hockey guys got annoyed and gave up. So he needs a teacher, and his only connections aren't going to help him, and --" 

"Why does that matter to us, again?" Baekhyun's head hurts a little from Jongdae's speech.

There's so many names floating around in his head, and he only recognizes one: Jongin. Figure skater Jongin, his friend Jongin. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol and hockey players mean nothing to him, maybe even less than nothing, if he thinks really hard about it. 

"Jongin asked me . . . to ask you . . . to help him out," Jongdae's eyebrows crease in his unique way, becoming straight lines. "Him is Chanyeol." 

"How does Jongin even know Chan -- what's his name? Chanyeol? -- how does he even know him?" 

Baekhyun notices briefly that they're walking in the same direction as the group of boys Jongdae had pointed to earlier, can feel the familiar fear creep up into his chest at the sight of so many guys in a group, ready to turn on him.

He maintains eye contact with one of them as the pair make their way towards the group. He's medium height and has an angular face, offset with a dimply smile, and he says nothing. It's a relief. 

"Jongin and Kyungsoo are friends. Kyungsoo is on the football team. Chanyeol is captain. Simple as that," Jongdae shrugs slightly, taking a sip of his latte.

Baekhyun searches for said boy, the tall captain, and finds him scrolling through his phone at the back of the group. He's not as intimidating as Baekhyun had first assumed, but he doesn't like the way his varsity jacket sits on his shoulders, the way his long fingers tap on the keyboard of his phone. Baekhyun doesn't like the calm look on his face or the way his soft black hair moves in the wind. Something about him makes Baekhyun feel unnerved. 

"Him?" Baekhyun asks under his breath as they pass, and Jongdae nods resolutely, giving the tall boy a once-over. 

"He's hot," Jongdae points out, as though it's what Baekhyun should've said. Baekhyun stares at him, scandalized. He can't deny that Chanyeol isn't ugly, but hot? That's a bit of an overstatement. 

"Would your girlfriend be happy hearing that?" Baekhyun asks, fake disgust lacing his tone. Jongdae smiles and laughs heartily, shaking his head and nudging Baekhyun in the side playfully.

"I have a girlfriend; that doesn't mean I'm blind, Baek. I can still tell if someone is attractive, believe it or not. Plus, she'd think he's hot, too." 

Baekhyun ignores this comment and focuses on walking past the group unscathed. It's accomplished, and he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Jongdae notices and worry sets in on his features, eyes downcast and guilty. 

"I know you don't like being around them. Sorry I brought it up," Jongdae's voice is thick with regret, his usually playful tone morose.

"Jongdae. . ." Baekhyun's voice is soft.

"I don't know, I thought maybe if you hung out with Chanyeol you could see that they're not all jerks. I mean, Chanyeol is looking for someone to teach him how to skate. He won't be rude about it." 

Baekhyun feels guilty looking at his best friend, seeing the regret in his eyes, and he shakes his head.

He knows that Jongdae is trying to help. He knows that Jongin is a lovely person, and maybe Kyungsoo is by association. He understands, really.

"I can . . . give it a go. Maybe it'd be good," Baekhyun shrugs a little, feeling as though possibly this is a good turning point in his life.

He can either get over his hatred and fear, or he can be validated in his current stance. There's no way to lose, he supposes, and he nods a little to convince himself. 

"Really?" Jongdae asks, voice full of sudden happiness. 

"If I go to the Olympics, I'll have to be around a bunch of sporty s. It's just training for my gold medal in the future," Baekhyun jokes, wide smile forming as he waits for a response.

Jongdae guffaws and it eases his nerves even more. Jongdae plants a sloppy kiss on his cheek, which Baekhyun wipes off promptly, and the excited boy gets to texting someone on his phone. Baekhyun assumes it's Kyungsoo or Jongin and ignores it, focusing on his neglected cup of coffee, now a little cold. 

--

to: nini 
tell ur friend that his captain has a skating instructor

from: nini
baekhyun hyung? 

to: nini
yeah. also tell him that i need chanyeol's #

from: nini
lol ok ❤️❤️

--

Jongdae almost feels dumb, running out late at night to meet with the captain of the football team, but he's doing it anyway. His feet hit the pavement at the same time that a tall form rounds the corner, hoodie pulled over his large ears and hands shoved in his pockets.

"Chanyeol?" he asks, though he knows. The taller boy flashes him a smile and removes his hood, hair sticking out in every direction. He suddenly looks ten times less frightening, Jongdae notes.

"That's me," he says, voice deep and gravelly.

"I'm Jongdae. Baekhyun's my best friend -- he's the one who can skate." 

At the mention of Baekhyun, Chanyeol perks up, interested, and he looks behind the shorter boy, as if the skater would pop up at any minute. 

"I, uh, actually just wanted to tell you something before you started your lessons and stuff," Jongdae feels awkward. "Can you make sure that while you're with him, none of your teammates or friends or anyone says anything? He hates when people make fun of figure skating." 

He knows this is an odd talk to have, but he doesn't think he'll have a clean conscience otherwise. He can't let Baekhyun do this to be met with rudeness, or worse, cruelty. Jongdae's heard too many stories from high school, when Baekhyun gets drunk and slurs his words together and whines out awful anecdotes. He needs Chanyeol to promise this, at the very least.

Chanyeol looks puzzled. He understands where Jongdae is coming from, but he also can't wrap his head around the concept of asking someone to be nice. Aren't people just nice to each other because that's what people do? Maybe it's because he's always been top of the food chain, maybe he'd just never considered that there was another option.

He looks down to catch Jongdae staring at him, brown eyes swimming with something that makes him feel guilty, as if he's already done something to offend Baekhyun, as if he's hurt the boy in some way.

"Yeah, yeah, I can do that," Chanyeol assures hurriedly. The sincerity in Jongdae's eyes has him reeling, fearing for a second that he'll fail at his task and get murdered in cold blood by this small man. 

"Thanks. Just," Jongdae shrugs slightly, looking almost sheepish. "Don't let anyone hurt him. Okay?" 

Chanyeol has no idea if Jongdae is referring to physical or psychological pain, but he feels a surge of protectiveness run through his chest. If this guy was going to teach him how to skate, the least he could do is keep him safe. Chanyeol nods more firmly this time, assured of Jongdae's request.

"I promise," Chanyeol says with a charming smile, hair fluttering in the wind.

Jongdae thinks back to Baekhyun flinching while walking past their friend group earlier, thinks of the wary eyes he'd cast to Chanyeol that very afternoon.

No matter what Baekhyun feared, Jongdae was assured, looking at the tiny smile on Chanyeol's lips, that this was a good plan. 

-- 

Baekhyun is stretching, right leg pulled up almost vertically to his chest, cold puffs of air escaping with every breath he takes. He's in the rink; he feels at home. But still, something miniscule is off because he knows the football captain will be here any minute. 

His stomach is in knots with anticipation. Slight fear or slight excitement, Baekhyun can't tell -- it all jumbles together, really. 

His leg starts to feel too heavy to hold up anymore, and so he switches to his left, rolling his shoulders to alleviate some of the pressure building up as he does it. He knows he moves fluidly from years of practice, countless nights of grueling training, but he doesn't expect any comments to be made on it. 

"You move like water! That was crazy!" 

Baekhyun jumps a little and he loses his grip on his leg, letting it fall back down. He spins around from his position near the entrance to the ice to be met with a tall boy, smiling brightly. 

Chanyeol has big teeth, big ears, and a big smile. Everything about him is large, almost comical, to a point where Baekhyun thinks maybe he imagined the lanky boy standing there. But no, Chanyeol is real, and he has dark hair swept up above a shining face, handsome and a little tan. 

"Are you Baekhyun?" the taller boy asks before Baekhyun can formulate another sentence. He feels tongue-tied at the boy's sudden appearance, and he ignores the constricting feeling in his throat when he tries to take a deep breath. 

"Yeah, that's me," Baekhyun moves to sit on a bench, feeling overwhelmed. He grabs his skates and starts loosening the laces in order to put them on. His hands are shaking a little, and Baekhyun wills himself to calm down a little. Chanyeol seems nice enough. He hasn't said anything rude yet. Chill out.

"I'm Chanyeol," the tall boy says loudly as he scoots towards Baekhyun on the bench. "Park Chanyeol." 

"I know," Baekhyun replies lamely. He finishes tying up his skates, finally, and gives Chanyeol a glance. He's very close, very smiley, and maybe a little handsome, but Baekhyun tries his best to ignore the last part. 

"It's --" Chanyeol looks around, eyebrows furrowing together a little. "It's really cold." 

Baekhyun stares at him to check if he's joking. 

He can't find any trace of malice, any sarcasm, in his comment, only annoyance and a cute sort of pout. Then Baekhyun lets himself trail his eyes down the taller boy's figure, taking in the t-shirt and thin sweatpants he has on. 

Chanyeol does the same to Baekhyun, noticing the thermal leggings and pale blue hoodie that Baekhyun's wearing. He looks cozy. Oh. 

"It's an ice rink," Baekhyun points out.

The shorter boy doesn't mean to sound so judgy, but it slips out. Chanyeol only covers his face in embarrassment and lets out a deep laugh, shoulders shaking. Then he looks up, mouth open in silent laughter, tears b at his eyes, as if it's the funniest thing that's ever happened to him. Baekhyun likes the way his eyes crinkle, feels a little warm at the taller boy gasping for air, but he shakes it away. 

It'll be a long few months, Baekhyun decides, and he heads for the ice, leaving the taller boy giggling at himself on the bench. A really long few months.

-- 

okay, so you guys voted for hockey/figure skater au! 

this is just a rough, short first chapter in order to establish characters and plot..... I promise the plot will thicken...... pinky promise lol (i highkey hate this chapter, but its fine lol)

I'll only really continue this if I get feedback?? if not, i can just put this plot on the back burner and focus on my schoolwork for the time being lmfao

so yeah please give me ur feedback! comment, upvote, subscribe, all that jazz. it's really so appreciated when u guys tell me what ur thinking as u read. it makes me so happy!!!!!

ok bye love u all!