“No, it’s okay. But you’re coming?”
“I am…” Some of the guys are still hanging around, but they’re all supposed to hate the Ravens with every fiber of their being, so he’s not asking anyone to come. He sure as hell won’t ask Mattie, because they’re home for a week and he’ll want to spend as much time with his family as he can.
Maybe Bram would come with him if Blake asked, but then Bram would probably also get into a fist fight with a Ravens fan and Blake doesn’t need that tonight.
“One ticket is good,” Blake says.
“Sweet,” Evan says. “Come see me after, yeah?”
“No.”
“Blaaake.”
“Do you want me to die?”
“You’re gonna be there as my brother, not as, like, the enemy.”
“He’s still gonna be the enemy,” someone shouts.
“I heard that,” Blake says.
“Please.”
Shit, has Evan ever said please to him in his entire life? “Fine,” Blake says.
“Yay,” Evan says and hangs up before Blake has a chance to say goodbye.
“Who was that?” Paulie asks.
“My brother,” Blake grumbles. “He’s playing his first NHL game tonight and I apparently just agreed to go.”
“He close?”
“Ravens,” Blake says and Paulie laughs at him as Blake packs up his shit.
Mattie laughs at him too when Blake tells him an hour later. Blake is sensing a pattern here.
He makes sure not to wear anything with the Knights logo on it as he heads out for the game. He digs up an old baseball cap that has his junior team’s logo on it, because that’s probably safe enough and pulls on a gray hoodie that can’t be mistaken for any team gear.
Blake gets there early enough so he can watch warmups, but only from afar. He keeps his head down and tries not to look directly at anyone. Someone made a sign for Evan, which Blake tries to snap a picture of for their grandma and Evan throws a puck over the glass for whoever made it. Elliot gives his head a pat in passing.
Now on the first line, Elliot is still a joy to watch. With Desjardins on IR and Morozov probably having the worst season of his career, all the lines got shuffled. Elliot scores a goal and sets up two others, his smile bright when his teammates rush in for a hug.
During the first intermission, Blake goes and buys a burger, because he’s a bit hungry and also prone to stress-eating. Who would have thought that watching his brother play would make him so nervous? Evan isn’t getting a ton of ice time, but Blake’s still waiting, at the edge of his seat, hoping he’ll at least get an assist.
While he waits for his burger, he looks down at his phone, his teammates chirping him because, haha, rip Blake, he isn’t dead, he’s just at a Ravens game. A little girl, waiting with her mom next to him, is staring up at him and when he catches her looking, he smiles at her. She smiles back at him and waves. Blake waves back, because who the fuck doesn’t wave to a little kid?
The mom notices, frowns at Blake, and he can actually pinpoint the second she recognizes him. Blake tries to keep smiling, then his order is ready and he quickly goes to grab it, waves at the little girl before he leaves, because she’s still watching him, and then escapes back to his seat.
Evan does get an assist in the third period and Elliot’s on the bench waving to one of his teammates to grab the puck, which is swiftly delivered to the Ravens’ equipment manager. Blake cheers for Evan, but for nobody else. He didn’t show too much enthusiasm for the Ravens’ other goals, but when it’s Evan, he’ll make an exception.
After the game, he goes down to the locker rooms as promised and they let him pass when he gives them his name, some of the arena staff going a little bug-eyed when they see him. He waits outside the locker room and Evan comes out a moment later, sweaty, only half out of his gear, and jumps right into Blake’s arms.
“You came,” Evan shouts.
“I said I would.”
Evan squeezes him.
The locker room door opens and Elliot peers outside while Blake is still hugging Evan. It takes embarrassingly long for Blake to convince himself to at least wave at him. He pushed off apologizing to Elliot until it was too late and now Elliot probably thinks he’s the biggest douchebag to ever walk the planet. Elliot, with some reluctance, waves back at him, then disappears again.
“Some of the guys are taking me out for drinks,” Evan says and lets go of Blake. “You wanna come?”
Blake doesn’t comment on Evan being underage, because that’s none of his business, and shakes his head. “I have a game tomorrow. Also not really in the mood to supervise your underage drinking.” Okay, so he did say something. Like he wasn’t the king of underage drinking, like, two years ago.
Evan grins and punches him in the arm. “Thanks for coming, though.”
Blake nods, gives him another hug and escapes before he can think too much about whether or not he should ask someone if they can find him Elliot.
#
Blake is almost convinced that he’ll get to the other end of the season without playing a single game against the Mariners. He’s mostly okay with that, although he’d like to get a few more starts in general, which is unlikely now that it’s almost playoff time.
When they wrap up their season series against the Mariners, the Knights have already clinched their playoff spot, but they have a chance to get home ice tonight, so the way this game ends is still important. Noah grins at him during warmups, but it’s fleeting, in passing, not enough to be a distraction.
