Theo was done sulking. The rest of the weekend after the tryouts had been hard, sure, but he needed to keep his head high as the second week of school began. There were going to be stares and whispers, but he could ignore those.

That was because it wasn't over yet.

As he walked into the school on Monday morning, feeling relatively fine since he'd taken the bus, he immediately headed to his locker. Dylan was already there, his locker open on the other side of the hall, apparently free for anyone to look inside. It was a bit frustrating when he looked at Theo, pity evident in his eyes. Obviously he'd heard about what happened.

"I figured I could count on you to not look at me like that," Theo said bitterly, opening up his locker and beginning to sort out his books.

Dylan jumped at the statement, but recovered quickly, grinning at Theo. "I was just thinking about how sad it is that you'll be a virgin the rest of your life."

Theo was taken aback by that one. "What the hell?"

"I dunno…I was trying to think of something quick." Dylan shrugged. "So…anything happen this weekend?"

Theo sighed, giving Dylan a pointed look. "As if you don't know." He nodded his head to a pair of people walking past and whispering.

Dylan gasped. "No way…"

"Huh? So you didn't hear?"

Dylan pointed at Theo accusingly. "You got together with that girl Chl-"

"What?! No, shut up! What are you on about?" Theo couldn't help but think something was wrong with his friend's head sometimes.

Dylan chuckled, almost evilly, before settling down. "So, what's the next step? We egg the locker rooms at the arena? We lock Coach Dawson out of his office? Oh…we could do something to Tanner's locker! I know where it is."

Theo sighed, shaking his head with a laugh. Strange he may be, but Dylan was supportive. "That won't be necessary. Besides, it's not a done deal just yet. I've still got a chance."

"Well, yeah," Dylan said, rolling his eyes. "They can talk big about safety all they want, but they still suck without you. They'll eventually take you if you play on one leg the whole game."

With that, the two began to make their way to their first class, Theo already feeling a little more emboldened. He'd get through his classes, ignore the stares, and then he'd find a way to convince Frank or whoever else that he deserved a chance to be on the team. The team wouldn't have been decided just yet anyway, and sometimes there was even a bonus tryout day if it was close. Maybe he could do something like that.

When he and Dylan stepped into the classroom, making their way to their seats, Theo glanced at the clock. There was still some time, so he took his time pulling out the materials he needed. First period for him was math, which could be a bit tough early in the morning, so he liked having his things in line.

Feeling eyes on him as he finished up, though, he glanced to the seat to his left. A girl was sitting there, her brown hair spilling over her shoulders as she slouched over her desk. Her eyes appeared somewhat uneasy as she peered at him through her glasses. Something about her look wasn't like the others, though, which surprised Theo.

"Lily, right?" he asked. She was somewhat familiar to him. She'd been in his classes before, and he was pretty sure he'd seen her at the freshman club meetings last week.

"Y-Yeah," she said, shaking her head as though she had been in a daze. "Sorry, I bet you've been getting stares all day…well, for a long time now."

Theo nodded, sighing as he leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, it's not exactly my idea of great popularity, but it is what it is."

Lily frowned, doodling absentmindedly in her notebook. "It's…kind of my fault. I mean…I didn't write the article, but…I helped."

Theo hesitated at those words, glancing at Lily and raising an eyebrow. "You're with the school paper."

She nodded, looking ashamed. "Natalie recruited me last year."

"Recruited?" That surprised Theo. He knew Chloé needed to write a trial piece to get in, so it was strange that the paper had needed to actively seek someone out.

"Not out of desperation for people to join," Lily murmured. "I guess it was because, well," she gestured at the room, specifically the blackboard with math equations on it, "I'm good at this."

"She wanted you because you're good at math?" Theo asked, confused. He supposed there were instances where articles could be written with that stuff in mind, but it seemed strange to seek someone out for it.

Lily nodded. "Statistics, really. Probabilities and things like that." She laughed uneasily. "I know you read the article, so think about it."

Theo narrowed his eyes, frustration welling up inside him. He remembered now. The "research" in the article, stating his chances for a recovery from his injury. It had been one of the most frustrating things in the article.

"I'm sure you've hated Natalie for that article ever since she wrote it, but…" Lily sniffed, and Theo was surprised to see tears at the corners of her eyes. "You should hate me more."

"Hey! Whoa! Whoa, no need to cry, Lily." Theo winced, seeing people looking over at the commotion, a couple even glaring at him when they saw Lily's tears. "Lily, it's okay. Really, I don't hate you. Heck, I don't even really hate Natalie."

Lily blinked in surprise. "You don't?"

Theo nodded. "I mean, it was frustrating, yeah, but that article did provide some motivation for me. Maybe I'm not back as quick as I'd like, but you've gotta admit, I've made progress."

"I suppose." Lily nodded thoughtfully. "I saw part of your tryouts the other day. You were quite good, given what happened."

Theo looked away uneasily. "Did you see the end?"

"Not…really." Theo glanced at her in confusion, seeing her fidgeting awkwardly. "I…well…I was tracking stats on some of the players. I already knew enough about you, so I was focusing on some others."

Theo laughed. "Ah, so you're one of those hockey analytics types. Corsi and expected goals and all that?"

"Oh it's much more than that!" Lily said suddenly, eyes going wide as she leaned forward excitedly. Theo jumped back a bit, alarmed by the sudden change in her demeanor. "Those stats are useful for the average person to know, for sure, but when you dig further into it, you'll see you can drastically change the performance of a team with simple changes. For example-"

"Okay okay!" Theo said, grinning as Lily got more and more enthusiastic. "Maybe you can tell me some other time."

Lily blushed awkwardly. "Sorry…right…yes. But…my point is…did I have a point?"

"I don't think so." Theo sighed, glancing at the door of the class where the teacher was entering. "But look, don't worry about all that's happened. I'll get back on the team. You can write about whatever you want. Natalie, too."

Her eyes suddenly widened. "That's what I wanted to warn you about."

Theo hesitated, tapping his pencil as he looked back at Lily. "What?"

"Natalie's writing another article about you."

"Well, like I said, she can write all she wants," Theo muttered. "I don't really care." It was kind of hard to show that. He couldn't help but actually care a little bit now that he knew it was happening.

Lily clenched her fists. "But that's not all, Theo." She pouted, shaking her head. "There's this girl who signed up to try to join the paper. I saw her there at your tryouts. She was even cheering you on."

"Chloé? What about Chloé?" Theo asked. He whispered, the teacher now calling for silence.

"Natalie makes fun of her in the article. It's not…it's not something the teachers will pick up on." Lily shook her head. "It's something about your 'freshman fans' being disappointed. How they'll try to use your failure to motivate themselves through their own. I know it doesn't sound that bad when I say it like that, but…"

"She's hinting that Chloé won't get onto the paper," Theo hissed angrily. "She really is a piece of work."

"I'm sorry," Lily said quietly. "I should do something. It's just…"

She didn't finish, but Theo didn't need her to. He understood. Natalie had a strange power over people, including the teachers. He didn't know her that well, but she seemed to get her way when she wanted something. And it usually seemed to leave at least one person feeling down.

They were quiet for the rest of the period, and when the class was over, Theo and Dylan were heading off to a different class. He thanked Lily for her warning and promised he'd try to let Chloé know as gently as possible. Lily still seemed to feel responsible, but she seemed grateful that Theo wasn't holding it against her.

The next couple of classes went by slowly. Theo now had a few things on his mind. He still wanted to find some way of convincing Frank to give him another chance, but now he was also worried about Chloé. She had seemed so excited about her goal of becoming a journalist. It was cruel to not even give her a chance of joining the school paper.

Even I at least got a chance, Theo realized as he walked out of his last class before lunch. And I'm trying to get another. I promised to help her, and all I did was worry about myself.

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But this made him further motivated to get Frank to let him tryout once more. If he could get on the team, that would give Chloé something better to write about. Besides, she said she believed in him. She wanted to write about him succeeding like this. Together, they'd show Natalie not to doubt them.

Theo began to hurry through the hall, trying to seek out Frank, who was a phys-ed teacher when not coaching hockey. He heard Dylan call out behind him, but ignored his friend as he set off. He guessed he'd need to head to the gymnasium, so he wanted to move quickly. Surprisingly, though, as Theo passed by the front office, he saw Frank emerging from it. He skidded to a halt upon seeing the coach, hating himself for wincing as his leg twinged uncomfortably.

"Coach!" he called out, getting Frank's attention. "I need to talk to you."

Frank sighed upon hearing Theo's voice, and turned around. "Byers…"

Theo took a deep breath and stepped up closer to Frank, ignoring some of the stares coming their way. "I'm sorry about the other day. I was just frustrated. I can do better than that. I just need another chance."

"Theo…"

He turned in surprise at the sound, seeing Angela and her friends, Chloé among them, having stopped to see what was going on. Actually, a fairly large crowd was showing up. A lot of people had probably heard he hadn't made the team, and were wondering how he'd handle it.

Theo ignored them all, turning back to Frank. "You know I can still play. I was doing all those drills fine."

"I have no doubt you can still play," Frank said, gaze softening somewhat. "You're a heck of a player, Byers. Even at fifty percent you'd be great out there."

Theo smiled at the praise. "So you'll let me-"

"I don't want fifty percent, kid." Frank sighed. "Look, you might be able to find some way to come back at some point. I'm no doctor. I have no idea what's up with your leg. But you couldn't give it your all out there, and that's a message I can't send to the rest of the team."

Theo couldn't help the anger that entered his voice as he responded. "I still did those drills better than most of those guys. Ask your son."

Frank's voice grew tense as well. "If you think that's the attitude that'll get you back on the team, you're sorely mistaken. Kid, you're not up to it. It's not safe."

"Taking that risk is my choice!" Theo snapped. "I can play if I want to. You just have to give me a chance to make the team!"

"I did!" Frank's voice rose. It wasn't a yell, but it was close. "Get it through your head, Byers. Your leg gave out with an overweight forty-five year old man skating opposite you. What do you think is going to happen with eighteen year old kids going to the gym every day?!"

"Like I said, that's my choice to take that risk!"

"No it isn't!" Frank pointed at the office he'd just exited. "Byers, do you know how many people you freaked out? Safety for players has been the number one concern here since that injury. Parents have been terrified of letting their kids play hockey."

Theo felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. That wasn't his fault. He'd never asked to have his leg shattered. He heard Angela again behind him, trying to tell him to stop, but he ignored her. "It's not my job to be the model of safety. Why can't the school do something about it?"

"Byers," Frank said, looking exasperated, "that's exactly what they've done. They've doubled the budget for the team. Better ice maintenance, better equipment, better safety training for coaches. It's going to cost a hell of a lot."

"Seems like a good idea. Don't see why I can't play with all that."

"Because if you get hurt again it's all over," Frank said pointing a finger at his chest. "Just like…"

Theo waited, gulping nervously. Something about Frank's tone didn't sit right with him. He wasn't angry anymore, but rather…sad.

"Our budget increase came at the cost of other clubs, Byers," he said. "Do you know which clubs?"

Theo's eyes widened, and he glanced back at Angela, seeing her face going pale. When he turned back to Frank, the coach was starting to turn away.

"The boys' team will continue, Byers, but as of this year, Moose Track Falls no longer has a girls' hockey team."

----------------------------------------

Angela wasn't sure if she felt angry, sad or even any emotion at all. Really, she just felt empty. A piece of herself, that she was waiting to find since she'd arrived at this school, was just…never going to be there.

She stared at Frank Dawson as he walked away from Theo, the coach looking uneasy at the stares he was receiving. Angela didn't really blame him, though. It hadn't been his decision. And she supposed it made some sense when considering some of the things Kelsey had said.

But still…it was unfair. How could it be right to not give the girls a chance? There were plenty that loved hockey just as much as the boys, her among them. To take their opportunity away to show it wasn't right. They deserved a chance to make a case.

"Angela, are you…" Chloé's voice faded as Angela stared blankly ahead.

"Who do these people think they are?" Victoria snapped, her voice shaking with indignation. "A boy gets hurt, so the boys get the girls' funding? What kind of logic is that?"

Angela's eyes slowly drifted to Theo. He was watching Frank leave, shoulders slumping. The whispers were already starting, along with the finger pointing. The blame game had begun. Even though they didn't really care, scapegoating Theo for this was too ripe an opportunity for high schoolers.

Angela stepped forward. What happened at the tryouts didn't matter. What happened just now didn't matter. "Theo," she said, taking hold of his arm, "let's go."

She led the way outside. She decided the cafeteria wasn't the place to be for lunch today. There were at least some secluded places outside they could go. And at least some students outside wouldn't know what had happened, and they could have some peace and quiet. Her friends followed, along with Theo's friend, Dylan, who appeared surprisingly pensive.

Once outside, Angela looked around, trying to spot a place where they could have some quiet. She settled for a spot under some trees that was well away from the road. It was near the soccer field, but not too many people were out there. As soon as everyone got comfortable, sitting under the trees, all eyes turned to Theo.

He was staring down at the ground, but he seemed to sense they were all looking at him. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault," Angela said quickly. "It's stupid to blame you. And Coach Dawson knows that. He made it sound that way and that was-"

"I'm not talking about that. I mean, I'm sorry about that, too, but…" Theo looked up, his gaze going to Angela, and then Chloé. "I was pretty rude to you two the other day. That was stupid of me. Thank you for the support."

"You don't need to apologize," Chloé said. "It's not easy going through something like this." Theo grimaced at her words, and Angela wondered if something else was troubling him, but ignored it for the time being.

"Chloé's right," she said. "Besides, I wasn't very nice, either. It's fair that you were upset."

"I do need to apologize," Theo said. "You guys have things you're working towards as well, and there you were, supporting me, even while I made it all about myself." He shook his head, smiling. "You're the best."

Angela bit her lip, feeling awkward. She was happy to make up over the incident, but she hadn't expected Theo to say something so heartfelt. She could see Chloé turning red out of the corner of her eye, while Victoria and Brooke watched on like this was some kind of teen drama movie.

Suddenly, a loud sound interrupted the nice moment, and Angela's head snapped up to see Dylan coughing and spluttering. The idiot had begun eating his lunch like nothing had just happened. His drink was spilled all over his chest.

"How am I not the best?!" he whined. "I even did that thing earlier where I pretended nothing was happening!"

Theo rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Yeah, man. You're the best, too."

That seemed to appease Dylan, and he went back to his lunch. Once he was distracted again, Angela turned back to Theo, deciding to tackle the other topic that was so distressing. She still wanted to make it clear she didn't blame Theo.

"About the girls' team…" she started.

Theo shook his head. "It's still my fault in the end. I got hurt, and it's cost you guys your team. What else can we say?"

"That's ridiculous, though," Victoria said, leaning forward as she spoke up. "As if one injury is enough to get a whole team shut down. And for a different program all together. Girls don't even play with body checking, so your injury might've been prevented in a girls' game. Even though the player that hit you didn't really do it on purpose, he was still going after you for contact."

"That's true," Brooke murmured. "There was likely already some discussion of diverting funding from the girls' team. Angela said Kelsey had mentioned interest isn't quite as strong in Moose Track Falls for hockey among girls."

Angela nodded. "Figure skating seems to be the big thing for them here."

"Yeah, it all started way before Theo," Dylan spoke up, burping slightly from his lunch. All the girls looked at him uneasily, but he continued unbothered. "The girls got the worst times at the rink, cut practices, the worst home game scheduling, and on and on. There was some lost interest before, but the school did nothing to help, and probably made it worse."

Theo snorted at that. "They talk about unifying our two towns a lot, but look at what happens when Loon's Lake girls show up their own. There's been a bias on the boys' team till Frank took over, but the Loon's Lake girls were always obviously superior to Moose Track Falls'."

Angela was surprised to hear that from Theo. She'd thought he wasn't as into the rivalry between towns as others were. "You think this is about the town rivalry?"

"How can it not be? Dylan, you've kept track of the girls' team here since you were little, right? When the Loonie Girls started playing here, the team got better, right?"

"Yeah, for sure," Dylan said. "I mean, they didn't take over the whole team, but they showed up the Mooseheads."

Victoria laughed, shaking her head at Dylan's remark. "You're a strange dude. So you legit like girls' hockey?"

"I told you! My cousin's a good player!" Dylan raised his arms up as though defending himself. "Anyway, Moose Track Falls interest definitely dropped off when they saw they were getting shown up. That's when figure skating got bigger here. Still, we're the bigger town, so we still have more players. If they get those girls uninterested, it all goes down."

Angela frowned, thinking of Kelsey being so welcoming to her. Sure, Natalie and that girl Maddie had been rude, but there were nice Moose Track Falls girls that didn't care about this. If anything, this seemed spearheaded by adults. There had to be enough Moose Track Falls girls that wanted to continue.

"Are you saying you think they reached out to former players about this?" Brooke asked, voicing the question forming in Angela's mind.

"They always try to get an idea of what clubs kids are interested in before the year," Dylan said. "For funding and stuff like that."

"That's true," Chloé added, surprising everyone as she spoke up. Angela frowned, unsure how Chloé could know, given she was new, but she continued, clarifying. "My dad mentioned talking about clubs at the staff meeting before school started. They survey some of the parents before the year."

"So when Frank was talking about parents being freaked out by my injury, he was probably talking about that," Theo murmured. "But like Victoria said, that shouldn't affect a different program."

Angela shook her head. "Not on its own, but think about it. Put the injury in their head when they're already losing interest, and then what's the answer they come up with? Then turn around and tell the boys' parents you'll double their funding."

"Keep the Loon's Lake star off the boys' team, lose the Loon's Lake influence on the girls' team, and let Mooseheads dominate boys' hockey and girls' figure skating." Victoria shook her head. "Diabolical."

"I doubt it was all as well thought out as that," Theo admitted, "but it does work out nicely for Moose Track Falls pride." He sighed. "But honestly…maybe they're right about me not being ready yet. I just hate that it's led to this for the girls' team."

Angela was surprised to hear him finally admit it, but she was proud of Theo for finally doing so. "One day you might still be able to play, Theo. It doesn't need to be so fast."

"Yeah." He took a deep breath before locking eyes with her. "But you do need your chance. You can play, and you deserve to be out there."

"Easier said than done, Theo," Angela murmured, sighing in resignation.

"Why can it not be done, though?"

Everyone went quiet at the whispered question, looking towards Chloé. She'd been mostly quiet for this conversation. Almost quieter than Brooke, which was saying something. She looked surprisingly determined, though, and clearly had an idea.

"We have a rink we can go to. We just need to convince the players." Chloé smiled as Theo gazed at her, his mouth opening in realization.

"Of course! Mr. Cliff would gladly get you guys ice." He paused for a moment, thinking. "If the school had free ice, and could get money from renting out what should've been yours at their own rink, maybe they'd reinstate the club. You'd just need the coach to be willing to go to Loon's Lake. Players need to be willing, too, but I'm sure you can get enough."

"I guess if you're running short, I'll suit up again," Victoria said quietly. "Just be warned…it might be unpleasant."

Everyone shivered uncomfortably at that.

"I'll join, too," Brooke said. "The team doesn't need to be good, right? As long as Angela and the others get a chance to play."

Angela was touched. She loved her friends. "Thanks guys."

"I wish I could try, too," Chloé said, "but I can't even skate."

"Don't worry about it," Angela told her. "We should be able to get enough players. And you can write about it all!"

"Sure!" Chloé seemed enthusiastic about the idea. "So…is this happening?"

At that, everyone looked to Theo, which seemed to surprise him. Nonetheless, he stood up, wincing as he put weight on his leg. He looked to the school, and then back to the group. He grinned as he raised a fist in the air.

"Let's bring back some good old fashioned Loon's Lake hockey!"