❆ The Rangers Fan

[Stian]

(Introducing Saoirse Ronan as Shiloh)

2018 - MARCH FIFTEENTH ❆
1 THOMAS STREET ❆
NEW YORK, NEW YORK ❆

Sebastian fell into the dining room chair and his head hit the table. Shiloh put the bottle of Aleve and a glass of water in front of him and sat down in her own chair. She cleared her throat trying to get his attention but he didn't budge. She picked up the pill bottle and rattled it directly beside his ear which seemed to get his attention as he shot right up. Shiloh eyed him and pushed the two items into his hands.

“So, when did you become a Rangers fan?”

Sebastian shook two tablets out of the bottle and threw them into the back of his throat. He squinted at his girlfriend trying to make his eyes focus on her through the morning sun shining through the window.

“Since they beat the Penguins in overtime, I guess.”

He pulled his New York Rangers cap down over his eyes to shield them from the sun and used the sleeve of his New York Rangers jersey to wipe his eyes. His head pounded and he contemplated another Aleve. As a high level performer for half his life, alcohol wasn't something Sebastian was used to handling in large amounts but being around rowdy Rangers fans who relentlessly offered him pitchers had helped to lower his inhibitions. Shiloh constantly telling him he'd regret this didn't stop him.

This morning, he wished he'd listened.

He tried shaking the cobwebs out of his head, but that just made the headache worse. He blamed all this on the drinking game he learned at the bar last night: “Drink every time the refs fuck up.”

Shiloh sighed.

“You had a good night, huh?”

Sebastian had heard that sigh and tone before - he fucked up last night, not that he could recall how exactly.

”Yeah, sorry about that. About everything. Those guys were generous with their pitchers.”

“I mean, it's whatever. But you need to remember I'm not a…”

She stopped herself. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have with a boyfriend who was still out of it. Instead, she changed the conversation to one of the only topics they had in common.

“You need to remember you have a match this Monday night.”

Sebastian groaned.

“I'm not even sure if this hangover will be gone by then.”

The Aleve wasn't working quick enough. He had a third. Fromm the other side of the table he heard the canned sound of a pained scream and an audience gasping.

“What is that?”

Shiloh turned the iPad toward Sebastian. On the screen his opponent for this week, Thaddeus Blazevich was passed out on the concrete pad near a pool while his buddy cleared a space around his body to check on him.

“That's what your opponent sounds like when he's in pain. You're capable of making him sound like that again when you meet him this week.”

Sebastian didn't think he was capable of much at the moment, honestly. Match strategy wasn't the first thing on his mind right now.

“Shy -”

“No, we are doing this. If you can do this in your current state, you won't have an issue with it Monday. Now…”

Shiloh pulled up a video of Crosby Carter and Thadd 2 Badd competing as a team at Warzone I.

“Tell me about them.”

Sebastian's eyes were slits as he watched the match. Even the brightness of the screen was too much for him.

“I don't know… uh, the serious ones come out of the gate fast and overwhelm the Bros?”

“More than that, please. You're better than this. They already know your biggest weakness will be… will be outside the ring watching you.”

She muttered something under her breath but Sebastian didn't hear it as he spoke up.

“They wouldn't go after her… right? I mean, they're pretty chill and dumb enough to believe in their own abilities so they wouldn't need to stoop that low. I don't think that girlfriend of Crosby would either. Even if they went the other way and started hitting on her, Aurora is smarter than th-”

Shiloh had heard enough about her boyfriend's manager.

“She can take care of herself, she doesn't need you to watch over her and protect her every single second.”

She said it a little tersely.

“You have your own match to worry about you she is not your partner this week. Now. Tell me about your opponents.”

With a deep breath, Sebastian refocused on the video in front of him.

“Gosch and Jack Bauer came out swinging. They rushed the Bros and got the upper hand because of it. The Bros weren't ready for that. They lack the composure to get themselves together quickly after the bell rings, and if I can stay on them, they lack to focus to get themselves back into it.”

“It's not just you that has to stay on them though. You can't forget about your tag team partner, he's there for support.”

Sebastian scoffed.

“Declan? In what world can I trust him? I tried saying hi before the show last week. Guy is a total loner. He's going to watch out for himself and that's it. Plus he's got this masked man after him. He cost him his match at Warzone I and I'm not exactly thinking it won't happen again. As far as I'm concerned, Declan Hale is a liability to me.”

Shiloh raised her eyebrows.

“He doesn't bring anything to the table for you?”

Sebastian took a drink of water. He tried getting up from his chair, but the smallest change in altitude murdered his brain and his voice came out strained.

“No… no, not really. He’s the fastest one, he’s got more of an aerial arsenal, but those are not saying much at all… he's got the hardcore edge to counteract the Bros I guess, but that's about it.”

“You’re just going to discount that so easily. Are you going to get in there and use the thumbtacks and trash cans? Because that's what Declan went through last week and you can bet your opponents will try that on him again.”

Sebastian waved that off.

“You know I don't need to do anything like tha-”

“Well, you better be ready for it and steer clear of it. Now refocus. What else do you see?”

Again, a little terse as she motioned to the screen. Sebastian took a second before replying.

“The way they move is familiar. Between the two of them, they remind me a lot of Ryan and Jamie at Warzone I. The speed, the power… I had no trouble dealing with these qualities in week one and these guys are like, exactly the same.”

Shiloh nodded.

“Much faster than you.”

Sebastian side-eyed his girlfriend.

“You know I'm only quick on skates. In the ring I move… methodically.”

He chose his word carefully.

“Because once again I find myself in a situation where I understand my strength better than anyone else in this match understands theirs. Just like last week, my submission skills are much more diverse - much better than Crosby and his power moves and certainly better applied than Slippy does his high flying moves. My submissions are the key to this team's victory.”

“Just avoid -”

With the fog clearing from his head, Stian was able to answer this one before Shiloh could.

“Avoid putting these holds on Thadd if possible. He's got a pain tolerance and endurance threshold like I've never seen. He bounced back from that surgery way too quickly. It's unnatural. Unless I see the opportunity to get some kind of a kneebar applied on him, it's not worth my energy.”

On the screen, Crosby connected with his flying finisher to Nora Bauer and Shiloh picked up on that.

“Above everything, you need to change your style for this one if you want to win.”

This confused Sebastian. His style worked just fine last week. It got him the win.

“At your core, you're no different than your opponents.”

This offended Sebastian.

“Because at the end of the match, the most important thing to all three of you is that you entertained the audience. Look at the way you won last week - not with the gritty submission that guarantees you've ended your opponent's night. You went for flash, remember? That's exactly how they'll look to finish this match too. You need to fundamentally change your style if you want to mesh well with your tag team partner and you'll have to change your style if you want to counter the style points these boys are going for.”

Shiloh stood up to take the Aleve and water into the kitchen. Sebastian followed her in.

“It's different, but you're right.”

He tried to pull her into a hug but Shiloh sidestepped it.

“You starting to feel better?”

Sebastian nodded.


“Good. Because you and I - we're fighting now, asshole.”

EPILOGUE

2018 - MARCH FOURTEENTH ❆
AMERICAN WHISKEY ❆
NEW YORK, NEW YORK❆

Sebastian forgot he texted his girlfriend to pick him up from the bar just down the block from Madison Square Garden. The refs were on screen fucking up and that meant he had to take another drink. He slapped the back of his new Rangers friend as Shiloh walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered in his ear coyly.

“Getting ready for Monday, I see.”

Sebastian pulled his attention away from the game on the screen and looked at the woman holding him lovingly.

“Barely. Stupid… stupid tag team match I don't know how to get ready for.”

Shiloh reached for Sebastian's pint on the bar top in front of him and took a sip.

“I'll help.”

Sebastian took his glass back and gulped back.

“I dunno you can't do that. You're not Rory, Deck-lin’s not Rory we won't have the same chemistry.”

Shiloh jaw dropped. Every sound in the obnoxious pub disappeared.

“That was fucking rude.”

But Sebastian didn't hear it. Mika Zibanejad netted the game winning goal in overtime and the bar erupted.

Shiloh rolled her eyes, grabbed Sebastian by the Lundqvist nameplate on the back of his jersey and hauled him out of the bar.