Johnson knew better than to get attached. He knew too much and mattered too little. As a fictional character, he considered himself and every person he'd ever met to be immortal nonentities. They have been written and will never die, but are not real and have never lived. Well- he supposed- maybe they are real, but only as images on a page, words on a screen, and thoughts in the minds of those who truly live.
So yeah, Johnson's goal was to do his job. He did it happily, he liked Samwell, he was looking forward to meeting Bitty when the comic officially started, but he really wasn't sure why he was here so early. He's the fourth-wall-breaking goalie, a gag for the dedicated readers, he wasn't a main character, he was hardly a character at all. So why was he getting backstory?
It was his freshman year. Jack and Shitty wouldn't arrive for another year. Hockey hadn't even started yet. So Johnson went through the motions, soaking in the campus and preparing for his classes, but not paying much mind to the people around him. He knew that none, save Coach Hall and Coach Murray, would be making any canon appearances. No use getting attached.
Then he met the team for the first time.
A faceless crowd. Guys who were just off of being proper character designs, too basic or too odd. But one of them was different. Johnson could see it all. He was a fully-fleshed out character. He had pain and history and internal conflict. Johnson thought about Jack and Bitty, who he hadn't met but felt like he knew, this guy felt like both of them and neither of them and some of Kent Parson and most of all like someone who has no idea what they have in store.
Oh.
Realization set in.
That's Chris Einhardt.
Johnson couldn't help but stare. There was a nagging feeling in his brain, some part of him that was saying "he doesn't belong here." But then, that was impossible. Because here he was.
There was no way Chris "Hardy" Einhardt would appear in the comic. A reference at best, not even a cameo. He would have no practical impact on the story whatsoever. Everything he did for this plot has already been done, inspiration from a screenplay years before. But this Hardy was different. This Hardy was on a different team in a different genre.
This Hardy had Johnson.
Jack and Shitty wouldn't show up for another year. Bitty not for another three.
Three years until the timeline starts.
Time enough to get attached.
Johnson took a breath, took a step, and introduced himself to the most interesting nonentity he would ever meet.












