“ not mo— ” eliza laughs and not quietly. sure things, bro. not moping. she says nothing though, setting the knife down on the cutting board and chuckling quietly to herself. there’s an aborted attempt at a swap as zach steals part of her apple, the crunch drowned out by the sound of the fridge rubber seal popping. “ what –me? ” she turns in mock indignance. “ why –i never. ” yeah, she did, but that’s not really important, now is it?
“ you’re so full of shit. ” zach laughs, shutting the empty fridge again. he turns, reaches past eliza none too gently to steal another wedge of apple. apple slice half hanging from his mouth he slides up to sit on the counter, head tipped to one side as he crunches through the fruit. “ so ---what the hell are we going to do for dinner? ”
“ i dont know how someone manages to get LOST in this rikety ass town but i swear i’ve been trying to find my way back to main street for THREE HOURS and this is why we no longer walk places because —— someone pleae explain how im on pine ave ? ”
zach’s waiting at the curb, impatiently looking both ways for a gap in traffic so he can cross. he’s about to make an ill-timed run for it before this jeep gets to him when he overhears the other, hesitates a second too much and resigns himself to waiting again. “ yeah --” he says, head still tracking traffic, “all roads lead to where you don’t want to go. ”
childhood friends: zach was in black sheep between ages 10 - 16, so any young middle school friends, friends from freshman and sophomore years (they don’t have to be friends anymore –maybe they begrudge him for getting out junior and senior year)
the observer: he’s now around sporadically during the summer (bouncing between boston and black sheep) –maybe not quite friends, but some observant people that notice him come and go
the one left behind: maybe he was close to someone before he left for ann arbor and sporadically came back; something that might have become something if only he’d stayed ( there was never a chance he would stay )
the fanatic: long stretch but hockey fans are always welcome lol
college friends: he went to BU for his freshman year –connections there too if ur interested!
the good neighbor: maybe a neighbor to the townhouse that like, casually watches the house when he and his sister aren’t around to live in it
feel free to message me if you’re interested in trying to figure something (even not on this list) out!!
Camera in hand, Mitch switched between fiddling with the settings and people watching, content grin on his face as he made an effort to wave at a few that strolled past. Bringing the camera up to his eye, he let out a mild gasp as it slipped slightly from his grasp, flash going off as a picture was taken without permission, several buttons pressed amidst the panic of attempting to catch the item. “Holy mother,” he huffed in relief, shooting the person who he’d obviously caught off guard with the flash a bashful smile, “Sorry. I’m clumsy. Butter fingers, y’know?” Glancing down at his camera, he couldn’t help but let out a laugh, turning the screen towards the other, “Got a pretty good picture out of it though, don’t you think?”
head turns out of curiosity at the flash of light, and zach finds himself wishing he’d just kept walking. seeing mitch ----seeing mitch really isn’t something zach ever plans on and yet running into him is almost unavoidable it seems ; towns like black sheep, all roads lead to the thing you don’t really want to see. ( it sucks, though, that they fell out of contact just like that -- the memories he has, they’re not unfond ; some of the better in black sheep, if he’s being honest ). he looks down at the screen shown at him, works up a semblance of a smile. it’s not hard too, really, with media training and all. being nice to people off the ice is part of his job. “ yeah ---” he says, and it’s not quite a lie. it’s a decent photo, given the circumstances. “ my sister’s still better though. ”
carter glared down at her phone that never seemed to pinpoint her location exactly. she found that she was pointing in the opposite direction of the town’s library but as she began to walk in the new direction, the map app told her to turn the other way. so she did so, not realizing just how foolish she must’ve looked, walking around in circles on the same sidewalk she’d been stuck on for the past five minutes. carter let out a strained exhale as she rolled her eyes, her head lolling back. “come on,” she quietly pleaded. “something just work out. i’m begging you,” she pulled her head up to find a person right in front of her, making her jump, silently cursing herself for just talking to herself in front of them. “oh god,” she let out a nervous chuckle. “sorry,” she immediately apologized.
walking was not something that they told him not to do, even if running was out of the question. low impact workouts, they said. well bullshit --zach was starting to go stir-crazy from not being able to get out and move. he’s not really paying attention to the happenings around him, lazily taking in the all-too familiar droll of black sheep as he makes his slow way down streets ingrained into his brain despite long and frequent sabbaticals from the damn place. the woman pacing the street isn’t really of much interest to him and zach’s really just trying to get around her when her unpredictable path crosses with his avoidance one. “ ---you’re fine. ” he says not harshly but not quite kind either, hands in pockets, weight settled back on heels. “ ---must be a real good game you’re playin’ there. ”
eliza looks up from the apple she’s cutting and gives a rather un-ladylike snort. “ real busy, my fucking ass. real busy doing what? moping and wishing they’d let you skate already? please – you should be thankful i’m here to entertain your moping ass. ” that shit-eating grin is spreading across her face though. eliza can feel it pulling at the corners of her mouth and the warmth that bubbles up in her chest. “ —-you fucking missed me, bro. ” she chirps, attention returned to the cutting board, “ don’t even try to hide it. ”
“ i am not moping ! ” the minute the protest leaves his mouth, zach knows that isn’t quite true given he can easily count the amount of times he’d left the house in the past week and a half. okay, maybe he’s moping a little. but he can’t help it. he misses it: the skating, the team, the energy... “ ------whatever. you wish. ” he says finally, snagging an apple wedge as he passes to glance at the pitiful contents of his fridge. “ ---the fuck. you drink all my orange juice too? ”
zach trails down to the kitchen far too late for it to be considered morning anymore. he pads into his kitchen still scrubbing at his eyes when the image before him comes into focus. “ y’know, if you’re just gunna crash here and eat all my food the least you can do is do the grocery shopping --i’m real busy and shit. ” there’s a crack of a smile curving his lip, however, tone a bit too fond to really have the effect he was going for.
childhood friends: zach was in black sheep between ages 10 - 16, so any young middle school friends, friends from freshman and sophomore years (they don’t have to be friends anymore --maybe they begrudge him for getting out junior and senior year)
the observer: he’s now around sporadically during the summer (bouncing between boston and black sheep) --maybe not quite friends, but some observant people that notice him come and go
the one left behind: maybe he was close to someone before he left for ann arbor and sporadically came back; something that might have become something if only he’d stayed ( there was never a chance he would stay )
the fanatic: long stretch but hockey fans are always welcome lol
college friends: he went to BU for his freshman year --connections there too if ur interested!
the good neighbor: maybe a neighbor to the townhouse that like, casually watches the house when he and his sister aren’t around to live in it
feel free to message me if you’re interested in trying to figure something (even not on this list) out!!
hey guys ! i’m mash and this is zach!! he plays for the san jose sharks but he’s on IR rn for a few weeks due to an injury and subsequent surgery so he’s back in black sheep. more under the cut!
( chris zylka | he/him | cismale ) livin’ in the sprawl can be interesting for ZACH MICHAEL. the 24 year old is a PRO-HOCKEY PLAYER living in a TOWNHOUSE when i met them, they seemed kind of LOYAL, but also kind of BLUNT. who knows what they’ll be like? [ THE SCRAP OF SKATE BLADES ON CRYSTAL LAKES, A SORE THROAT FROM SCREAMING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM WITH GOLD AROUND YOUR NECK AND STARS AND STRIPES ON YOUR SHOULDERS, THE TENSION BEFORE THE PUCK DROPS, SWEAT DRIPPING BETWEEN SHOULDER BLADES, BURNING MUSCLES AND A MIND THAT TELLS YOU TO IGNORE IT ]
zach grew up in a suburb of boston with his parents and older sister eliza
however, his parents divorced when he was very young. so he was raised mostly by his dad and older sister
he and eliza spent time between their dad’s home in boston and their mother’s hometown in black sheep
eventually their father went bankrupt and they had to move in with their mother in black sheep when zach was ten
eliza (eight years older than him) when to community college in black sheep for two years before leaving to do god knows what when zach was 12
zach had already fallen in love with hockey back in boston and pursued it in black sheep the best he could --even making the trek to san francisco for better more visible teams ( cali still isn’t the best visible state for hockey --it’s no boston that’s for sure )
on the eve of his 16th birthday he tried out for the ndtp and made it
it was a glorious two years in ann arbor, finally getting away from black sheep
world juniors gold baby
okay team usa has only won gold at wjc in 2017 but whatever
honestly a lot of the timeline in this doens’t make sense with irl hockey im sorry
went to BU for a year before being drafted to the sharks. he went right to the nhl after that
his first year in the league he did tremendously well and won the calder trophy
(during this time his mother passed away, leaving a small pool of money and the townhouse in black sheep)
the money was little use and he donated much of it, but the house left to eliza and him --they couldn’t bear to sell it despite the not great memories in black sheep
so now he spends his summers between friends’ houses in boston and what could be considered ‘home’ in black sheep
(is it really home though?)
but yeah, zach made a very good impression during his three year elc and was signed to a very lucrative long term contract. money isn’t an issue, and he helps eliza out when she has trouble
the michael sibling way is to never stay long. they never stay long in one place, even ‘home’ in black sheep
but they also keep coming back for whatever reason
