Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

F/M, Gen, M/M

Fandom:

Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid

Relationships:

Hayden Pike/Jackie Pike, background Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Jackie Pike, Shane Hollander, Hayden Pike, Original Characters, Ilya Rozanov (background)

Additional Tags:

4+1 Things, Shane Hollander is Super Gay, Jackie Pike is Perceptive, POV Outsider, POV Jackie Pike, Book 2: Heated Rivalry (Game Changers), Book 6: The Long Game (Game Changers), Slight Canon Divergence, Good Friend Jackie Pike, Good Friend Hayden Pike, Shane Hollander & Hayden Pike Friendship, Written before Heated Rivalry (TV)

Language:

English

Series:

Part 1 of The Pikes

Stats:

Published: 2025-10-09 Words: 3,178 Chapters: 1/1

4 Times Jackie Noticed Shane Being Super Gay + 1 Time it Was Finally Confirmed

Summary

Jackie Pike has known Shane Hollander as long as she's known her husband, and she thinks she knows him pretty well. The title says it all!

Notes

I write Jackie Pike's POV ONE TIME and suddenly I can't get out of her head. Contemplating whether she might have noticed some things about Shane that Hayden didn't pick up on led me here. I may or may not have cried writing the last part, Shane Hollander does that to me.

Thank you Nico for betaing and being the best ever, generally.

1. 2011

Jackie wasn’t a puck bunny, and don’t you dare call her one. She was simply a hockey fan. And her best friend Lauren maybe had a thing for hockey players — as was her right as a red-blooded Canadian woman. So that’s how they ended up at Stereo, a club apparently frequented by a bunch of Voyageurs players, at least according to the internet. 

It was the Friday after midterms, so they didn’t have classes or studying to worry about, and the Voyageurs had won their home-opener, meaning they’d likely be out partying. So Jackie and Lauren put on their shortest, tightest bandage dresses and stupidest heels, and took a cab to The Village to flirt with some NHL players — or at the very least guys who looked like they could be NHL players.

Imagine Jackie’s surprise when her absolute favorite player and not-so-secret crush (as well as every other girl in Montreal, let’s be real) walked in. It was Shane Hollander, in the flesh. She smacked Lauren’s arm to grab her attention from the guy who just bought their drinks.

“Oh my fucking god, they’re here!” Jackie yelled over the music, pointing to the group of thick-thighed men being ushered into the VIP area. 

Lauren squealed, “I told you!!! How does my hair look? How are my tits?”

Jackie gave her a once over. “You look so hot, you’re definitely going to fuck J.J. Boiziau tonight.”

Lauren pointed at her and yelled, “Don’t jinx me! But yeah, I am. And you’re going to sweetly make love to Prince of Canada Shane Hollander.”

Jackie rolled her eyes, but felt giddy inside. They danced their way over to the VIP, and Lauren worked her magic, because they were immediately ushered back and suddenly she was introducing herself to half of the Montreal Voyageurs lineup. Trying not to be too eager, she spent a couple of minutes talking to Hayden Pike. He was cute, and he was obviously very into her — he wouldn’t stop staring at her tits while he rambled about their penalty kill. 

“Mmmhmm, yeah, you guys were great tonight,” She said sweetly. “But um, is that Shane Hollander?” She pointed back to the corner, where the guy she knew was Shane Hollander was sitting alone, picking at the label of his beer bottle.

“Oh! Yeah! He’s like my best friend,” Hayden bragged, which was cute. “Do you want to meet him?”

She nodded and Hayden led her back towards Shane, who looked up at them with a polite, but clearly uninterested smile. 

“Shane, bud, this is… sorry what was your name again?” Hayden asked, gesturing to her.

“Oh! Jackie - hi! I’m like a huge fan,” she trilled in her sweetest, girliest voice. “It’s so nice to meet you, Shane!” 

She leaned forward, cleavage first, hand out to shake Shane’s. He was even more beautiful in person than he was on TV, those freckles and big dark eyes nearly making her swoon right there in the club. 

“Yeah, Shane, isn’t it great to meet Jackie? Isn’t she hot?” Hayden seemed to be trying to convince Shane of this fact, which was rude and a little weird. She was obviously very hot, ask any guy (and many girls) in here. What the hell was that about?

“Um,” Shane sputtered, “Yeah, um, hi, yes, you’re very beautiful. It’s always great to meet fans.” 

In an instant he had gone from awkward to his TV-ready smile that Jackie knew so well. But it was like he was looking through her, not at her. His gaze was distant, and his smile didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Shane, why don’t you get to know Jackie, while I grab some more drinks?” Hayden pressed.

Shane stood up, eyes now on the TV above the bar that was showing a post-game interview from the Bears-Admirals game that apparently just ended. 

“I think I’m going to head home, actually,” Shane said. “Jackie,” he finally made eye contact with her. “It was so nice to meet you, I’m sorry to have to go, but Hayden is awesome company!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hayden roll his eyes, and she had to hold back a laugh. This was clearly a pattern. Shane’s eyes were back on the TV, where Scott Hunter was shirtless and talking to a gaggle of reporters, and Jackie sighed. 

This boy was not interested in her, or any of the women here, was he?

1. 2013

“Please, babe, I think it would really be good for him,” Hayden pleaded. “Shane seems so depressed.”

Hayden was basically begging Jackie to set Shane up on a date with her prenatal yoga instructor, Juliette. It was true that Shane did enjoy yoga, but she feared that would be the end of their similar interests.

“I don’t know, Hayden, he never seems interested when we try to set him up. Why don’t you let Shane run his own love life?”

“Because! He has no love life, and I’m starting to get concerned. It kind of made sense when we were rookies on our ELCs, he didn’t want to get attached to anyone here. But he just signed a crazy huge and long contract, he’s not going anywhere. He can find someone and settle down in Montreal like us.”

Jackie sighed. This wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. She appreciated that Hayden was worried about Shane being lonely, it was sweet of him to care so much about his friend, especially since Hayden was about to have a lot less time for Shane. Their twins were due in 5 months, and their lives were about to change forever. 

But that didn’t mean it was Hayden’s responsibility to make sure Shane wasn’t lonely — or that Shane even needed help in that regard. Just because he didn’t have a serious girlfriend didn’t mean he was lonely.

And Jackie had long suspected that Shane might not want a girlfriend at all. But she wasn’t going to tell Hayden that. So she decided to appease her sweet husband. Who knows, maybe Juliette and Shane would hit it off.

*****

So, they actually kind of did it hit off, and Jackie was shocked. But the topic of conversation on their double date had stayed firmly in the realm of fitness, nutrition, and the comparative benefits of Vinyasa vs. Ashtanga yoga. So at the very least, Juliette might be getting a new client out of this. 

But Jackie immediately noticed how Shane leaned away every time Juliette leaned toward him or put a hand on his arm, almost like he was actually repulsed by the thought of touching her. 

Was he just a germaphobe? He was really really particular about, well, most things. Or was it something else? Jackie continued to keep her thoughts to herself, and went back to smiling along while Shane gave Juliette a smoothie recipe. 

1. 2016

Summers were Jackie’s favorite. Not just because her husband was home, not just because the weather was actually beautiful in Montreal for a few months, but because it meant their annual trip to visit Shane at his “cottage” which was actually a giant mansion on the most beautiful lakeside property she’d ever seen. 

She wanted one of her own, but Hayden’s contract wasn’t quite as huge as Shane’s, he didn’t have the same endorsement deals, and they had three extra mouths (very cute mouths that were very loved) to feed. So for now she’d settle for annual visits, watching Hayden take the girls out of the jetskis, playing in the pool with Arthur, having delicious dinners with Shane and sometimes his parents. Or, her favorite, when they guys would take the kids for a hike and she could read her book on the dock with no sound but the chirping of birds in the background. 

On their last morning there, Jackie was sitting by the pool with Arthur cuddled up next to her sleeping. The nap schedule situation was a mess, so she was just letting it happen. They’d figure it out when they got home. 

Hayden and Shane had the twins up on their shoulders playing chicken. Jackie loved how competitive her girls were, they didn’t take shit from anyone, especially not each other, and that would serve them well. 

She laughed as they giggled with delight, falling down into the water — Hayden declaring yet another tie. Jackie knew Shane hated that it was always a tie, she could see it in his grumpy face, but Hayden had explained the need to keep the peace. 

“Okay, how about we take a snack break? Daddy’s shoulders are getting tired, and Uncle Shane looks like he’s going to burst a blood vessel.” Hayden said the other part under his breath, and Shane rolled his eyes. 

Jackie tracked Hayden’s movements as he pulled himself out of the pool. And look, he was her husband, she was allowed to objectify him if she wanted to. She especially loved his body during the summer, when he got a little thicker after the grind of the playoffs — there was a reason she was 6 weeks pregnant with another baby, and it wasn’t a deep yearning for four kids. 

As she appreciated Hayden’s ass, her eyes drifted to Shane, who seemed to also be appreciating Hayden’s ass. Shane’s eyes followed Hayden out of the pool, at which point his swim trunks were glued to his legs. Shane’s eyes stayed on Hayden as he bent down to pick up a toy the girls had left behind. 

She quickly averted her gaze so she wouldn’t get noticed catching Shane, but she tucked that information in a safe spot in the back of her mind. 

1. January 2017

It was All-Star weekend, and Jackie would never tell her husband this, but she selfishly loved that Hayden wasn’t an All-Star player. It meant she got him back for a full week during the season, and now that she was 6 months pregnant, she needed the help. But just because she was pregnant, it didn’t mean she didn’t need alone time with her husband. 

So the kids were at her parents’ house for the night, and Hayden was dutifully massaging her swollen feet as they watched the All-Star game unfold. She was checking a text on her phone when Hayden abruptly stopped his massaging and yelled, “What the fuck!?”

“What happened?!” Jackie dropped her phone and it clattered to the floor. “Shit! Hayden, come on, this game doesn’t even matter.”

“No no, it’s not that, look!” He pointed at the replay that was being shown on the screen.

“Oh nice, Shane scored!” She said, but then went quiet. Ilya Rozanov had assisted on Shane’s goal, and they were showing a close up of them celebrating. Rozanov hugged Shane and then planted a smack of a kiss on Shane’s cheek.

“He fucking kissed him! What the fuck! That asshole, get the fuck off of Shane!”

Hayden kept ranting, but Jackie went quiet, replaying years of memories in the back of her mind as she watched Shane turn pink and smile at Rozanov on the screen, before it went to a commercial break.

“Oh man, Shane has got to be so pissed at Rozanov right now.”

“They’re on the same team,” Jackie said absently, still rummaging in her mind for memories.

“Still! Doesn’t mean Shane doesn’t still hate him. What a jerk.”

“Hayden,” Jackie asked, “Has Shane been seeing anyone since he broke up with Rose Landry?”

“Huh?” Hayden finally pulled his eyes away from the TV. “Oh, no, of course not. He doesn’t seem that sad about the breakup, but it’s like, he just went back to regular old Shane, insisting that he doesn’t want to date.”

“Right, right…” Jackie nodded. “And, he’s never had a girlfriend before Rose?”

“Um, I think he might have in high school? I don’t really remember. But definitely not since I’ve known him. It’s so strange, but Shane’s a weird guy.”

“Yeah. Weird.” Jackie started smiling to herself.

“Why? Do you have someone you want to set him up with? To be honest, I doubt he’d say yes, he’s sort of pissed at me and J.J. for trying to find him a rebound.”

“No, no, not that. I was just curious, that’s all,” she answered pleasantly. But she was pretty damn sure she’d just solved a puzzle that she’d been collecting pieces of for six years. 

Plus 1. September 2017

Jackie was burping Amber when Shane knocked on their front door. 

“Hayden, Shane’s here!” 

Hayden jogged down the stairs — he’d been putting the other kids down for a nap — to get the door. Shane had asked if he could come over this afternoon to talk to them about something, which felt very ominous. So they had him arrive at nap time to give them a bit of (hopefully) quiet time to talk. 

“Hi Shane!” Jackie called from the couch, not wanting to get up and disturb the happy baby in her arms

“Hey, Jackie! Aw and hi Amber! She’s so big now, wow.” 

“I know, right? Even on kid number 4, I’ll never get used to how fast they grow.”

Shane had come to visit when Amber was born in April, but hadn’t seen her for a couple of months while he was away for the summer. They didn’t get an invite to his cottage this year, which Jackie had been disappointed about. 

“How are you feeling, how’s everything going?” Shane asked as he sat down in the armchair facing the couch, pulling a doll out from under him with a laugh.

Hayden came back in with a glass of water for Shane and they chatted a bit about the baby and their summer. Eventually, Shane took a deep breath and rubbed his hands on his knees in a clearly nervous gesture, getting ready to say whatever he came here to say.

“So, yeah,” Shane sighed. “I guess I should tell you why I wanted to come over today.”

“Yeah, what’s up buddy?” Hayden asked. Jackie knew Hayden was really worried — afraid that Shane was going to tell them he was asking for a trade or he had some mysterious illness.

“Hayden, you know you’re basically my best friend in the world, and Jackie you’re one of my best friends too, so I wanted to tell you this in person, and I hope you’ll, um. I hope you’ll feel the same about me after I tell you this.” Shane started. 

Jackie was honestly surprised and touched to hear that Shane considered her one of his best friends, and her heart melted a little. He was such a sweetheart. And suddenly, Jackie knew exactly what Shane was about to say. She tried not to smile yet, keeping her kind-yet-serious face in place. 

“Whatever it is, we’ll always be friends,” Hayden said, his voice slightly shaky. Jackie was sure now that Hayden was expecting Shane to say he was leaving Montreal.

Shane took a very deep breath and let it out. With an almost apologetic look on his face, he said, “I’m gay.”

Jackie instantly smiled a huge smile, but didn’t say anything. She looked at Hayden, whose brow was furrowed and head cocked to the side.

“What do you mean?” Hayden asked.

“Um…” Shane looked panicked and confused — rightfully so. God, her husband was stupid sometimes. 

“I mean,” Shane continued, “that I’m uh… you know… attracted to men. You know, gay?” He emphasized the last word like Hayden might not have really heard him the first time. 

“Oh.” Hayden blinked. “Oh!” 

Hayden seemed dumbstruck, so it was Jackie’s time to step in. She stood, put Amber down in her bouncer, and went over to Shane. Shane stood, looking grateful, and Jackie embraced him in a tight hug.

“Shane, oh Shane, thank you so much for telling us. We both love you, this doesn’t change that at all.” 

Shane exhaled deeply and leaned further into the hug. “Thank you,” he sighed, sounding choked up.

By the time they separated Hayden had gotten his shit together and stood too. Hayden reached out and pulled Shane into a tight hug, patting him on the back in that stupid bro-hug way.

“Of course we feel the same about you, buddy. Like I said, we’ll always be friends.”

They pulled apart and Shane looked so relieved and happy that Jackie almost started to cry herself. Fucking hormones.

“I can’t lie, I’m relieved,” Hayden said with a light chuckle, “I thought you were about to tell me that you were being traded to Boston or something.”

Shane laughed awkwardly, going pink, and Jackie wondered if Shane was about to reveal anything else. She’d been almost certain that he was gay since last summer, but since the All-Star game in February, she’s had another sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t dare voice.

“No way, I’m staying here forever, you know that, man,” Shane replied to Hayden.

So. No other revelations, then. Interesting.

They hugged again, and Hayden reiterated how much they really did support him.

“Seriously, Shane, this isn’t a big deal at all. I’m sorry I kept trying to set you up with women all these years!”

Shane looked uncomfortable, but replied, “It’s okay, you didn’t know. I didn’t really know either, or really accept it about myself, until pretty recently.”

“So is there a guy we get to meet?” Hayden asked excitedly. “I finally get to learn Shane Hollander’s type after years of trying to figure it out!”

Shane’s face went pink again at the question, and he cleared his throat, “Oh, uh, no, nope, no guy. Just um… just me. I’m not… I’m not, like, seeing anyone or anything.”

“No worries, now we can find you a guy! Have you told J.J. yet? I bet he knows tons of cool gay dudes in the restaurant scene he could set you up with.”

“No, no way!” Shane insisted. “I’m telling J.J. later today, but no. I still don’t want to be set up with anyone. I’m gay, but I’m still not looking to date.”

They settled back into their seats and kept talking for a while, Shane explaining that he was going to come out to the rest of the team when the season started. As Hayden and Shane talked, Jackie swelled with admiration for Shane. Even after Scott Hunter, this was so brave of him, and she felt honored to be one of the first people he told. 

When Shane was walking out, Jackie gave him one more hug. Pulling him close, she said, “We’re always here for you, Shane. So when there is someone you want to introduce us to, just know that we’ll be so excited to meet him.”

“Oh, thanks Jackie. Um, yeah, that probably won’t be for a long time. Gotta focus on hockey, you know. But thank you. It means a lot to me.”

She hoped Shane took her at her word, because she was going to make sure Hayden was welcoming whenever Shane decided to introduce them to a boyfriend. Whoever it happened to be.