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  1. A Truth (Finally) Spoken by

    Heated Rivalry (TV), Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid
    • G
    • ✓

    2026-01-15

    Shane yells at the team after he's outed via one of Hayden's fanvids. It's actually rather cathartic for him. And for the first time, the team gets to see what Shane is like when he's not keeping himself held under so much pressure, and maybe they see why he gets along with Ilya Rozanov so well. ... When Shane walked into the locker room the day after he was outed, the room was already pretty quiet, but somehow his entrance signalled the team to become even quieter; to freeze in place, perhaps even attempt to hold their breath. The door behind him thumped into the frame as an icy silence crept across the room. He doesn't know what to say, how to start. He and Ilya had made plans, of course. He had statements prepared that they had thrown together last minute based on multiple scenarios, his mom and Ilya’s agent had worked through them with them last night. But now that he was faced with a room full of men he had worked with for years, he knew that he couldn't use them here. They were impersonal, dry things meant for corporate PR and social media posts, not the sort of thing you said to your team face to face, and something about the empty silence stretching ahead told him that this wasn't going to be a Scott Hunter coming out story unless he dragged them there kicking and screaming. The scent of old socks and sweat-soaked pads turned even more sour in his lungs. Shane quickly made eye contact with Hayden, who he had talked with on the phone last night- apologizing for his fanvid being the leak. Shane forgave him, it wasn't his fault. He and Ilya should have been more careful. His friend gave him a nod, and a pained smile. He knew how badly Shane had been spiralling about all of this. Shane looked over at JJ, who he hadn't talked to. He wasn't making eye contact now, either. He sucked in a breath, and spoke. “I know you're all thinking it. And I'm releasing a proper statement on social media… right about now. Yes, I'm gay.” You could've heard a pin drop in that locker room. You could, actually, hear one of the showers dripping, and someone's phone vibrate with an incoming message. And Shane definitely heard Drapeau scoff before crossing his arms and glaring at Shane with a mixture of disgust and disdain. “You people are always being all flashy and rubbing our faces in your depravity, why can't you just shut up and let hockey be hockey, eh?” No one else said anything, though from the ashamed glances to the side from some and conspiratorial looks between some others, Drapeau was not the only one thinking it. Hayden looked ready to step in- if unsure what to say when doing so- but Shane shook his head. He didn't need him to speak for him just yet. Because Shane felt shockingly clear-headed in that moment. He'd been spiralling all night since the news had broken, held together only by first Ilya and then his mom's practicality. Even with that terror settled, he'd been low-key panicking over this reveal for the past decade, constantly worrying about when it would happen and what would do it and how people would react. And now it had. And people weren't reacting well. But that was… that was the worst case scenario. There was nothing bad left to happen. He had already talked to management, already knew he was fine with them (though maybe not good) and was definitely finishing out the season. It was done. All that was left to do was ride this out, and fuck if it wasn't a relief that there was nothing terrible left in the roster of panic in his brain. So Shane was all out of fear, and free to just feel completely, incandescently angry. He barked out a laugh, and it seemed to startle some of his teammates. “I was literally fucking doing that, asshole. I had zero plans to have some big flashy coming out moment like Scott Hunter. I just wanted to live my life and play hockey, and if no one had cared about some background detail in a video about something completely unrelated and had just moved the fuck on then we wouldn't have to be having this conversation at all. But everyone else seems to care that the person I'm in love with has a dick, so this is the conversation we're having. Yes, I'm gay. Yes, I have a boyfriend who loves me, and yes, I love him. No, we're not planning on fucking out on the ice in the middle of a game. So, is that enough for you to chill out and trust that I'm still the same fucking person who won this team the cup back to back?” He scanned over the room, and while a few people did seem to be settling, the majority weren't. And one of those was JJ. That was one regret Shane had in this. JJ was his friend, he should have told him a while ago; especially after Hayden had figured it out and the world didn't end, but Shane had always thought there would be more time. JJ’s eyes held that pain of betrayal when he spoke to Shane. “Your boyfriend is Ilya fucking Rozanov. You don't think that'll cause problems when we play the Centaurs?” But that was a question Shane had an easy answer for. “It never has before,” he replied evenly. Then Comeau jumped in. “How are we supposed to believe that? They won our last game-” “That's because they're a good team,” Hayden interjected, trying to relieve some of the pressure on Shane. It didn't really work, though from the side eye he received, the other players had a pretty good idea where he stood in the overall argument now.

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