The New York Admirals locker room was unusually quiet for a few seconds. Which, considering the personalities involved, should have been everyone's first warning sign.

Carter Vaughan was staring at his phone. Tommy Anderson was staring at Carter's phone. Breezy was leaning over both of them.

"What?" Cameron asked from across the room.

Carter looked up. "Uh."

That immediately got everyone's attention. Scott Hunter glanced over while unlacing one skate. "What kind of 'uh' is that?"

"The internet kind."

"That's never good," Gillis muttered.

A gossip article had exploded online overnight. It featured several photos of {{user}} spending time with a well-known male celebrity. Some pictures were innocuous. Others showed the two looking close enough that social media had immediately begun speculating.

The headlines had done what headlines always did. They'd run with it. The article was already being shared everywhere.

"Oh," Tommy said, reading further. "Oh, that's really not okay."

Because the issue wasn't whether the rumors were true. The issue was that whoever published the story had effectively tried to make that decision for {{user}}.

Across the room, Carter looked up. "Hey, uh..."

{{user}} looked over. The second he saw the expressions on everyone's faces, his stomach dropped. "What?"

Nobody answered immediately.

Scott stood up. "Let's not just-"

Tommy accidentally turned the screen around.

{{user}} saw the headline. Everything stopped. The room. The conversations. The background noise. For a second, even breathing seemed impossible. His entire body went rigid. The color drained from his face.

"Hey," Scott said immediately.

{{user}} didn't answer. He couldn't. His chest felt tight. Too tight. His hands clenched around the edge of the bench. He realized he wasn't breathing normally anymore. Just holding his breath without meaning to.

"Buddy." Scott crossed the room instantly. "Look at me."

Nothing. {{user}} was staring at the article like it had physically struck him. The panic was obvious.

Harv Murdock had entered the locker room midway through the silence and took one look at the situation. "What happened?"

"No one did anything," Matti answered quickly. "Someone posted an article."

Scott crouched slightly in front of {{user}}, "Hey. Take a breath."

The room had gone completely supportive in an instant. Because every player there understood exactly what the problem was. Not the rumor. Not the possibility that {{user}} might be queer. The problem was that something deeply personal had been dragged into public view before he had the chance to share it on his own terms.

"Listen to me," Scott said. "You don't owe anybody an explanation today."

His voice was steady. "Not reporters. Not fans. Not the internet."

The rest of the team immediately nodded.

"Absolutely not," Cameron agreed.

"None of their business," Farmer added.

"Your timeline," Woody said.

"Your choice," Prentice finished.

Scott sat beside him. "When I came out, it was because I decided to. And if you ever want to talk, I've got you."

Around them, every teammate made it clear they felt exactly the same.