Chapter 1
#FindDemi
It takes exactly thirty-seven minutes for the video to go viral.
Social media, by this point, is already flooded with clips of Ethan Prescott.
Prescott scoring the winning goal.
Prescott raising the Trophy.
Prescott posing with his parents.
Prescott drenched in champagne.
Prescott's post-game interviews.
Prescott leaving the arena to go celebrate with his teammates.
Prescott, Prescott, Prescott.
This clip is of Prescott, too, although it hasn't been posted by an official media news outlet.
It's filmed at a bar approximately two hours after Halcyon won the Trophy for the second year in a row.
Whoever's filming has had too much to drink, the camera unsteady as it zooms in on Ethan Prescott's face.
Prescott, too, has had too much to drink.
It's not obvious to those who don't know him, but to those who do, it's apparent that Prescott is absolutely
trashed
Looking for someone to celebrate with?
The question comes from someone offscreen – presumably whoever's holding the camera.
The voice is decidedly female and there's an underlying giggle permeating the words.
Prescott doesn't hear it at first.
The music in the background is loud, almost loud enough to drown out the conversation.
But Ethan Prescott is Ardan, he is polite, and so, he asks the woman to repeat the question.
The woman does, and this time, Ethan hears it, his face morphing into an adorable pout.
By the time the sun rises in the morning, there will be Chirp accounts dedicated to that pout.
I – no.
Ethan's answer is slow, slightly slurred, but no less determined.
No
?" The woman – whoever she is – doesn't back down.
Got someone special waiting for you?
Ethan's breath hitches and he looks up, big, brown orbs settling on the person behind the camera.
There's a blush crawling across his freckles, his voice unsteady as he answers.
I wanted to celebrate with Demi, but she isn't here
The video ends shortly after, and the internet collectively loses its mind.
Within minutes #FindDemi is trending across all social media platforms, women from across the globe begging Ethan to dump her ass.
Kateh
@ethanprescottfanclubmember
everyone this is not a drill I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL
#EthanPrescott #Mountaineers
Mia Collins
@MrsMiaCollins92
Ethan Prescott is TAKEN !
#EthanPrescott #Halcyon #Mountaineers #WhoIsDemi
Sophie
@mrsethanprescott4ever
Ethan Prescott has a girlfriend?
#WhoIsDemi
Zoe Miller
@ZoeMiller892734
Replying to @mrsethanprescott4ever
Ethan Prescott has a girlfriend and she's out of town?
#FindDemi
Call Me Mrs. Ethan
@callmemrsethan1234
Ethan Prescott has a girlfriend and she's out of town on the night that he won the Trophy?
Lucy
@Mountaineers4Ever<3
Prescott is
whipped
and his girlfriend doesn't even know
#WhoIsDemi #FindDemi
Kate
@MountaineersFan24
Ethan all alone in that bar, I'm actually crying
Hannah Johnson
@iloveethanprescott
Someone give me the name of that bar !
#FutureMrsEthanPrescott
Anna
@i<3themountaineers
for real that woman is all over him
Emily
@ethanprescott27426
Replying to @i<3themountaineers
Someone #FindDemi
Seriously someone give me the name of that bar !
#FutureMrsEthanPrescott #Halcyon
Ava
@MrsEthanPrescott
If I had locked down
Ethan Prescott, my man would not be alone tonight iykyk
Olivia
@OliviaPrescott24
Not Ethan Prescott crying on the night of his cup win because his girlfriend is out of town
Jenna
@HockeyPuck1234
Demi, babe, pull yourself together
i'm crying someone pls !
#FutureMrsEthanPrescott #Halcyon #Desperate
Tyler Adams
@iamahockeyfan234
Prescott so boring his girl's got a date tonight
#Fairhaven4Ever #FuckEthanPrescott
Grace
@bornandraisedinhalcyon86
@EthanPrescottHockeyPlayer
If Demi's not available, I'll offer up my services ♀️♀️♀️
Katie
@Katie1995
Replying to @bornandraisedinhalcyon86
This☝️ I'll volunteer as tribute
#FuckDemi #ImDemi
Rose
@MountaineersFanNumberOne
Demi you better get your ass to Halcyon right now
Harper
@MrsBlakeSterling729
Demi your man is crying on main
Joy
@JoyFromHalcyon
Can we all agree Ethan Prescott deserves better if Demi can't even bother to show up when he wins the Trophy?
#FindDemi #FuckDemi
Paige
@paige_fournier_halcyon
Someone tell me what is happening I left for like 2 minutes
#confused #hockey #EthanPrescott
Reese
@Reeselapointedehalcyon
Did we know she existed?
#EthanDeservesBetter #FuckDemi
Avery
@marrymeethanprescott
Replying to @Reeselapointedehalcyon
seriously
who
is this woman?
Reese
@reesefromquébec
where
Quinn
@QuinnGagnon27328
Ethan, mon chéri, dump her ass
#FuckDemi
Blair
@halcyonbaby
everyone in Halcyon about to storm that club lmao
Another twelve minutes pass before a phone is handed to Dmitri.
He has received no new messages from Prescott since their single exchange earlier in the evening:
Demi
Lucky.
Amber
The luckiest ;)
Dmitri has checked his phone more than once since then, ignoring the stale taste of disappointment every time he'd glanced at the empty notification center.
For this reason, he feels a jolt go through him when he looks down and Prescott's face suddenly fills the screen.
His teammates have cleared out by now, Natalia the only one who's stayed behind.
Normally, Dmitri would have suggested they move on to the bedroom by now, but for some reason they're still on the couch, watching the flurry of post-game interviews for the third time in a row.
"Who would have thought Ethan Prescott had a girlfriend?"
There's something in Natalia's voice that Dmitri tries his best not to examine too closely.
Instead, he focuses on the screen where Ethan's freckles are visible even in the dim lights of the bar.
Dmitri is glad that Prescott's having fun, that he's letting loose for once, so there's no logical reason why he suddenly feels his veins filling with ice as the video starts playing.
Except, of course, for the fact that Prescott is asking for Dmitri, and Dmitri isn't
there
Dmitri is not unfamiliar with the feeling of pain.
Throughout his career, he's been involved in more on-ice fights than he's willing to count, yet none of them have felt quite as upsetting as watching this video does.
Dmitri watches it for a second time and a third time and a fourth time, and somehow, it doesn't change.
Prescott pouts in every single one of them, his voice noticeably dipping as the word
escapes his lips.
He looks into the camera right before the screen goes black, and Dmitri thinks he might drown in the longing he finds there.
He makes the mistake of scrolling down to see the comments and then it's as if the room tilts on its axis.
Jealousy like Dmitri has never felt it before spreads throughout his body.
It's like a fire has consumed his every fiber, and it burns on and on and on.
Dmitri rises from the couch before he's consciously aware that he has done so.
Natalia snorts, but she doesn't say anything except to remind him that he's still holding her phone.
Dmitri drops it, and she unceremoniously takes Dmitri's own from the couch and pushes it into his hands.
"You need to text me when you get there," she tells him, "It's a five-hour journey, and it's nearly midnight."
Exactly four minutes have passed since Dmitri first saw the video, and he, albeit reluctantly, makes an additional promise to stop at a gas station and buy some food along the way.
"Dimushka."
Dmitri's hand is on the doorknob when Natalia stops him for the third and final time.
He meets her gaze across the living room.
"Don't screw this up," she tells him.
Then, she smiles, and Dmitri is out the door before he can think of the thousand reasons why this is a bad idea.
While he drives, social media continues flooding with posts.
Isla
@IslyPrescott
I am AT THE BAR and Ethan is NOT HERE IM CRYING
#FindEthan
Willow
@WillowFromHalcyon
Replying to @IslyPrescott
oh my god you think he's with Demi?
#Rubeth
Eden<3Cole
@MrsEdenCole
Replying to @WillowFromHalcyon
noooooo anyone but Demi
Rubeth4Ever
@RubethStanNumberOne
Replying to @MrsEdenCole
Guys you need to chill tf out he's a real person you don't know him
#Rubeth #ProtectDemi
Emily Harper
@EmiCammy
For real everyone is here except Ethan, even Cole
Ember
@EmberBenjamin334
Guys, I think Ethan is gone
Helen
@Cole4EverEver
Replying to @EmiCammy
Honestly, I'd take Cole
#Justice4Marcus
Cameron
@CameronPrescott4Ever
Replying to @Cole4EverEver
Girl he is literally married, also seriously?
Sage
@sagesage
Replying to @EmberBenjamin334
I can confirm that Ethan is gone
#IWasSoClose #FindEthan
Peyton
@PeytonPrescott
Replying to @sagesage
oh my god who is the lucky girl?
True to his word, Dmitri stops on his way out of Ashwood to buy a pack of granola bars but doesn't otherwise remove his foot from the gas until the glowing lights of Halcyon appear on the skyline before him.
He's made the journey in four hours and as he crosses the city limits, Dmitri prays to every God and deity he knows that Ethan did not go home with that woman tonight.
Prays that Ethan is okay.
Prays that his idiot teammates took care of him in his drunken state.
Prays that he is not too late.