chapter thirty ;

I can pretend that I dont see you, I can pretend I dont wanna hold you when you're around, but we know if I looked in your eyes, I'd break down. If I could, for just one night, to be with you, to make it right. You won't have to wonder what we are, cause you wont have to look to far. It's in the scars, Its hidden in the scars. If I told you that I love you, but I'm doing alright without you it'd be a lie, But I could try ...

I paced the living room for what felt like ages. Biting at my nails, then the skin around them. I was probably making a groove in the floor by now. I heard a knock on the door, I flew over to it, and an unexpected guest was on the other side.

"Gabby? What the fuck?"

"Uhm yeah, my mom kicked me out, and my dad had a billion flyer miles he needed to get rid of, and Dunc said you were here, so ..."

"Your Mom kicked you out?"

"She hates Jordan."

"Bitch."

"Tell me about it." She sighs.

"So, do you still want to kill Brent?"

Her eyes widen, "YES, IS THAT EVEN A QUESTION?"

"Kay, Jon's at his house. I'll tell you everything when we get there."

I grabbed keys to Jon's Jetta as we both run down to the parking lot. I could feel Gabby's rage boil up the closer we got to Brent's house. To be honest, I can't imagine what's gunna happen when we get over there. We get out and head up towards Brent's place. I only knew where it was thanks to Sharpie. It was shockingly quiet for a confrontation.

"Should we knock?"

Gabby twisted the lock and the door flew open.

"Dammit, Gabby!" I yell. This was typical, she just ran with the wind.

We both walk in and see Brent and Jon sitting in the kitchen. Brent had an ice pack on his lip and Jon had one in his eye. Well, we missed the fight. Gabby clenched her fists and stormed into the kitchen.

"YOU!" She screamed at Brent.

"Do I know you?"

"No, but you will by the time I'm done here!"

"Well, I'd like it if you got the fuck out of my house."

"I'd like it if you grew the fuck up!" She snapped back. "Listen Seabrook. Don't think that you'll get away with hurting my best friend like this. You sir, are a fucken dumbass."

He laughed, "Good to know. I've heard that one before."

"I'm not done with you yet! Another thing. You are so lucky I wasn't down here earlier, or your balls would've been attached to some tree, high up. HA, WOULDN'T YOUR WHORE LIKE YOU THEN, EH?"

"BURN!"

We both look over and see Jon hysterically laughing. I bite back my laugh but it's so hard. Helen was a whore.

"I'm sorry, but she got you good." Brent glares at him and he raises his hands in defense. "I think I'll leave. Good talking to you biffle."

Jon walks up and gently kisses me, I can feel Brent's eyes on us. "I'll see you back at the house."

"Mkay, and I'll explain Gabby being here too," I laugh.

"Okay, I love you."

"Love you too, Jon"

"Gabby, this is stupid, c'mon." I groan as I watch Jon leave.

"Okay, just one more thing before we go,"

I let out some horrific shriek as Gabby, full-thottle punches Brent right in the nose. He's cursing so much it could make a mime tell him to shut up. Inside, the adrenaline is pumping through me.

"You don't fuck with my friends and get away with, Seabrook. Come near her again and I swear to god, you'll be sorry. Let's go Ally."

"I'll be down in a second."

The door clicks and I stare at Brent. I felt horrible to what just happened. I walk over and sit on the barstool beside him. I tried to move his hand from his nose, but he pushed me away.

"Brent, I'm a medic in training."

"Fine, my first aid kit is in the closet down the hall."

I get off the stool and go retrieve it. As I get back, I can see the swelling on his nose. I ran my finger over his nose, and it was broken. In one swift motion, I pinched it and cracked it back into place.

"JESUS, FUCK, THAT HURT!" He yells.

"Stop being a baby." I snap, while putting gauze up his nose.

I could feel his eyes on mine as I placed a bandage over the bridge of his nose. It was making my hands start to shake. Dammit, stop this right now ...

"You should be okay, just go see the medic tomorrow and take to motrin tonight. Oh and ice it." I say as throw everything back into the kit.

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry ... you didn't deserve that."

"No, I did."

My eyes shoot over to him, "what?"

"I did. I was an ass. I'm sorry."

"just forget about it, I'll see you later."

chapter twenty-nine ;

He's got me thinking I'm not good for anything. Look at this mess we've made with only ourselves to blame. I know all about your midnight mistakes. but I play dumb
because it's the truth I can't face. Come on just stop. I'm so sick of fighting. I look fine now but inside im just dying. Just let this go. I can't let go

Brent stared at me. His bright green eyes were like daggers as he continued to stare me down. I wonder how the news got to him so fast. I cross my arms and stare right back at him. Pick your poison, buddy.

He doesn't say a word to me. The silence was killing me. Burish and Sharp come out of the dressing room, patting me on the back for kicking her ass. Making Brent's blood boil even more than it already was. To be honest, it gave me some wicked satisfaction. After the two dumbasses leave, I give up and start to walk down the hall. But I could feel him following me.

"What the fuck was that all about?"

"Your girlfriend's a huge bitch, Seabrook. She had it coming."

He runs his hands through his hair, letting out a deep sigh, "Why? Why did you have to come down here?"

"That doesn't concern you, buddy!"

"Yes it does! And don't 'buddy' me!"

"Fine then, Pal! And for your information IT DOES NOT CONCERN YOU" I yell back.

He slightly turns away from me, not even looking at me this time, "It doesn't help me control my feelings for you," he says in a light whisper. I hardly heard it.

"What?"

"I didn't say anything."

Tears began to fill my eyes and I step closer to him. "Yes you did! What was is it?"

"You shouldn't have come down here, Ally. I know it would blow up and Helen would be all over it."

"What? I have to avoid Chicago forever now? What if Jon and I get more serious?"

"He doesn't love you" He said, catching my surprise.

"Who the fuck told you that?"

"He could never love you, Ally." He pipes back, "Not like I still do."

Wow. He said it. He told me he loved me. But, I think it was time I walked away from this. He watches me fall when I need him the most. He walks out when we fight. He doesn't know how to control a relationship. Which was quite pathetic considering how much of an amazing person he can be. I needed to stop this ache. I could never love him again. Never.

"Brent. I can't do this. You've caused me the most suffering I've ever been through. You can't just walk back into my life and think everything is going to be fine. Cause it won't. Not this time."

"Do you still love me?"

"I can't answer that right now."

Then, his hand was suddenly brushing my bangs from my face, causing me to shiver. It causes my memory to start flooding back to our summer. The midnight swims, the late night phone calls, the kisses, the flowers, the laughter, the smiles, just all of it. Somehow, my mind was stuck back in July cause I didn't budge when he crashed his lips into mine. It took me back to when the ferris wheel got stuck at the pier carnival and we were at the top. He made me laugh till it hurt to make the time pass, and I can still see the sunset in his eyes. To this day. I can still see it.

No, I had Jon. He made that hole in my chest go away. He was the one that stood with me on my rainiest days, put up with my bitch attitude towards people, and made me shake in the best way possible. I loved him more than I loved Brent.

Half of my heart knew that was true.

I push him off me, the tears wouldn't stop falling down my face. I call him every name under the sun and slap him yet again across the face. I needed closure from him, Not this shit. Not again.

I found Taylor in the lobby and she took me back to Jon's place without a single word. I did confess everything to her on the way over, and she just wanted to kill Brent as much as I did. As I get into the apartment, I can feel the tears collapsing in my chest again. I phoned Gina and told her everything. She said she was lucky she wasn't down there, cause he'd be dead. I hung up, kept a tight grip on the rail as the bitter wind hit my face. Chicago was beautiful at night, like a million multi-coloured little stars out there.

I close the porch door and hit the shower first, rubbing off the stained mascara off my cheeks, and letting the hot water fall over me. I slip on a pair of sweatpants and a Team Canada T-shirt and head out into the living room.

Every moment was taking forever to fall past me. I kept watching the second hand on the clock, like an aching bruise it was constantly draining to feel it pulsing through me. Jon, where are you?

Then the door clicks open and I spring to my feet like a magnetic reaction. Jon's eyes are glazed with relief, and a hint of concern as I stood in front of him.

"Sorry, Taylor, drove me home."

He rubs my arm gently, "It's okay. I heard what happened."

I lower my head, "Oh, about that .."

"Don't worry about it. Someone had to do it. I'm glad it was you."

I can't even enjoy his humour right now. I weakly smile at him and head over to the couch, bringing my knees up to my chin. Again, I am drowned in silence. I can see Brent's face in my mind, my lips were still tingling from earlier. Jon's arm wraps around me and I crash into his chest.

"Jon, I need to talk to you."

"Okay."

"Don't get mad, please?" I pleaded.

"I won't. What happened?"

"Well, Brent confronted me after the game. We started fighting and, he said you didn't love me ..."

He clenches his fist and furiously shakes his head. "That fucking douchebag! That is not true, Ally. I love you, a lot."

"That's what I told him, but he went on claiming you didn't love me ... like he still does," I muttered, looking at my trembling hands, "and he ... kissed me."

Before I could say another word, Jon jumps off the couch. In one swift motion, he picks up his keys, throws his shoes on and slams the door.

What have I done this time?

chapter twenty-eight ;

"You told me 32 ways to make you smile
i did 31 within the first hour"

My ears are filled with the sweet sound of an acoustic guitar, and a deep raspy voice. I lifted my head off the pillow and my heart skipped. Jon was sitting on a chair beside the bed, with a black acoustic guitar in his hand, with a Beatles sticker on it. His hair was all over the place, he was wearing sweatpants and no shirt. I cupped my mouth to hold back my smile.

"You stood amazed in your delighted shoes
bewildered but willing, you didn't know what to do
so I grabbed your cold hand,
pressed it to my beating heart and said
isn't it neat, how our bodies tick?"

At this point, I'm almost giggling. I sit up in the bed and just watched him sing. First off, I didn't know he could sing. Second of all, he can play guitar? Oh Jon, you have reached a new time high in my books.

"Yeah, that's all I got." He smirks, nervously biting his lip.

"Jon ... did you write that?"
(FYI - this song is by a group called Backseat Goodbye, I didn't write this)

"Yeah. Can you tell I have too much time on my hands?"

"No, it's perfect." I reply.

His face turns a few shades of red and he places the guitar on the floor. I keep my eyes on him as he crawls over the bed and gently caresses my mouth. My hands find their normal spot on his neck as the kiss deepens. He pulls away and finds the weak spot on my neck, causing me to deeply moan. What a way to wake up if you ask me.

Later on that night, I was at the hawks game. I was wearing one of Jon's player T-shirts, torn and bleach distressed jeans with a pair of grey uggs. Suddenly, a tall blonde girl sits by me. We don't say much, of course. I didn't know who she was.

The game was beyond what I was expecting. I had seen games at the UC before, but this was insane. I was also sitting beside Taylor, Dunc's girlfriend of 8 years. We got up and danced like idiots when Chelsea Dagger came on for the 5th time that night, giving the hawks a 5-2 lead over Nashville. Patrick sharp netted two goals, Hossa added one, Kaner got one two, and thanks to Ladd, we had a bigger cushion.

"That was such a good game!" I yell as we stand up after the boys saluted the crowd.

"For sure, Helen, are coming down with us?"

"Helen?" I reply, dumbfounded, looking at the blonde.

"Oh yeah, Ally, this Helen." Taylor adds.

Helen smiles, but I notice how horrible her make up is applied. Did she get dressed in the dark? "Brent's girlfriend, and you are?"

At this point, rage is boiling through me. This was her. The one that took Brent from me. It took everything I had not to punch her out right now.

"Ally, Tazer's girlfriend."

She blows a bubble with her gum and pops it inches from my face. "Oh, you're the one that fucked Steeger and ruined what you and Brent had? Good one."

Oh, it's on now bitch.

My fists began to shake and I tackled her to the ground. She's screaming, and catching the looks of fellow hawks fans. I don't care. My eyes were glued to her, like my anger was making me it's robot. I clench my fist and give her a hard blow to to her nose. She starts calling me a slut and begging for someone to help her. Whereas Taylor was behind me, on the phone with Gina, yelling, "ALLY IS KICKING HELEN'S ASS RIGHT NOW"

"YOU STOLE HIM FROM ME!"

"HE WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!"

"I LOVED HIM!" I shriek so loud, I heard my voice strain.

"HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU."

"YOU'RE FUCKING WHORE, I HATE YOU!"

I punch her numerous times, as she digs her nails into my arm. It makes me scream and a little bit of blood falls down my arm. She manages to get her arm free and rip my nose ring out. My eyes are welling with tears, my nose felt like it was being stabbed.

That was the final straw. It was a huge blur, this wasn't like me. I grab a fist-full of her hair and slam her head against the floor. I was lucky I didn't knock her out. Really lucky actually.

Then two arms grab me off her. Right before she was out of my reach, I see the gum she spat out, and snatching it up and pressing it right into her hair. I kick and scream to get of the guards grip. Only to see it was Ben Eager who pulled me away from her.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" I scream.

He lets me go and I touch my nose. I'm bleeding. Great. My heart rate wouldn't go down. I can't believe I just did that. I kicked Brent Seabrook, my ex boyfriend's, new girlfriend's ass. To be honest, I felt fucking spectacular.

"DUDE! You totally kicked her ass!" Eager exclaims, locking me into a hug and nuzzling my head.

"I did, didn't I?"

Suddenly, my laughs are put to a hault. Cause standing in front of me, was a very, very angry Brent Seabrook.

Shit.

chapter twenty-seven ;

I'm flying down the fast lane. Doing 95, 90 things on my brain. Dunno where the hell I'm going, but I'm going after you. I'm jumping on the last train. Got this crazy kinda feeling that I can't explain. Don't know where the hell I'm going, but I'm going after you. Would you give me one more minute? The story's far from finished. We could fill in all the pages. I'm feeling sick, your so contagious. Just wanna say I miss you, I caught it when I kissed you, and I've been through all the stages. I'm feeling sick, your so contagious

"Ally?"

I looked up at Jon. My heart was racing. He had this look of either shock or relief on his face. Eh, I was leading towards the shock effect. I stand up and make my way towards him. He immediately reaches out and pulls me close to his chest.

"Jon, I'm so sorry."

His eyes narrow on me, almost looking confused. "What? Why are you sorry?"

"For not telling you the truth on the phone."

"No, I'm sorry. I just grew disappointed cause --"

"No" I cut in. "Gabby told me why. Don't worry about it."

"So," he says licking his lips, "something you want to say to me?"

I roll my eyes, "I love you."

"I didn't hear you .."

"I love you Jonathan Toews!" I said a little louder this time.

A huge smile is placed on his face, "That's better."

I smirk before he takes my mouth into a kiss. His hands run up my shoulders, sliding my zip up hoodie off me. Our lips don't part. As we pull apart, his forehead gently presses into mine as I try to get my breath back to normal. It's not even possible right now.

He kisses me again, and my legs wrap around his waist. He proceeds to take me back into his room, keeping a tight lock on my body so I don't fall. I plant kisses on his face before returning to his mouth. My entire body was shaking in the best way possible at this point. My head gently lands onto one of the pillows, and Jon's over me, kissing my neck and gripping the hem of my shirt. I sit up as he removes it for me, and I glide his shirt above his head. This was so surreal to me. I felt like I was in a dream.

I stop and sigh, "Jon, are we making a mistake?"

"Not at all" He replies, nuzzling his nose against mine.

"I don't want everyone to think I'm some whore ..."

"You're not, Ally. Steeger was a mistake, and Brent pretty much had you under some spell. You need to focus on what we have. You mean everything to me."

"You mean everything to me to, Jon. I can't lose you." I said as my voice begins to shake.

"You won't."

His lips were over mine again, sending me into overdrive. This felt different for some reason. He was gentle with me and treated me like he actually loved me. He wasn't just having sex with me, he was making love to me. Oh god Ally, quit sounding like some romance novel for once ..

The rain was falling outside, hitting the window like a million little diamonds. The Chicago skyline was lit up perfectly and different strokes of light fell against the walls. I was wrapped up inside of Jon's arms, my head pressed against his chest. My eyes were shut as he slowly ran this fingers through my wild head of hair.

"So, Brent knows everything." Jon said breaking the silence.

"I figured he would," I deeply sigh.

"I also kicked his ass today."

This time, I find myself laughing, "Good job, baby."

"He deserved it, to say the least."

I look up into his eyes, "What's it gunna be like tomorrow? When he sees us together?"

Jon pulls me tighter against his body and presses his lips onto my forehead, "I'd just ignore him, he's like a kid in that way. Ignore him and he'll get the hint."

"I sure hope so."

chapter twenty-six;

You've gotta swim, swim for your life. Swim for the music, that saves you. When you're not so sure you'll survive, you gotta swim, and swim when it hurts. The whole world is watching. You haven't come this far to fall off the earth. The currents will pull you, away from your love. Just keep your head above. I found a tidal wave, begging to tear down the dawn. Memories like bullets, they fired at me from a gun. A crack in the armor. I swim to brighter days. Despite the absence of sun. Choking on salt water. I'm not giving in. I swim

Jon's POV;;

*Two weeks later*

I still haven't talked to Ally. I needed to man up and phone her back. But, a part of me was hoping that Gabby told her what I said. I know she was drunk. But, that text. Man, it did something to me. I loved her all along, and for her to admit it, I felt like I had the world in my hands. She was something special.

I headed into practice as Dunc smiles at me. He's been uber friendly to me since the whole ordeal. He just doesn't know Ally and I fought though. He doesn't need to know either.

My skates hit the cool hard ice of the United Centre. I begin to feel alive again. The distinct smell of the rink fills my nose, bringing back old memories I had as a kid, dreaming of being here. Now I am here. The captain of an NHL team. Talk about surreal. I still found myself shaking my head. Life is bittersweet in that way.

I see some of the wives and girlfriends sitting in the stands today. It's not usual, but I shrug it off. I see Brent smile to Helen, his whore of the month. I don't get what he saw in her. Body of an 8 year old, stringy blond hair, her make up didn't match her skin, she tanned too much, and on top of it all, she had no boobs. What? I'm a guy okay. She was nothing like Ally. A wild head of chocolate coloured waves, lightly tanned skin, bright eyes, and a fuller body. She wasn't fat though, she was 5 foot 2 and weighed at least 130 pounds, a size 6. Yeah, she had big boobs too. She was beyond gorgeous. She put the Kardashian's to shame.

"Tazer, dude, quit dreaming of Ally!" Steeger jokes bumping into me.

I shake my head, I realize I was staring out into a bunch of empty seats. Brent sends me a nasty glare, I give him one back. I grab a bucket of pucks and dump them onto the ice. We did our normal drills, worked on face-off's, and stretched out too.

"You put your right foot in, and your left foot out!" Eager sings as he leads the stretch.

I laugh as I get up and go fire more shots on Niemi. I had more faith in him then I did in Huet. I wish I had a say in who gets to play in net, but I don't. I have to lead by example. That was that.

Ally's POV;;

I was leaving today. I couldn't take it any longer. I had to go see him now. Today was the last day of classes before we had a whopping 3 week winter break. I skipped my classes, packed my bags and got my mom to drive me to the airport.

"I are you sure about this?" She says.

"Mom, I really love him ..."

"Well he's a good boy. He treats you right."

I nod as she pulls me into a hug. Butterflies kill my stomach. I was going to be in Chicago in a matter of hours. Dunc was the only one who knew I was coming to visit. I wanted to keep it that way.

I get onto the plane and the normal annoyances were filling my ears. Kids screaming, businessmen bitching. I sigh and pull out my iPhone and blast Jack's Mannequin while I read "The Last Song." My heart began to race as Chicago was getting closer into my sights ...

Jon's POV ;;

After practice, I get out and shower. I throw my jeans and blackhawks shirt on and get ready to leave. The media swarms me yet again. I try my best to get rid of them. But, they won't go away. Some unrealistic curse word comes out of my mouth when I get to my car and realize I left my phone in the locker room.

"She loves you huh?"

I look around and see Brent holding my phone. He was clearly reading my texts. Great.

"Yeah, so what? Last time I checked you were over her."

Brent wickedly smiles and clenches onto my iPhone. "This is exactly what you wanted. Wasn't it, Jon? For someone to hurt her so she believed she needed you to run to."

"It's not like that. Because unlike you, I believed in her, and promised her she'd have someone when everyone walked out."

This time, he rolls his eyes. Think this is funny, do you? "Who are you? Shakespeare?"

"Give me back my fucken phone!" I yell this time, catching the eyes of Sharp and Kaner.

"Naw. Jon, you don't deserve her."

"And what you do?"

"I already had her, and I can get her back just as fast. It's clear she misses me." He scolds as he looks over at Sharp. "That's what Patrick told us."

I glare at Sharp, "What?"

"She was crying that day, over him. But, Seabrook, get the fuck over it. She's done with you now. Plain and simple."

It gets worse. Brent and I start yelling more and more and before I knew it. Punches were being thrown. He pinned me against the wall, making it hard for me to breathe. I knee him right in the stomach. His breath gets caught. I catch my phone before it falls to the floor. Nice save, Toews.

"Don't fuck with me Brent. Now's not the time. You broke Ally's heart and she won't forgive you. If I was you, I'd be wondering how the hell I can live with myself. She's the most amazing girl out there, she's different, and you took advantage of her. Nice fucken job."

I don't take a look back. I storm out to my car and head home. I tried phoning Ally, but she didn't answer. I wonder if something was up, cause Dunc left practice early. I shrug it off and hit the button on the elevator. I search for my keys and open my door to my new penthouse.

Just then, I drop my phone, and my mouth is lying open.

"Ally?"

chapter twenty-five ;

Cause baby now I realize that I was wrong, when I said I didn't need you. I miss you bad so now. I'm comin' home, so you better leave the light on. This feels like a permanent December. So much colder than I can remember. When I get you back, this time I swear that I won't ever let you go

I woke up with a brutal hangover, no surprise. I get up and head into the kitchen, nod at Steph before I take two aspirin and wash them down. She passes me a mug of coffee the smell slightly wakes me up. I needed a big mac and my bed for the rest of the day.

I pulled out my iPhone and started scrolling through my text messages. I paused at the ones I sent Jonny last night. Shit, I told him I loved him. Canadian Bacon? Wow, Ally. You've totally outdone yourself this time. Good job.

"God dammit!" I said hitting the back of my head against the wall.

"What?"

"I told Jon I loved him last night."

"But, you do love him right?" He asked.

I sit down at the island with her. "I mean yeah, but .. I didn't want him to find out. Not like this anyways,"

She frowns at me as I shake my head. I really should phone him back. I finish up my coffee as I walk into the living room. His number shows up on my screen, I'm too scared to hit the talk button. Steph sends me this look to get it over with. With a shaky hand, I touch the screen and it begins to ring.

"Hello?"

"Johnny. It's me."

"Ally ..."

"I'm sorry about last night."

"It's fine. I know what you're like when you're drunk." He snickers, it makes me feel a little better about the situation.

"Jon, I'm serious ..."

"So, the million dollar question is, Ally. Do you love me or no?"

I let out a shaky breath, trying to figure out of it was the truth or not. I wasn't sure right now.

"Ally, do you?"

"Jon, it's still soon ..."

"So you don't?"

"That's not what I said!" I scolded back.

"I gotta go."

"Jon, don't ..."

With that, the phone disconnected. My head fell into my hands as an outpour of tears come out. What was he doing? I cared about him, a lot. But, it's only been two weeks since we made it official. Steph came and sat beside me, squeezing my right knee.

"Ally, are you ok?"

"I really need to stop drinking." I reply.

She laughs, "you don't need to stop, you just need to .... not drink so much."

"Well, what can I do, Steph? I got drunk, and slept with Steeger, and told Brent, then I kissed sharpie, and now Jon won't talk to me."

"That's not it, actually."

We look up and see Gabby leaning against the wall clutching her Droid. "He's disappointed, cause he was really happy when he got that text."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he just texted me. He actually saved it."

I think I was ready to put my idea into action. "I'm gunna go see him on winter break,"

"You need to. He really hates being away from you."

Steph nod's in agreement, "Just go, Ally. You guys need like, two weeks together to sort this all out."

I nod as some butterflies hit my stomach. In two weeks, Jonathan Toews would be in my arms again. If I'm forgiven.

chapter twenty-four ;

"So, we ran out of town, away from everyone who was calling us out. Relax, relax. Exhale and breathe, just breathe for me. You are the earth beneath my feet, you are my gravity. Cause lately I've been tired and uninspired. Be strong for me, and I'll be strong for you"

Two weeks later I was sitting in Gina and Steph's apartment. We were pigging out on junk food and watching the hawks game. They were playing San Jose, so the game started at 7:30 for us. It was in the 2nd period, and they were down 4-1. Gee, thanks Huet for nothing.

"I need booze for this, I can't deal." Gabby said walking towards the kitchen.

"Good idea, I still feel sick from seeing Brent score."

All the girls joined in my laughter, we all hated his stinking guts right now. Which was fine by me. Gabby walked back into the living room as we moved the coffee table so we could sit in a circle on the floor. Christina walked in behind Gabby holding shot glasses for us. She had a bottle of raspberry vodka and a bottle of sprite to chase. We all pour ourselves a shot, and clank our glasses together.

"Cheers to that asshole named Brent Seabrook for making me find Jonathan Toews."

"Amen!" They all replied as we threw back our shots.

It burned my throat, but it felt good. I didn't chase it back, I just grabbed the bottle and threw another shot back. My cheeks began to burn after my 4th shot, and by the time I had my 12th shot, I was completely gone again.

"YOU KNOW WHAT!" I said nuzzling my face into Gabby's shoulder.

"What!?"

"Brent's horrible in bed."

At this point everyone starts hysterically laughing. My head falls into my hands. I can't even keep it up properly. I was having fun and letting go for the first time in months. It felt .. amazing.

"How bad though?" Gabby is yelling at me, even though she's right beside me.

I stumble to sit on my knees and sternly look her in this eyes, "Like, bad."

She gasps, "IS HE SMALL?"

"I CAN'T SAY THAT!"

Gabby's eyes suddenly widen, "I GOT AN IDEA! LETS GO OUTSIDE!"

I can't get up, but with the help of Steph, I do get up. We stuff our feet into our boots as we head into the elevator, screaming the lyrics to "Monster" by Lady Gaga at the top of lungs. I grab Christina's hand as we attempt to run towards the park behind their complex. We fall over in a fit of laugher. Gabby lands beside us as we stare up into the winter midnight sky. My cheeks were still burning.

"You know ... I love Jon." I confess.

"AWWWW!! REALLY!?" Steph squeals.

"I mean, he loves me, and he's so fucking hot. I mean come on, he makes me forget about Brent."

"Have you had sex yet?"

"No, but, I plan to. I want to. He looks good at it." I snicker.

"He does. I won't lie." Gabby chirps in.

"What was that?" I snap looking over at her.

We start bickering at each other over Jon. I understand she didn't actually mean it, but my drunken state was taking over me. She pushed me. I pushed back. Then I full on tackle her and we roll down the hill at a rapid pace. I didn't know if I should laugh or actually kick her ass.

"Jon is mine!" I scream.

"You're a bitch!"

"GET OFF ME!"

"GIRLS STOP IT!"

Steph pulls me off of Gabby and I wipe my mouth. I cut my lip on a rock. Gabby looks over at me, and I look at her. Hysteria fell over me as I bursted into tears and hugged her. Gina, Steph, and Christina just laugh at us as we confess we love each other.

"I'd never take Jon from you." Gabby sobbed.

"I know you wouldn't. I wouldn't take Jordan from you." I replied, referring to her boyfriend, Jordan Eberle.

She nods as she hiccups a few more tears out of her. I hug her again before we slowly stumble back to the apartment. Man, that was a moment for the books. As we walk in, we see the boys won the game in overtime. Jon with the winner. No surprise.

I pull out my phone and text Jon,

"Ayyy, baybay, nice goal you sexy fucker"

"Are you drunk?"

"PFFT. You know nothing."

"Ally ...."

"Kso, I am. But, I love you."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow. I highly doubt you meant that."

"No, no, no. Listen butthead. I fucking love you and don't you forget it."

"I'll call you tomorrow. Please stay safe."

"Ay, I can keep myself safe, buddy."

"Goodnight Ally."

"Goodnight you fine piece of Canadian Bacon!"

I put my phone away and storm into Steph's room. Not even caring that she's on the phone. I plunk down on her bed, smiling to myself. It was a good night. My eyes grow tired, and I'm suddenly out like a light.