Maybe it wasn't meant to be.

Part 3

Jack had been in a daze ever since his phone call with Alex a few days ago. Charlie was at the center of his thoughts. Memories and images of her; the way her body looked, her smile, the excitement in her eyes. He knew everything about her, had seen every inch of her body. And that's all he could think of.
Charlie was still shaken over the fact that Jack knew she was in Colorado. He still thought about her, if he had talked about what had happened between them. As she lay in her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest, she thought about what it had been like before.
Alex was at a loss with the two of them. It was very clear to him that they still had some sort of feelings for each other but neither was going to step up and talk to the other. So he did what he always did when he wanted something done. He called Madi. Madi Anderson was Charlie's best friend since the 7th grade and Alex's girlfriend for the past 4 years. She had been studying abroad for the last year and a half and was finally coming home next week. Maybe she would have an idea on how to get things fixed between Jack and Charlie.
"Mads, it's crazy. They still love each other. I didn't mean to get involved or anything but Char is miserable and you've seen the stories about Jack. " Alex says, sitting on the couch in his apartment.
"I mean, it's to the point that Charlie took down the picture of her and Toews because it reminds her of Jack." On the other end of the phone call, and a ridiculous number of miles away, Madi's eyes widened. Charlie's favorite player since she was 15, the year he got drafted and started playing in the NHL, had been Jonathan Toews. Her family had lived in Chicago for the first 4 years of her parents' marriage and her oldest brother's birth, solidifying her and her family's love for the Blackhawks. She had always joked with Jack that she loved Jonathan Toews more than she loved Jack. For her 16th birthday, Jack had taken her to the Blackhawks convention. He had gotten her a meet and greet with Jonathan Toews. She had screamed when she had opened the envelope, jumping up to hug Jack. The two of them had spent the 3 days of the convention in Chicago, by themselves, playing as adults. Jack had made sure to get Charlie to take a picture with Toews and get him to sign it, something she had treasured for years afterwards. But her favorite picture was the one with Jack and Toews in it. That was the one Alex was talking about.
"Mads, we gotta fix this. I can't watch them fall apart like this anymore. It's been 3 years and it's...it's too hard." Alex said, his voice breaking a little. Madi's heart broke a little for Alex.
"Honey, we'll get this fixed. And if they don't work out, we'll figure something out." Madi said, comforting Alex. After being together for almost 4 years, most of it spent being long-distance, Madi knew how much Alex cared about his friends. He would put everything into making sure his friends were taken care of before he would even think of taking care of himself. That's why she knew this was so important to Alex. So, to make sure her boyfriend would take care of himself, she had to come up with a plan.
"Okay, sweetheart, here's what we're gonna do. I'm coming home at the end of next week. You're gonna figure out a way to get Charlie back to Plymouth when I get home. On my way, I'm gonna stop by Jersey, grab Jack, drag him home. You said the boys are gonna be home too right?" Madi asks, tucking her leg underneath her as she sat on her bed in her room.
"Yeah. Trev, Coley and Patty are all gonna be home." Alex says, wishing more than anything that Madi was there in person, talking this all through with him.
"Okay, we fill the boys in, make sure none of those idiot dumb asses try and make a move on Char and stage a movie night. Just like we used to do back in the NDTP. But the only issue is going to be keeping Jack and Char from seeing each other before we do that. Especially since they live 3 houses away from each other. But maybe forcing them to see each other and having the movie night will stir up those old feelings from before and make them realize that they both still care about each other a lot." Alex smirks, just as in love with his girl as he's always been.
"See this is why you're the mastermind of all our good plans. Thanks, baby. I love you. I'm gonna go look at tickets and head over to Charlie's to convince her. See you in a week." Alex says, listening to Madi's goodbye before he hangs up. He texts Charlie, letting her know he's on his way over.
Jack closed his eyes, seeing Charlie asleep on their bed, her face buried in her pillow. He had woken up before her, the weekend before he had left for the road trip that would eventually break them. He sat up, tracing the curve of her spine, tracing shapes on her back. The thing that killed him about this memory was the fact that things had seemed so good. He had felt like he loved her more than he ever had when they were in Plymouth. He had been thinking about asking her to marry him but had decided to wait, giving both of them a little more time to grow up and get settled. As he was thinking about all of this, she had slowly opened her eyes, smiling at him and he leaned down to kiss her. She clawed her way on top of him and cuddled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to him.  They had spent the day in bed, savoring every minute of being with each other before he was on the road for two weeks. Things had been so perfect. And then he had left for the road trip, they fought and she left. Everything changed all because of a few stupid things he had said out of exhuastion, irritation and in all honesty, missing her. He wanted her back, he wanted that feeling back so badly that at this point, he would give anything. He'd give up hockey, his entire life, to have her back.
Alex knocked on Charlie's door then turned the handle, letting himself in with the key Charlie had given him. She was somewhere in the apartment because he could hear music playing and her singing along very loudly. It was good to see her somewhat happy since she had been at a really low point for a while now.
"Char? I'm in your apartment." He called, walking back towards her room and knocking on the door. The door creaked open and he could see into the bathroom where Charlie was.
"Hi Turcs! Can you order food? I'm starving!" She shouted, leaning back so he could see her. He smirked, sat down on her bed and got his phone out to order them dinner. A few minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom, brown hair dye stained all over her shirt and her hair a much darker color than it had been this morning when he saw her at the rink.
"You like it?" She asked, flipping her hair around. Slightly stunned by the color change, Alex nods.
"It looks really good on you, Char. I like it. What made you decide to do that?" She tugs off her t-shirt and pulls on a sweatshirt, one Alex instantly recognizes as Jack's. He chooses not to say anything.
"I don't know. I guess I was just kinda sick of being blonde. So I decided to change it up. Cool how I can do that, huh?" Alex shakes his head, lifting his phone up and snapping a picture to send to Madi.
"Hey, speaking of changes, Madi comes home for good next week. How would you feel about going home to Plymouth for the week?" Alex asked, casually. He glanced up from where he was ordering pizza on his phone to catch her reaction as he asked the question. She stiffened for a second but then her shoulders dropped and she turned to face him, a smile on her face.
"Um, hell yes! I haven't been home in almost 4 years, I need to go home and visit." Alex tries to hide his thrill that their plan is starting to fall into place.
"Okay then! It's settled then. We'll leave Thursday?" He asked, knowing that Madi would hopefully be getting in with Jack late Friday night. Charlie nods and the two of them spend the rest of the evening eating pizza, watching New Girl and eventually, Charlie fell asleep on Alex. He helped her to her room, made sure she got changed and did all her nighttime routine stuff, got her into bed and left, locking the door with his key on the way out.
Jack had just sat down on the couch, turned the TV on and was scrolling through Netflix when the knocking started. He ignored it at first, figuring it was probably Mallory, coming to try and 'talk things out' like she had tried to do when he started ignoring her calls and texts. But the knocking didn't go away. If it was Mallory, she would've given up by now. She wasn't exactly what you would call a 'driven girl' in any sense.
Finally getting annoyed by the constant knocking, Jack tossed the remote to the side and got up to answer the door. As he pulled the door open, nudging Luca out of the way, he was met with a glare. Madi Anderson, Charlie's best friend and self-designated protector, tiny as she was, still scared the hell out of him. When they were in high school, everybody knew not to mess with Madi. Even with her only being 5 feet, 3 inches, she terrified Jack and majority of the boys at Plymouth High School. Alex was the only one who could manage her. Plus, she went soft for Alex. 
"Do you not know how to open a door?" Madi asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him. Jack said nothing, only stepped out of her way and let her into his apartment. Despite being terrified of Madi for the majority of his school career, the two of them had gotten onto good terms. They were pretty good friends now.
"Uh hi to you too? Why are you here?" Jack asked, following Madi into the living room of his apartment.
"I'm here because your dumbass made a mistake 3 years ago and hasn't come home since then. Get packed, Jacky. We're going home." Madi said, flopping down on the couch and petting Luca. Jack's eyebrow went up.
"Plus all of your best friends managed to be home this weekend. So I decided, on my way home from Germany, which is an 8 hour flight I might add, to drag your sorry ass with me back home." The other thing about Madi was that she swore more than anyone he knew. Even more than Quinn when Jack had forced him to play goalie for him and he was taking shots on him.
"Mads, I can't go home. There's...There's too many memories there." Jack spat out, running his hand through his hair. Madi sat, watching him. She and Alex had talked through this whole little scheme they had, a thousand times. Alex would get Charlie home a day before Madi and Jack would get into town, enough time to fill in the rest of the boys on what he and Madi were doing so they wouldn't get in the way. They would say that they were having a movie night, just like they used to do, back in the NDTP. Which was technically the truth but the surprise would be, for Jack, that Charlie was there. For Charlie, it would obviously be that Jack was there. This would force the two of them to face each other, possibly bringing those feelings they both still had to the surface.
"Jack Hughes come on. You're coming home and there's no more moping allowed. You're gonna go home, get drunk with your best friends and have a good time. Now go pack."  Jack stood and Madi nodded, satisfied. Jack walks back to his room, thinking about how it would be going back to Plymouth. He had missed his family of course, but they always came to visit in Jersey. He was still scared that he would fall apart because to him, everything with Charlie was in Plymouth. He shook his head, refusing to think about that. He grabbed enough clothes to last a week, mostly sweatpants, t-shirts and a few sweatshirts. He tossed two pairs of jeans and some socks, plus a few other things into his duffel bag. He walked into the bathroom and heard both Madi and the dog come into his room. Luca hopped up on his bed and Madi settled herself on the floor; something she had gotten from Charlie. He packed some stuff from the bathroom then walked back out, setting his bag on the floor.
"We're bringing Luca home with us." Madi says, looking up at Jack. Jack raises an eyebrow.
"Luke told me we had to." Madi says, standing up and crossing her arms. Jack shakes his head, knowing Madi wouldn't budge on this. So he packed up Luca's leash, food and water dishes, food, and treats and the 3 of them headed out the door to the rental car Madi had. Madi let Jack play music, knowing he would stay quiet if his music was on, plus that meant the topic of Charlie wouldn't come up. Even though Madi was the most terrifying and intense person everyone knew, she sucked at keeping secrets. So the less Charlie was talked about, the less issue there was of Madi blowing their little plan. The two of them rode in silence for the whole ride, only really talking when they would stop to let Luca out to run around and go to the bathroom. But the whole ride, all Jack could think about was all the memories that he was going to have to suffer through being brought back as soon as they crossed the Plymouth city limits.