The Crowd That Kept Us Apart // colorado avalanche

chapter 4

The night before ended in a blur. I didn't remember much of what happened. I glanced at the clock at the side of my bed. It read 9:29, usually, on my day off I would sleep in later. I guess I was still stressed. I woke up sweaty, and my legs were all tangled in my sheets, it was all overwhelming. I struggled to get my legs free, but finally just decided to roll off of the bed. I landed with a thud. The wood floor was cool against my tired body. I wondered if Newy was still here. I turned my head to my bedroom door to see if I could see him, but the door was barely open. I got up with a grunt and went into the living room. There he was sitting on the couch watching TV. It was slightly awkward that he had spent the night, just given the fact I barely knew him, but I practically poured my soul out to him last night and he did too, and he was genuinely worried about me.

"No way, is that Phineas and Ferb?" I said with a laugh. He quickly turned around, startled, but seemed relieved at the same time.

"Haha, you bet it is!"

"Man, I used to watch that with my siblings all the time," I reminisce as old memories flood my mind. My stomach grumbled slightly.

"Are you hungry?"

"I didn't think you could hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Nevermind then, and yes, I'm very hungry."

"Any place you wanna go specifically?" I smirked a little, "so you do?"

"Would you be opposed to village inn?"

"Never been," my jaw practically dropped to the floor.

"Grab your shoes we're going. But, you're driving."

"But you are in your pj's."

"Does it look like I care?" I did care but the excitement overwhelmed any embarrassment I had.

"Alright then," Newy let out a laugh. I smiled. If I'm being honest it felt good to hear Newy laugh. I can't remember the last time I heard him laugh. Then again I wasn't really looking for it.

"Alex?" my tone of voice became serious again. I am not really one to call my teammates by their first name. And when I do they usually know something's up. "I just wanted to say thank you for staying over, and for telling me about Travis. I know we haven't talked much before last night, but you opening up really means a lot."

"Yeah, yeah. Now go change into normal clothes so you don't embarrass yourself." he insisted.

We turned into the parking lot of village inn. We walked towards the building, avoiding the puddles of melting snow.

"You think we'll get recognized?" He asked, opening the door for me.

"Definitely not, everyone here is either too hungover or too old to care." I assured him. I gained a little laugh from him. A part of me liked getting noticed by fans. The rush of appreciation I would get helped me to keep going. It was nice to know people acknowledged us rookies.

"Hello! Table for two?" a nice old man greeted us the moment we walked in. I heard Newy talking to him but I was making eye contact with a pretty girl in the back. She looked about nineteen and so familiar, but I couldn't connect the dots. She quickly ducked behind the wall. I felt a smile tug at my lips. I wondered if I would see her again. I snapped back to reality when the man led us to a booth by a window overlooking the parking lot located in the corner. We sat down, the same girl that I spotted from before nervously approached us. I gave her a friendly smile. Her dirty blond hair sat neatly tucked into a bun on the top of her head. She walked with grace but also stumbled a little.

"Can I get you started on a drink?"

"Yeah, I'll take some chocolate milk!" I said like a child, I was nervous around her, but I think the feeling was mutual. Her name tag read Amara, what a beautiful name, I thought to myself.