"I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun." -Charles R. Swindoll
Natalie's P.O.V
I hadn't seen Jonny since the night of the Kings game. Tonight was the Blues, but I still wasn't sure which seats I was going to sit in. Nana had two behind the Blue's bench so I guess I would just sit there to avoid being alone. Half of the Blues had texted me about lunch today and we decided on a quaint cafe about a block from my place. It was also right by their hotel so hopefully no one would notice them. It was hard not to notice 6 giant hockey players though.
I got there before them, as usual. Ordering myself a chai tea, I found a massive booth in the back. I know Osh, Vladimir, Elliot, Steen and Lehtera were coming. All of them were older than me, except Russia, but I didn't mind. They all acted like kids anyways. I've actually had a slight crush on Tarasenko for about the past 2 years, but he was a little too young for me. I mean I couldn't exactly go for a boy 3 years younger than me. So instead we became nearly inseparable. Plus Yana was my absolute favorite.
"Nat." I heard TJ shriek. When I talked about them acting like children, it was mostly him. I ran up to them, practically jumping on their backs.
"Timothy. Hows Lyla and Lauren. I miss them!" He laughed, picking me up in a hug.
"Lyla great, Lauren misses you." I made eye contact with Vladimir and smirked heavily.
"Russia, nice to see you." He gave me a tight squeeze and ruffled my hair.
"I missed you Nat. Oh Yana and I are engaged by the way."
"You couldn't pick up the phone to call me?" I shouted, punching his arm. Steen was checking out my shirt and glaring. It was one of Chaunette's, who I'd been hanging out with through out the week. She was pretty much a photo copy of Shawsy, but slightly better. As said by Brandon 'She actually knows when to shut up.'
"What have they done to you?" Steen asked, pulling a face of disgust. All of them winced at my shirt, Russia pulling a face of horror.
"Please tell me you aren't wearing that." El asked, handing me his Blues beanie as if that would compensate for my shirt. I pulled it onto my head to please my long time friends and to make me less embarrassed of myself.
"Well, I was actually gonna wear Elliot, but maybe I'll wear Kaner's instead."
"Could you be any more basic, jesus." Lehtera groaned. We always used to make fun of the amount Kane jerseys at Hawks games. We respected him, but he was so over hyped.
"Fuck guys, we've got to go. Practice starts in 30." Vladimir stated, showing his phone. "You coming?"
"Yeah, I'll go home and get ready. I'll be there in an hour max." We hugged goodbye as I hopped in my Lexus. I sped back to Barb's house and jumped in the shower. My hair was going natural today, I guess. My Elliot jersey wasn't in my closet when I remembered I'd left it at Jonny's house. My sprint out the house had to be a record. Tazer was walking out to his car, when I caught him.
"Hey Nat, what's up?" He glanced at my outfit, snickering to himself. I looked down at myself, wearing ripped, light wash jeans, my robe and slides.
"I forgot my jersey here. Can I grab it?"
"Yeah, here it's in my bag. I was gonna bring it to you tonight." He handed me the jersey, which smelled faintly of his hockey bag. "Want a ride?"
"Uh yeah let me go change out of this." I ran back to Nana's house and pulled Elliot's jersey over my head and a pair of sandals onto my feet. My glasses were placed on my nose and purse in hand. Jonny's SUV was massive compared to my tiny Lexus. However it was fitting since he over half a foot taller than me. We sat in a comfortable silence on the way to the UC, only breaking it when I attempted to enter the Blues locker room.
"Nat, they're not just gonna let you in there. It's team only until press." I just smiled at him, pushing open the door. He walked in after me, perplexed at the sight. Nearly everyone on the team shouted my name as I entered. I made my way to Ken Hitchcock, who I hadn't seen in months.
"Hey Kennie." I smiled, hugging him tightly. He glanced down at me, his face instantly lit up as he hugged me tighter.
"Hey Nat." He glanced up at Jonny, trying to hide his emotions. "Jonathan, how are you?"
"I'm good." He smiled. "Nat I'll meet in my locker room."
The teams faces held a various array of faces. Most were just smirking, including Oshie and Russia who knew I was crushing on him before I'd even told them. Backes and a few of the older players had deep set scowls. Then there was Schwartzie who was just spacing out. I sat down next to him in, squeezing between him and Dmitrij also known as Russia 2.0.
"Jaden where the hell were you at lunch today?"
"Um I was asleep still, I think." He smiled, wrapping his arm around me. "I'll buy you dinner to make up for it."
"Deal, but I pick because you always drag me to steakhouses and I hate them."
I left their locker room and made my way to the Hawks. Only Jonny, Brandon and a small blonde guy were in there. I could overhear the blonde guy talking, he spoke broken English and his accent was strong. Possibly Swedish or Finnish, it was hard to tell. Saader was the first to notice me as I rounded the corner. My gaze was still set on the blonde though. He seemed to notice, extending his hand out to me.
"I'm Teuvo."
"Natalie." I shook his hand, finding a seat in Kruger's stall. Jonny was taping his stick in the adjacent stall. He was still wearing the gray sweatpants and a North Dakota t-shirt.
"You go there?" I asked, gesturing to his shirt.
"Yeah, where'd you go?"
"Minnesota State."
"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "What did you study?"
"Marketing minor in Management."
"Want to get dinner or something after this? I have a feeling I'll be starving."
"Actually I'm going out with Jaden. It been a while since our dinner dates."
"Oh you're dating him?" I could sense a bit of sadness in his voice. Was Jonny upset over J and I?
"Oh god no. He's like a little brother, I watch over him like a helicopter mom."
"Then we'll have to reschedule." He smiled, pulling on his left skate. He stood up, the skates giving him an extra couple inches over me. He was at least a foot taller then me now.
"I guess we will."
WOOOOO first round of the draft is over. Of course McDavid and Eichel got picked first. I was really hoping for a Sharp trade tonight even though I knew it wasn't going to happen. But my cousins wedding is tomorrow and I'm so excited since I haven't seen him since Thanksgiving! (He's in the Air Force) But this chapter was so much fun because I got to include my Blues.
Q: People you don't mind trading this year?
A: Sharp, Bickell and Richards <--- I wanna keep him at the same time
YOU ARE READING
Faceoff
Fanfiction"It's my job, I can't just drop everything for you." Jonathan scuffed, throwing clothes in his bag. He glanced back at Nat who wore glossy eyes and a frown. It broke his heart seeing her like this. She never cried. "I guess this is goodbye then." H...
