Faceoff

Chapter 40 -DC

"Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." -Muhammad Ali

Natalie's P.O.V

The sun was blinding this morning. My sheer curtains couldn't block out the brightness of an early October sun. But for once I didn't mind, I was way too excited. To be fair, most people love Thursdays since it's so close to the weekend, but this thursday was different. I was going to see my best friend in the whole world after not seeing him for over two months. The Hawks were playing the Capitals and luckily I wasn't forced into the office this weekend. A lot had changed since I'd gotten the job with the Cubs. They stopped letting me work from home, which may be a good idea since I would always get distracted by Jon. Who wouldn't stare at the most handsome man in all of Chicago?

"Sweetheart, we've seriously got to get going." Jon mumbled, rolling over so he was staring into my eyes. We'd been in bed for at least 2 hours just chatting about random things. I groaned, throwing my hair in a ponytail and changing into leggings and a Hawks t-shirt. I made sure to pack my new Oshie jersey he'd sent to me a few weeks ago. Jon and I were staying in DC until Friday so we could spend time with Lauren, Lyla and TJ for a little bit, but had to fly back that night because they had a game against the Blue Jackets on Saturday. Which meant I finally got to see B after such a long time.

Brandon had been so unhappy lately. I knew having to pick up and move after getting so comfortable and having so much love for Chicago was a big part of it. But the Jackets were also on a terrible losing streak and I knew he was getting both annoyed and frustrated by his new team. I'd watched his first game, which he'd scored in, but I knew where he was coming from. They were a mess.

"Honey, I'm home!" Patrick shouted, barging into our 'bedroom'. It wasn't very defined since I lived in a studio, but you had to turn a corner to get to it. I smiled at the goofball while dragging him towards the kitchen so Jon could change. I knew Pat had seen Jon naked, but I wasn't in the mood to go through that awkward experience with him.

"Hows your packing going? Jon isn't getting anything done." They were moving out next Friday since there was no practice or game. Of course Jon was moving in here, while Pat was moving into the Trump tower with Artemi. I'm fairly sure Pan had been staying in Jon's room back at their place which could explain why Jonny had been staying here more than usual. Not that I minded much, but that also brought along a lot more things that my tiny apartment couldn't fit. Including Deke, who was staying at Nana's place this weekend.

"Pretty good so far, I already started bringing some things to the new place. Oh and Derrick Rose says hi." Pat said nonchalantly.

"Why does Derrick know who I am?" I asked, straightening the house up so it wasn't such a mess when we returned. That was my pet peeve and growing up with Mark meant my nerves were struck every time we went on vacation. My dear brother was such a pig sometimes.

"Well I saw him this morning and we chatted for a bit so I told him I was coming to be with my best friends." I smiled when Pat called me his best friend. Sometimes I felt like my entire life was a dream, that Patrick, Jon and all my new friends were just going to disappear. They were too good to me and I was the last person that deserved their kindness.

"Everyone ready?" Jon asked, slipping his arm around my waist. I rested my head on his chest and nodded. We made our way to O'Hare and as soon as we pulled into the lot I saw the team waiting around. One of the best things about my early teen years was getting to know Q because now it really worked in my advantage that I could fly with the team, which none of the other WAGs could do. He understood how close TJ and I were.