Faceoff

Chapter 40 -DC

"Hey pretty lady. Ready for DC?" Shawsy asked, ruffling my hair. I groaned, taking it out of its now messy ponytail and redoing it.

"You have no idea." I smiled, finding Jon again. He told me Patrick agreed to move seats so I could sit next to him on the flight. Pat was sitting with Seabs and Keith now. The plane took off shortly after and Jon instantly fell asleep. It seemed as if every flight we'd been on together, he'd been asleep within the first 5 minutes. It was a talent honestly, but that left me to be awake and alone. I slipped on my headphones, listening to Twenty One Pilots original album. It had come out around the same time TJ and I dated so I loved listening to it. It reminded me of arguably my favorite part of my life, except maybe now.

*****
As soon as we landed I ran from the small plane, not bothering to wake Jon, and into the arms of my waiting best friend. He picked me up, spun me around and kissed the top of my head. I forced myself not to cry and turned towards the tiny blonde waiting next to TJ. Lauren hugged me tight and whispered how much she missed me. Lyla must've heard the commotion because she woke up abruptly from her stroller.

"Natawee!" Lyla shouted, reaching for me. I grabbed the toddler, hugging her as tight as I could.

"Hi sweetheart, how have you been?"

"Mama and Papa got a house and my room is so big!" She shouted. Of course I knew all of this, TJ and Lauren had been sending me pictures of their new place ever since they moved. As much as it killed me that they lived so far away, it was probably better. Lauren hated the boringness of St. Louis and D.C was full of live and new activities. It sucked that they had to pack up their entire life, but according to TJ, they were welcomed almost immediately by the team and their wives. Jon walked up to us, whispering how he was sorry he slept the whole time.

"Jon, how was your summer?" TJ asked harshly. He didn't really like Jon much anymore after Jon and I's numerous fights. TJ was protective like that and he held his grudges longer than anyone I'd ever met. He still hated Eberle from years ago even though that failed relationship was mostly my fault.

"Pretty great. Oh man, I saw your fight against McQuaid. It was amazing." TJ's smile dropped and he coughed awkwardly. I knew he was trying to be nice, but he hated talking about fights that happened during hockey. You really had to tick him off for him to fight so him fighting McQuaid was kind of a big deal. I mean it was only his fourth fight ever.

"He was talking shit about my family which is a big no-go in my book." TJ said, venom in his voice. Lauren placed a hand on his face and all of his anger instantly disappeared. I smiled at their love and followed them towards their car, kissing Jon goodbye. I'd see him after the game so it wasn't that long. We drove away from the airport and further into D.C. They had an apartment in the heart of D.C. and told me I could stay there. That meant for the first time in nearly a month, I wouldn't be sleeping next to Jon. But I'm sure Lyla would crawl into bed and keep me company.

"So this is your room. TJ wanted to design it for you because he knew you'd be here all the time and wow he was right." Lauren joked, concluding her tour of the place. It was absolutely massive, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. I don't know why the three of them needed such a massive place, but it was beyond beautiful. "Are you guys coming out for Halloween?"

We'd spent every halloween together for the past five years and I really didn't want to miss it. But my life had changed and I no longer lived down the block from the two. Plus Lyla would probably want to go trick-or-treating and it wasn't my place to be there this year.

"No" I frowned. "The Hawks throw a party and I already promised Jon I would go with him."

"No! Who's gonna be my dancing partner?" She winked, dragging me towards the kitchen where she was making dinner. We were having Caesar salads and my favorite pasta that Lauren made. We ate quickly, the game was starting in a little over an hour and none of us were ready. Ly was still sleeping and my hair was still in it's awful ponytail from this morning. I cleaned up the dishes so Lauren could get Lyla ready. When everything was washed and put away I made my way towards the ensuite bathroom connected to my room. I straightened my hair, something I very rarely did, and applied a quick makeup. I wore a pair of leggings and my Oshie jersey. D.C. was a lot colder than Chicago already.

We arrived at the Verizon Center right on time. The boys were just finishing the warmups as we sat down. A few girls said hello to Lauren and we sat down in seats near the isle. Someone said hello again and I looked for the source of the voice. 3 feet to my right sat the most beautiful human in the world, Julianne Hough.

"Holy shit. Why are you not freaking out over the fact that you're sitting next to Julianne Hough?" I whispered, quiet enough that Julianne couldn't hear. Lauren laughed, so hard that I was sure she was going to cry.

"Juils is the best. She doesn't even act like a big shot. She's the one who really welcomed me." I nodded, trying not to let my inside nervousness to come out. So there I sat, my women crush sitting 3 feet away, trying not to scream. My eyes were all on #19 out on the ice. He smiled at me, giving me a quick wave and instantly all my fears of embarrassing myself disappeared. My brain could only focus on Jon, and I was completely okay with that.

So I know I said I wasn't going to update, but I'm the biggest procrastinator so I wrote during my free periods instead of studying like I should've been.

Also today has been a very emotional day. If you follow the Canadians you'd know Tokarski got traded to the Ducks. He's one of my favorite goalies (behind Crow and Rask) and when I got the notification I almost started crying. I really don't like the Ducks so I feel like I can never watch him play again (even though he never played for the Habs anyways.) Also sorry for this terrible chapter.

Q: What comeback are you most excited for? Price or McDavid

A: lol we all know I'm going for Pricer on this one bc McDavid is irrelevant to me right now.