A Million Little Stars || Carter Hart

chapter 2

Carter found himself wondering where her accent was from, those last two days.
She wasn't Canadian nor American, she must be from England, he figured.

A foreign girl; it made him swoon.

He was thinking about her hair, that was a dark blonde and the way the tip of her nose had been flushed from the cold air, even when he was already putting on his shin pads.

His lungs were aching, and he was sure, that if it wasn't for the pressure of his second game, it would be for the prospects of seeing that English girl with the sweet name again.

As he made his way through the tunnel to come back into the arena, teammates were passing him by, giving him supportive smacks to the shoulder. He tried his best not to trip.

As the first face-off was won against the predators he was able to push Tally to the back of his mind, who was hopefully somewhere in this arena.

During warm-up he did not dare to search for her face in the crowd, so he had kept his eyes on the pucks, that came flying at him from his mates.

The game ended and it was a win. His second win in his second game. He was over the moon.

The amount of adrenalin that was rushing through his veins made him almost dizzy when he was chosen first star of the game; the short interview afterwards was like in a fever dream. He was wibbling, making no sense, but it was okay. No one cared, they won.

Carter was changing out of his gear and taking a quick shower in record time, bouncing from room to room and through the hallways until he was in a crowd outside of the arena, looking out for a certain short girl.

With his stuff in two big duffle bags, he tried to push his way through the people, almost knocking over a girl.

His girl.

'She's not mine, you idiot' he thought to himself holding her by the shoulders and then letting go in a hasty motion that made her stumble and erupt in a fit of laughter all at the same time.

"Hey", was what he eventually said. She smiled at him.

"Congratulations, Mr Hart".

"I wasn't sure you would come", he said, raising his voice so she could hear him.

She barely understood him and she made gestures towards her ears. He got the hint and dragged her by the elbow away from the people making their way over the street.

"You invited me! Of course, I came". It was a relief for him. She saw it. "Even though it was kinda tricky to get it. I spoke with at least ten guards until somebody knew my name."

He had explained to her how everything was so new to him and that, apart from hockey, most of the time he had no idea what he was doing.

In came all out in a waterfall, that Tally wouldn't dare to interrupt, not even to ask where he was taking her. They were strolling around the city of Philadelphia, she wasn't sure he had a destination.

Carter didn't even know this girl, but he couldn't stop himself from talking. He talked about his family and hockey and about silly things that made her laugh, which made him smile. The euphoria had taken over.

They arrived in a small park where he threw the heavy bags to the ground.

"Well, I was wasn't sure what you liked, so I thought we could just find a spot and talk. I have food?", he said, suddenly unsure of himself, waiting for her to say something.

"Sounds lovely". They settled on a blanket Carter brought, and out of the bag, he fished two thermos flasks filled with tea, juice, sandwiches, chocolate and chips. "The store ran outta cups, so – ", he handed Tally a plastic champagne fluke, slightly embarrassed.

It was cold, and Tally was glad she was wearing a huge winter jacket, even though it made her look even smaller and like a bean.

Carter thought she looked adorable in that coat.

"You're from the UK, right?"

"Yeah. Grew up in London, but moved to Philly a couple weeks ago to live with my best friend and her family". It made her think of her home and it made her a bit gloomy.

"English people speak funny", Carter stated and it made her laugh again.

"Well, to me you speak funny too!", she giggled and he liked the sound of it.

As they sat there, eating and drinking and chatting, he felt the energy wear off. What he felt was bruises forming, especially there where he got a puck to the throat. It somehow made his way through the tiny space between shoulder padding and helmet. It happens, he tried to suck it up.

Tally noticed too, how he got more exhausted and taciturn. Looking up at the stars she wondered how his head got into her lap, but she was happy the way it was.

It was her turn to speak and to tell stories, and as she did she stroked his hair, sometimes resting her hand on his forehead before starting to brush his hair with her fingers again.
Carter listened and from time to time asked small questions or grunted with satisfaction when she tugged on his hair.

They were like this for around two more hours, talking of love and life, and when he finally sat up and flashed her a tired grin, they felt weirdly intimate. She eyed him, not upside down now, playing with the laces of her boots.

"I'm really tired", Carter said, elongating every word, as if she hadn't noticed yet.

"Yeah, me too".

"Want to sleep at my place? I can drive you wherever you want in the morning. Well, only if you want to", he proposed, looking down.

He did not expect it but she said yes.
His whole body felt like he was hit by a train and he wanted nothing more than to rest for a year, but more did he want her to sleep next to her, even if that meant pins and needles in his arm for the night.

***

if you made it this far: thanks for reading! Just wanted to say, that English is not my first language, so feel free to correct me or suggest words that may fit better in the context :) enjoy