January went by quickly, and before anyone had a real grasp on time, Johnny was already packing for the All-Star Game.
"You're sure you don't want to come?" Johnny unfolded and re-folded a slate gray polo for the third time before Paige snatched it from his hands and folded it swiftly and perfectly.
She sat on the edge of his bed, "Very sure. It's Amber's birth week, I have school and work, and I'm sure you'll be too busy drooling over Jagr that you won't pay attention to me all weekend."
Johnny shrugged, "Fine." He motioned for her to sit on his brimming suitcase. Paige, being even smaller than Johnny, sat on it and bounced so everything would compact together and he could zip it up. Johnny was able to close the suitcase, giving Paige a kiss as a reward for helping him pack his clothes.
She remained seated on the suitcase, "Hockey bag?"
Johnny groaned. If there was one thing he didn't want to do anymore, it was pack. He gave her a wide-eyed look, practically begging for her to pack his gear for him. She shook her head and left the room. She yelled from the hall, "No way in hell I'm touching your gear, Johnny!"
/////
Sean stared at Amber. Amber stared at Sean. Her arms were crossed and her lips were pursed in concentration. She was thinking about the various ways of killing him. Or at least muting him. They had spent the entire day talking about her birthday, which was coming up this weekend, and she wanted to go all out. Sean, on the other hand, wanted an "intimate get-together." But it wasn't his birthday.
He'll let her have this one.
He put his hands up in defense, "Fine. You can go all out."
She smirked, "Good. Because I wasn't gonna let you win this war anyway. Paige is gonna be sad she can't be with Johnny, but she'll be with me, and what's better than me?"
Sean opened his mouth to speak and quickly shut it.
He'll let her have this one too.
He rested his head on her shoulder, "You know, I don't really know why Paige isn't going to Nashville with Johnny this weekend."
"Because who wants to go to Nashville? Plus, he'll be way too busy. And have we forgotten that my birthday is coming up?"
"The kid's never gonna be too busy for her. And you'll always have lots of birthdays. All-Star games aren't guaranteed every year."
Amber moved his head from her shoulder and gave him a look, "Birthdays aren't guaranteed either, idiot." She stormed off to her room.
"Where are you going?" He yelled after her.
"To bed."
"Amber, it's 3:30 PM!"
"Time isn't real!"
/////
Johnny stuffed his suitcase and hockey bags in Paige's trunk. He shut the door and a loud thud came upon the car. Paige remained in the driver's seat as he got his items situated, and he hopped right next to her when he was finished.
He gave her a quick kiss and she smiled as she started her car, "Ready?" She asked.
He fiddled with his phone, "Ready as I'll ever be."
"Nervous?"
"Maybe a little."
"You always are," Her right hand let go of the wheel, finding Johnny's left hand and gripping it. He rubbed his thumb over hers, "You'll be okay."
They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the drive, with the faint sound of pop music in the background. Once they got to the airport, Paige stopped at the drop-off area, putting her car in park and looking at Johnny. He had gone away for road trips before, for way longer than a weekend, but Paige felt so sad she couldn't be with him in Nashville and celebrate his elite All-Star status with him.
Johnny felt the same way. He wanted to spend the weekend with Paige in Nashville, where she could help him figure out what suit to wear on the red carpet, or practice answering questions with her for media day. It really sucked to know that Paige wasn't going to be there, but it was still sort of assuring to know she would still be cheering him on, all the way in Calgary.
They both knew they had to keep the goodbyes quick, otherwise Paige would get nagged to leave. They got out of the car to take Johnny's stuff out. "Good luck this weekend." Paige thought she said it in a normal volume, but she felt so drained of her emotions that it only came out in a small whisper.
Johnny pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. She pulled away to get some air since he was squeezing her. He smiled down at her, "I'll be thinking of you."
She gave him a quick kiss and let him go. Paige didn't drive away until she saw Johnny disappear behind the airport doors.
Paige came home quickly after, opening the door, then dropping her keys off in the bowl on the counter. She sighed as she dropped her purse on the dining table.
"Rough day?" Sean said from the couch, flipping through channels.
She nodded, walking into the kitchen for a snack.
"Same here," He said, finally settling on a sports channel, "Asked Amber why you weren't in Nashville and she got mad."
"I'd be mad at you too if you asked me why I wouldn't ditch my best friend for my boyfriend," She let out a laugh before popping a grape in her mouth, "Hoes before bros," she said with her mouth full.
"Right."
"Sisters before misters."
"Mhm."
"Uteruses before dude-eruses."
"I get it, Paige."
"Just thought you should know."
Sean huffed before turning the TV off, "I'm going home. To my empty apartment."
"Oh wah wah, Sean. At least your significant other is here." Paige joked with him.
Sean headed out the door and ruffled Paige's hair before leaving. She just rolled her eyes at him.
/////
Paige and Vivienne entered Amber's room at midnight, a cupcake with a candle stuck in it in Vivienne's hand.
"Haaaappy birthday to youuuuu..." The two sang in unison. Vivienne placed the cupcake in Amber's hand and smiled, "Make a wish!"
"I wish Sean wasn't such a fucking idiot." Amber said, blowing the candle out. Paige laughed at that.
The three girls dispersed, since it was still Friday and they all had responsibilities in the morning. Vivienne and Paige kissed Amber's forehead before exiting, wishing her a happy birthday. Amber felt so lucky to have such great people in her life, people that cared enough to wish her a happy birthday at midnight. She unlocked her phone, seeing copious notifications of generic "Happy birthday!" posts addressed to her, and her eyes scanned the screen until she saw:
@monahan20 tagged you in a photo
She opened the notification, to see that it was a photobooth picture of them from New Years. Her sequined dress caught the flash, sparkling. Sean was wearing excessively large sunglasses, Amber wearing a feather boa and a matching tiara. They were staring at each other, laughing. She didn't remember taking the picture, but it was adorable.
I don't know about you, but she's feeling 22. Happy birthday to my favourite girl ❤️😘 @a_reins
Sean was obviously a man of many words. She liked the post and thanked him, and did the same for many other posts.
/////
Paige woke up for class at 7 AM sharp, already receiving a text from Johnny. They were in different time zones, so she knew why he was up so early.
She got ready quickly, putting on yoga pants and a big sweater. She didn't need to get dolled up until tonight.
Vivienne, however, had work at 8 AM, and she was scrambling. She had slept in until 7:30, and was rushing to get ready. She threw her hair up, put some clothes on, and put some mascara on. She basically ran out the door, rushing past Paige, who was eating a bagel in the kitchen.
When she arrived at work, she checked her phone to make sure she wasn't late.
7:56 AM.
She had also received a text from Sam about an hour before.
Samuel 🙇🏼💙
Gooooooooood morning
She responded quickly before getting out of her car.
Vivienne
More like bad morning 🙄 Accidentally slept in, didn't even have breakfast ughhhhh
She entered the doors of the law firm and got to work answering phones and doing regular receptionist stuff. About an hour into her shift, Vivienne was sorting paperwork, when the bell on the door rang. She turned around to see who it was, and Sam was standing in front of her desk with a paper bag in one hand, and coffee in another. He set them down, "I just took a quick Tim's run to make sure you got your breakfast. Most important meal of the day."
Vivienne smiled at him, "Thank you so much, Sam." She scurried around her desk and gave him a hug. She knew if she kissed him, she'd get in trouble, so the hug would suffice for now.
"It was no problem at all. I'll see you later. Love you."
"Love you too!" She said as Sam walked out the door.
/////
Amber had been home all day, getting the day off since it was her birthday. She didn't have class on Fridays either, so she was truly living the life.
Paige came home at around noon, carrying two boxes of poutine in her hand, "Happy birthday!"
Amber turned her head towards Paige, and a smile crept along her face when she saw the poutine in Paige's hand. Paige handed her the box, along with a fork, and Amber felt content.
Vivienne came home a few hours later, and all the girls started to get ready together. Paige did Amber's makeup, and Vivienne did her hair. They wanted to make sure she was going to be the most beautiful girl there. After all, it was her night.
Sean picked the girls up that night, and struggled to pick his jaw up from the floor when he saw Amber. "I'm so lucky." He said, grabbing her hand and walking with her.
"Count your blessings." She laughed.
They all got to the bar, all their friends already there. The party consisted of Amber's coworkers, school friends, and most of the Flames--the ones who weren't vacationing or at the All-Star game.
The three girls took as many drinks as they could, Amber utilizing her birthday bitch shot glass as often as she could. Paige didn't have Johnny looking after her tonight, so she got trashed pretty easily. Vivienne had a stressful week, so she let go. They were drunkenly killin' it on the karaoke machine currently, tearing it up to Wannabe by the Spice Girls.
Once they were finished, they were back to taking drink after drink after drink. Sean tried to stop them, since he didn't want a mess tonight. He was too late though, considering they got messy.
Paige stood on the tip of her toes in an attempt to be eye-level with Sean, "Seanahan!!"
"Yes, Paige?"
"Remember... Remember when I met Johnny in this bar? And you... were staring at me... Who else was there?" She tried to recollect her thoughts, but it was difficult.
Sam walked past Paige and she grabbed his arm, "18 year old Sam Bennett!! You were there too!" She pointed at him, giving him a stern look.
"I'm 20 now, Paige." He rolled his eyes.
"Mmmmmmmm, no." She shook her head.
Vivienne appeared at Sam's side, kissing him on the cheek and laughing. She was a very happy drunk, smiling and giggling the entire night. Her and Sam ended up taking a cab back to his place.
Sean ended up on babysitter duty for Paige and Amber, making sure both of them got tucked into bed safely. He placed a bottle of water on Paige's bedside before heading to Amber's room to go to bed.
/////
The next morning, everything felt brutal. Sunlight felt brutal. Being alive felt brutal. Amber groaned in bed as Sean cuddled into her.
Paige let out a large whimper as her phone vibrated on her nightstand. The noise sounded as if it was consuming her entire world, her head pounding as her phone vibrated. Johnny had sent her a text.
Good morning, hope you had a good time last night. From your text I can tell you did 😁 Call me when you can, I miss you
She didn't remember texting Johnny last night. The last thing she remembered was getting to the bar. Paige scrolled up in her message thread and saw a few poorly composed texts addressed to Johnny.
Omg it's ambers bday!! I hope media day was funnnnn I miss you Sean misses you 18 ywar old Sam Bennett misses you too !!!
I'm in the bar where met!!! Remmeber seanahan and sammy and joe and josh laughed at you hahhahahaa
Paige rubbed her forehead, getting under the covers and dialing Johnny's number. She groaned when he picked up, and made him whisper, because the noises made her head hurt. It was really gonna be a long day.