Mariana's POV- September 2016
I stuffed the last piece of muffin in my mouth and made my way towards the garage door.
"Babe" I called out.
I turned around when I heard the sound of a little bell. I could hear him, but I could not see my small pup.
"I'm leaving" I said as I opened the garage door.
A light bark was heard and I smiled as my small mini dachshund showed himself. He slowly hopped down the two stairs. I picked him up and opened the door. I set him on his car seat and closed the door. I made my way back inside and grabbed my camera and bag before officially making my way out. I got in the car and turned to look at Babe who had busied himself to playing with his chew toy. I reached for my phone and hooked it to the car mouth before I pressed the button on the small remote located on my sun visor and turned my car on as the garage door opened.
"Watch them all be early for once in their life" I told Blue.
He stopped chewing on his toy and wagged his tail.
"Alright, let's go" I said as I pressed the remote again and looked at my phone that was ringing.
I answered the call and put it on speaker.
"Hey" I greeted as I began driving.
"What's my twin sister up to this beautiful Sunday morning?"
"She's headed to El Segundo" I replied.
"For?"
"I get to take roster pictures today" I told him.
"For like the whole team?"
"Prospects included" I stated.
He cleared his throat.
"Remember to make them look intimidating, this picture will represent them for the next year"
"Don't remind me" I admitted.
I was actually really nervous.
"If they don't have teeth they should refrain from smiling"
I laughed.
"Make Kempe look like shit though"
He was protective of our soon to be step sister. I don't really blame him though, her first relationship was with Adrian. He was known to be cocky and flirty, but she made him work for it. Her whole life prior to meeting Adrian was gymnastics. She was considered a top gymnast at the young age of 12, but injury forced her to retire from Elite gymnastics. I met her when she was 13 years old, and her mom Dina had moved to Ontario to get away from the heavy gymnastics world. My dad and Dina began dating shortly after he was officially divorced. I was 18 years old at the time, and they had dated almost 3 years I hadn't really seen much of Selena this year. I was in Toronto so I missed her UCLA gymnastics debut, but George was there cheering for her. She lived with my dad and her mom during the summer, but she ended up going to Sweden for a month to meet Adrian's family. I hadn't seen much of her since she had conditioning for gymnastics. School would be starting next week, so I would see her a little more since I would be going to campus often.
"He's nice to her" I stated.
"I guess"
"How's Toronto life treating you?" I asked.
I parked my car and reached for my phone. I sent Cat a text and hummed when I got no response from George.
"Sorry I was submitting my homework"
He cleared his throat.
"I can see why you really liked it here"
I nodded slowly and unlocked my doors as the garage door opened and Cat smiled at me as she approached the car.
"Ty left like 20 minutes ago"
"For once in his life he will be early to something" I told her.
She laughed and opened the back door.
"Hey boy"
She cooed at him as she picked him up.
"Ty and I are making kabobs tonight, you're coming"
George laughed.
"I like how Cat forces you to hang out with her"
Cat smiled.
"I do not, she loves me"
"Do I bring something?" I asked.
"Just yourself"
I nodded.
"I'll bring some snacks" I stated.
"Healthy snacks because Ty shouldn't be eating anything unhealthy"
We both laughed, she was referring to the guy who ate cupcakes almost everyday. I watched as she reached over and muted the conversation.
"Have you called your Swede?"
"He's not my Swede" I told her.
"Anymore"
I rolled my eyes.
"He still can be if you call him"
"No" I replied.
She pouted.
"Babe, you have to face him someday"
"I vote someday" I stated as I un-muted the call.
"Fine, run away from your problems"
She stuck her tongue out at me as I drove away.
"She's like the older sister we never wanted"
"I am your older sister" I told him.
"Those three minutes don't count!"
"So your internship" I said changing the subject.
He sighed.
"I punched someone in the face yesterday"
"Did he deserve it?" I asked.
"Yeah"
"What did he do to piss you off?" I wondered.
"Remember those nudes that leaked of Esmeralda?"
She had a stalked her freshmen year and he literally took pictures of her while she was showering (mind you she was a minor at the time!)
"Yeah" I said.
I did not like where this was going.
"Well you know Esmeralda is interning with me as well"
Esmeralda was also abroad in Toronto. What was hilarious how those two did not tell each other where they were going to study abroad. I literally cackled when George posted a selfie of him and Esme with he caption, "Look who I found! #GeorgetakeToronto"
"I figured" I admitted.
"Yeah, so one of the other interns printed out all the pictures and like posted them in the hallway leading to the rink"
"Did you break his nose?" I asked.
"I heard something crack and my hand feels fine so I think so"
"Good, what a jack ass" I stated.
"He's not interning anymore from the looks of it"
"That's great, he deserves much more than that punishment. What kind of man does that?" I asked.
"Well I wouldn't call Pierre a man"
"Oh it was that dick, I'm glad you punched him then. Good for you" I said.
"Hey listen, I'm going to let you go. I just realized the time and I've got an hour to shower and eat"
"Alright, have fun. Try not to get arrested" I told him.
"I'm not promising anything"
"I don't think mom and dad would appreciate that" I admitted.
"They'd never find out, you'd bail me out"
I laughed.
"Alright, I'm almost here so I'll talk to you later" I told him
"For sure, bye"
"Bye" I said.
Two beeps were heard as he ended the call just as I pulled out my parking permit from my purse. I quickly parked my car and shut it off before grabbing my bad and camera.
"Mariana"
I turned around and smiled at the brunette Swede making his way over.
"Hey, it's nice to see you" I told him.
He smiled and pulled me into a hug.
"Thanks for answering my texts by the way"
I smiled, he had texted me at 3AM.
"Sorry about that" I answered.
He scoffed and followed me inside the Toyota Sports Center.
"You are not sorry"
It's true, I wasn't.
"You can't expect a response at 3AM Adrian" I stated.
"I hate that you're right"
I smiled and he raised an eyebrow.
"Are we late?"
I shook my head.
"Seems like it, but Tyler is actually early to something. Remember this moment because I'm sure it will never happen again" I stated.
I turned when I heard a light chuckle.
"Good morning Mr. Quick" I said.
Jonathan Quick rolled his eyes and glanced at Adrian who he nodded at.
"I heard your taking roster pictures"
"Your usual guy flaked on you guys. Chose to go to Cancun instead" I told him.
"I'm pretty sure we'd all like to be in Cancun"
I nodded agreeing with him and I signaled at Adrian.
"You know Adrian Kempe, right?" I asked.
"I knew you looked familiar, for some reason I thought you were helping Mariana"
I laughed as they shook hands.
"I'll drop by in a bit, let you set up"
I nodded and I turned to Adrian once we were alone.
"Were you with Soph?" I asked.
He smiled and nodded.
"You got a nice tan"
I laughed.
"Dodger games" I admitted.
"How are you interning with them, working for us, and going to school?"
"I drink a lot of coffee" I confessed.
I smiled and shrugged.
"I don't mind being busy, I like being occupied" I told him.
"I talked with William"
I hummed.
"You should have heard him out"
Ellie had told me the same thing, and I was going to kill Soph for telling Adrian.
"Can we not talk about that?" I asked.
"You like making things complicated. I don't get how someone as blunt as you can be so stubborn"
I shrugged.
"I'll drop it, for now"
"Thank you" I told him.
His name was shouted and he patted my shoulder before making his way towards his teammates. I walked into the room and Tyler sighed.
"About time! You're late"
"You're just early Tyler, congrats on that if I may add" I answered earning a chuckle from Tanner.
I set my purse and camera on the table.
"I doubt that trend will continue"
"Oh I know that, the only thing Tyler isn't late to is going to bed" I replied.
"And to dinner"
I set the grey back drop and looked at Tyler.
"You're up first" I signaled.
"Did you have a good summer?"
"I had a great summer, I even got a dog" I told Tanner as I turned on my camera.
I handed Tyler a whiteboard marker and he raised an eyebrow.
"Write your name" I said.
"But you know my name"
"I know your name but the person designing the Kings website might not" I explained.
He nodded and turned to Tanner.
"I know, I saw the pictures. What a pretty little weenie dog"
"I feel like we're in high school getting our ID pictures taken"
I laughed.
"Congrats on grad school, I forgot to text you"
"It's alright, you were on vacation" I said.
"Do you miss Toronto?"
"I miss the free time I used to have" I confessed.
"Well you're done with your internship at Dodger Stadium at the end of the month"
I nodded.
"Are you going to Vegas with us?"
"Of course I am, they're paying my room and flight and all I've got to do is take photographs of you guys" I replied.
I looked at the screen on my camera.
"Smile" I said.
A/N: In case many of you don't know I am a big Kings fan (I'm from LA), so I am very happy that Adrian Kempe scored his first NHL goal. My brother and I have been following his career since he played with the Manchester Monarchs during their Calder Cup win in 2015. Anyways, happy Daylight Savings time. It's 3AM and I should go to bed since I'm waking up in 7 hours (I need 7 to function)