Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
— September 16th, 2017 —
lilakonecny21: smiling cause it's game dayy 🖤 #wherestheorangeheart
3.2k likes | 192 comments
traviskonecny: put some clothes on
ipro13: we're!!! gonna!! win!!!
npatrick19: well duh @ipro13
auston_matthews: hope to see you at the game next week lils
sanheim17: woah when did that happen^
ryannehaileyb: LILS YOU GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO LOVIE
lilakonecny21: hello i do not only talk to people in the Flyers organization I have other friends
taylorleier: Lila? have friends? didn't know there was such a thing.
lilakonecny21: get outta here @taylorleier
28cgiroux: I mean Taylor's got a point, Lils is always just on her computer
sanheim17: @28cgiroux or yelling at us
ipro13: that too^
marner_93: LILA YOU BETTER GO TO THAT GAME BECAUSE I NEED TO MEET SOMEONE SHORTER THAN ME
lilakonecny21: I shouldn't go just because you guys want me to @marner_93 @auston_matthews
Nolan's nerves were getting the best of him as he suited up in the locker room. It was conspicuous he was nervous. All of the boys could tell. Lila was also nervous, she was scared Travis would get injured again. That was a hard time for her family, she hated seeing Travis not being able to do the thing he loved.
Lila went down to the rink to get to where she was supposed to be to take pictures of warm ups. She put her camera through the hole in the glass as the boys lined up at the tunnel to come out of the hallway. They had Nolan skate out on the ice first no matter how hard he begged them not too. With his luck he'd trip over his own two skates and fall on his face.
Lila found herself smiling as he took the first lap around the rink. He looked so at home on the ice. Nolan spotted Lila at her spot and smiled at her. She clicked the button to capture the small moment. Lila had gotten plenty of shots within the warm up, like some of the boys laughing and fooling around with each other all while getting warmed up.
Nolan was on the second line so he had a few minutes to take all of this in before he was officially on the ice. His hands were shaking. This was his NHL debut. Everything started from here on out.
Lila couldn't contain her grin as she watched Nolan skate out onto the ice. His gaze met hers and she gave him a small nod and a smile to let him know she was there. She was really starting to like this Nolan Patrick kid. Ivan sent the puck over to Nolan and he skated up ice before dropping it back down to Sanheim. He passed it back to Nolan and he shot on net but it was just barely stopped.
Lila could sense how frustrated he was that all of his shots were getting blocked. So after the first period she went down to the locker room that she had been granted access to and went to go and talk to him. She knocked on the door to let everyone know she was coming — she was the only person that ever did knock.
Some of the boys had stripped their gear off to cool down while others were gulping down water. She ignored them as she scanned the room for Nolan. She found him with parts of his gear off and him running his hand through his sweaty hair.
"Hey," She said quietly and he looked up to her. He went to go say something but shut his mouth. "What's wrong, Nolan? You don't seem like yourself right now."
Nolan looked behind Lila before looking up to her. Usually he towered over her; he was over six foot but she was merely five three and he was sitting down. "I'm frustrated Lils. My shots are too weak or too wide. I don't know if I'm cut out for this." He said the last bit quietly and Lila's eyes widened. She knew how hard Nolan worked to get into the position he was in.
"Nolan," She whispered. "You're doing your best and everyone can see that. You're nervous. It's your first game. You are going to do amazing once you get everything sorted out. I have faith in you. Hakstol has faith in you. Ivan and Travis have faith in you. We all do." She sat down next to him and put her arm around his torso. Taylor looked over and couldn't help but feel a little jealous, so he nudged Travis to get his attention.
Travis looked over at the two and pursed his lips. There really was no stopping these two. They would always be together. Lila was comforting Nolan because Travis knew - everyone did - how annoyed he was. "Lila," Travis called out. Lila looked up quickly and glared at her older brother. "Can you go grab me a water bottle?"
He knew there was probably no stopping the two getting together but we would try to delay it as much as he could. He knew by the time Lila would get back with a water bottle they would have to start getting suited back up for the game. She wouldn't be able to talk to Nolan.
"Do you not want them together?" Ivan asked from besides Travis. Travis sighed.
"I want her to be happy, I really really do. But Lila is different and she has her illness that sometimes makes it harder to take care of her. Nolan is going through a lot right now, he shouldn't have to worry about Lila. She'd be a lot of work," Travis said and Lila stopped in her tracks. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own brother was basically saying she was too difficult for someone to properly take care of her.
She ran her tongue along her gums before she spoke. "Here's your water, Travis," She spat and chucked the water bottle at him. He stood there frozen. Had she really just heard that?
"Lila wait!" Travis yelled after his baby sister. She turned around and glared at him with tears in his eyes. He instantly felt guilty; Lila never cried. She only cried when she was truly upset.
"What, Travis? What could you possibly want? Or are you just trying to remind me of how much of a piece of work I am?" She hissed out and Travis sighed. Nolan looked up to see Lila with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He stood up and she turned away to leave.
"Lila!" Nolan called, but it was too late. The door to the locker room shut and Hakstol was telling the boys to start getting suited up once again.
Lila wiped the tears from her eyes as she walked back to her assigned spot. She couldn't believe that Travis had dared to say that. He knew how much she hated her disease and there was nothing she could ever do about it.
The game started back up a few moments later and Nolan was starting. Lila found herself grinning as he won the faceoff and sent it back. Nolan got the puck from Ivan and skated up ice. He passed it back to Morin and Sam passed it to Wayne. Wayne passed it back to Nolan where Nolan one-timed the puck into the net.
Lila's spot was right next to the net and she just so happened to get the perfect shot of Nolan shooting the puck. It had just the right amount of his jersey in there but also the right amount of his face. The boys hugged right next to Lila and she snapped another picture of the celebration. Her ears hurt from how loud everyone was yelling and she soon found herself cheering as well. Nolan looked over at her with the biggest smile plastered on his lips.
Lila was estatic for Nolan. She could feel the happiness radiating off of him. Soon the game ended and the boys won 4-2. Wayne had two goals, Nolan one, Taylor one. She had also gotten the most amazing pictures she had ever taken.
Lila went back to the office she shared with a few of the other photographers and plugged her camera into the computer to upload her photos. She was creating files for each player she had pictures for. After she had finished uploading her pictures there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" She called and Taylor's shaking han turned the door knob. Lila grinned and turned around in her chair. Taylor had to fight the blush that was fighting to make its way onto his face. "What's up Tay?"
He ran a hand through his hair that was damp from the shower he had taken a few minutes before. "You know how we always go out to dinner after the first game of the season. We were thinking about seeing if you wanted to go tonight because you're officially a part of the organization. So are you up for it?" He asked and Lila smiled softly.
"I would love to," She smiled. With the way that the office was set up there were windows that could be seen out into the hallways and anyone in the hallways could see into the office if the blinds were up. The blinds were up and Nolan saw Lila smiling at Taylor and the blush on Taylor's face. He immediately connected the dots, they had to be dating! Why else would they be standing a foot a part from each other and smiling like idiots? It's logical, right?
He sighed heavily and turned around to head back towards the locker room to wait for Ivan. He was excited for the team dinner they were having. The guys all really welcomed him and he couldn't be more happy about it.
Lila and Taylor left the office after Lila locked up. The two walked down towards the locker room where they would meet everyone and then head out in their cars to the desired destination. Lila was trying her best to ignore her older brother, yet it was hard because he was practically drilling holes into the back of her head.
"Okay so everyone should figure out who is driving with who. Then we'll meet up at the Ruby Tuesday twenty minutes away," Claude said and everyone scrambled to find who they wanted in their car.
"Lils, do you wanna drive with me?" Nolan asked Lila and she nodded her head. Once everyone was settled down they went out into the parking lot to go.