What's The Name Of The Game

After Tianna left, everything became really rushed for Jon. There was hockey, media stuff, more hockey, and no personal time. At least, that’s what he told himself. He had all these plans of going after her and apologizing, but he never did it.

And he convinced himself that the longer he waited, the lower his chances at forgiveness were, to the point where he figured it was too late. He should just cut his losses and stop thinking about her.

Get over her.

“Tazer!” Patrick yelled desperately. Jon snapped out of his thoughts just in time to see Matt Walker swoop in and steal the puck away, because he wasn’t paying attention to Kaner’s pass.

The Hawks were only practicing, but Matt Walker wasn’t on Jon’s team today, so it didn’t bode well.

“Jonathan,” his coach, Joel Quenneville called. Jon dejectedly skated over to his coach, not wanting to hear about how unfocused he was again. He had been hearing it for the past month.

That’s right, it had been an entire month. Jon hadn’t heard anything about Tianna’s mom, so he assumed she was still alive and kicking. Kara had returned to school, so it was back to just Pat and Jon in the apartment. Jon knew he should have been happy to have things back to normal, but he wasn’t. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit to Pat that he thought the apartment seemed empty ever since the girls left.

Jon and Pat didn’t talk much anyway though, not like they used to.

“Coach,” Jonathan nodded, stopping in front of him.

“Why don’t you go hit the showers,” Quenneville stated, nodding toward the locker room.

“Q, I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Jonathan explained.

“Your head’s not in it,” Joel said, patting him on the back to show he wasn’t angry. “Your head hasn’t been in it for a while now. So why don’t you go and figure it out. Because this Jonathan Toews, the one who isn’t thinking hockey, isn’t going to be playing hockey,” he finished firmly.

Jon nodded, understanding what his coach was implying.

“If I don’t see an improvement on Friday’s practice, consider yourself scratched,” Joel said. He wasn’t trying to be mean, he was just trying to motivate Jon. And he knew the threat of not playing was the best one in the captain’s case.

Jon walked into the locker room, wondering how he was going to sort everything out by Friday. Sure it was only Tuesday, but considering the situation it didn’t leave him much time. Jon sat in the locker room until the rest of the team filed in, and glanced at pat who’s locker was right next to his.

“Hey, Pat?” Jon called.

“Yeah?”

“How’s uh…how’s your aunt?” Jon asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“We both know that’s not who you’re concerned about, so why don’t you just straight up tell me what you’re getting at,” Pat chuckled. Jon smiled, hearing Pat wasn’t upset with him for bringing the topic up.

“I just thought, maybe…we’d take a trip to the ‘burbs. You know…visit,” Jon shrugged, causing Pat to laugh.

“You are so bad at being subtle,” Pat remarked. Jon rolled his eyes but waited for Pat’s answer. “I mean, I guess. I don’t think you and Tianna are gonna work out, if that’s what you’re hoping for.” Pat started packing his bag, not seeing Jon’s furrowed brow.

“Why not?” Jon asked, causing Pat to snort and look at him incredulously.

“Are you serious, Tazer?” Pat exclaimed, not sure whether to be angry or laugh. “You played her, man. And then, you tore her apart. And then, you just let her leave, with no apology or anything even after a month. I’m pretty sure she hates you, dude.” Pat resumed packing, and Jon stayed silent for a bit.

“Did she say that herself?” Jon asked him.

“No, but I don’t see how she wouldn’t,” Pat answered. “Tianna may be a forgiving person, but you were way out of line, man.” Jon nodded absentmindedly. “But besides her hating you, there’s something else.”

“What? What else?” Jon replied.

“Well you know, Tianna talks to Kara, and Kara talks to me, and…”

“And??”

Pat looked at him sympathetically, not sure if he should tell.

“Come on, let’s go visit,” Pat said, standing up.

“Now?” Jon said, following him. Pat nodded. “Wait, what else were you going to say?”

Patrick ignored him, despite Jon’s multiple attempts and getting him to tell.

Tianna stood in her kitchen, washing the dishes. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was using the sound of the sink to try and cover her whimpers.

She wasn’t sure why she bothered though, it wasn’t like her mom cared she was crying.

Jon had been right.

Tianna thought that maybe things were going to be different when she got back, but they weren’t. If anything, things were worse than before. Now Tianna’s mom accused her daughter of abandoning her in her time of illness, and even though Tianna knew it was just a jab she still felt immensely guilty.

Every other comment from her mother was harsh, and if she wasn’t insulting Tianna she was ordering her around while she laid in bed all day. Tianna knew that pretty soon her mom would have to stay at the hospital permanently, because her condition was worsening.

“T-Bag,” she suddenly heard, scaring her. She jumped and whipped around seeing her cousin.

“Patrick,” she stated, hugging him immediately. “What are you doing here?”

“Visiting,” he said pulling away. “I knocked for like, five minutes but no one answered. I tried the handle and it was open.”

“Sorry, I guess I didn’t hear it,” she said, rubbing her eyes. Patrick smiled sadly, knowing she had been crying. They walked out into the living room and Tianna immediately froze. Jon was sitting on the couch, shifting uncomfortably. When he saw them, he instantly stood up, his heart wrenching and the sight of her red and puffy eyes.

“So…I’m gonna go see her,” Patrick said, referring to his aunt.

“She’s sleeping,” Tianna denied, breaking away from the intense gaze Jon was giving her.

“Oh,” Patrick sounded, trying to think of another way to give them privacy. “I’m going to uh…go put the dishes away.” He walked away briskly, leaving Jon and Tianna alone.

“So…” he sounded, pulling her attention back on to him. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she whispered. She wasn’t sure how to feel. Was she angry at him? Was she sad? Did she still have feelings for him?

Was he still mad at her?

“How’s your mom doing?” He asked.

“Not good,” she answered. “And she still hates me, if that’s what you’re here to find out.”

“Tia,” he said stepping closer. “No, that’s not why-”

“Then what?” She interrupted.

“Tianna! What the Hell is all that racket out there?” Her mother yelled from in her room. Tianna closed her eyes in frustration, and Pat came out of the kitchen.

“I got it,” he told her. He started walking towards the bedroom and Tianna and Jon followed. Once she saw the two young men, Tianna’s mom brightened immensely.

“Patrick!” She greeted excitedly.

“Hey Aunt Jen,” he responded, leaning down to hug her. Jon greeted her as well, and she started having an animated discussion with the two of them. Tianna stood off to the side, wishing her mom would be excited to see her like that.

“Shouldn’t you be doing something? This house won’t take care of itself!” Her mom suddenly said, glaring at Tianna. Tianna rolled her eyes and walked back into the living room, where she was once again surprised by a visitor.

Jon and Pat both chatted with Tianna’s mom for a while before she suddenly got really tired. They decided to let her rest, and they walked back out into the hall. Pat quietly closed the door behind him, and they headed toward the living room.

When they got there Jon froze in his tracks, seeing Tianna crying into the shoulder of some dude. Jonathan turned to Patrick who was just looking at the floor sheepishly, meaning he wasn’t surprised like Jon was.

“Is this the other thing you were gonna tell me?” Jon asked quietly. Pat nodded and the two of them stepped completely into the room.

“T-Bag,” Patrick said, trying to get her attention. She pulled away from the man and wiped her eyes, and Jon had to hold himself back when he saw the other guy brush her cheeks with his thumb. The mystery guy laced his fingers with hers and kept her close.

“Hey. Did she go back to sleep?” Tianna asked. Patrick nodded and looked at the guy.

“Hey Tim,” Patrick nodded.

“Hey Pat,” the guy replied, breaking from Tianna momentarily to greet Pat. Jon watched on confused.

“Tim, this is my teammate, Jonathan,” Patrick introduced. Jon instinctively stuck out his hand, although he really didn’t want to. Tim shook it, grinning broadly.

“Wow. Jonathan Toews. You’re like a freakin scoring beast, dude,” Jon was caught off guard by the compliment.

“Uh, thanks,” he said genuinely.

“Jon, this is Tim. He’s lived next door since we were all kids,” Pat explained.

“Nice to meet you,” Jon nodded, glancing at Tianna. She immediately averted her gaze, looking at the ground.

“Well, I should go,” Tim said. "I was just came over to check on everything." Jon’s eye twitched when he saw Tim’s arm around Tianna’s waist.

“I’ll walk you over,” Tianna said softly, telling Pat she’d be right back. Tim waved at the guys and added a ‘see you around,’ which didn’t sit well with Jon. Once they had left, Jonathan turned to Pat.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what? There’s nothing to tell,” Patrick avoided.

“Are they…together?” Jon asked.

“I don’t know,” Patrick answered truthfully. “They have a weird relationship. They’re super close, but they’ve never actually dated. Not that they haven’t…you know…”

“Yeah, I got it,” Jon said, running a had through his hair.

“Look man, I’m not entirely sure why you wanted to come back here, but if it was to try and get Tianna back I think you should step back,” Patrick warned.

“What?”

“Kara told me Tianna says she and Tim are getting closer. It’s only a matter of time, and I think they’d be good together,” Patrick explained, earning an incredulous look from Jon. “Tazer, I know you care about her, but after everything that’s happened, I think she needs a guy like Tim. A guy who not only cares about her, but always has. He knows her better than I even do. He’s good for her.”

Jon stayed quiet, letting Pat’s words sink in. Tianna walked back inside just then, and although she still looked sad he had to admit she had brightened significantly. He couldn’t remember ever doing that for her.

“Yeah, he is,” Jon mumbled quietly.