Sweet Silver Lining

“Remind me again why I agreed to go out on a date with him,” Annabelle said, standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom, checking out her outfit. Lily sat on her bed, while Landon was in the living room watching cartoons. Annabelle readjusted her belt, while looking back at Lily. “Seriously, what possessed me to say yes?” she asked.

“Um, could it be that Andrew’s freaking hot, and you couldn’t resist him any longer?” Lily asked with a laugh.

“How would Dave feel with you talking about his teammate like that?” Annabelle questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you kidding me?” Lily asked. “I talk about his teammates in front of him like that all the time. He knows I love him and only him, so he doesn’t care,” she said with a smile.

Annabelle started laughing, fidgeting with her belt once again. “Why did I agree to a date?” she questioned once again, feeling extremely nervous. She looked over at her clock on her dresser and saw that she had over an hour until Andrew was supposed to be there, and she calmed down just a bit.

“Annie!” Lily exclaimed, grabbing Annabelle’s hands so she would stop messing with her belt. “You look amazing, and Andrew’s going to be speechless when he sees you, so stop playing with your clothes. And, as for why you said yes, you know that you’ve wanted to go out with him since the first time you saw him,” Lily told her.

“I did not!” Annabelle argued. Lily gave her a pointed look, and Annabelle retreated. “Okay, so maybe I thought he was good looking from the moment I saw him,” she admitted.

“Okay, so now you just need to stop being so nervous,” Lily said. “You’re going to have fun tonight, I promise. But, you need to just let go, and let him in. I know you, Annie, and you try to keep everything to yourself. Let Andrew in.”

“I’ll try,” Annabelle sighed, looking at herself in the mirror yet again.

“You look amazing!” Lily told her, putting her hands on her shoulders and guiding her out of the bedroom towards the living room. They sat down on the couch next to Landon, who looked up at the two of them quickly before turning his attention back to the television. “So, Landon, what do you feel like doing tonight?” Lily asked. She had volunteered to watch Landon tonight so Annabelle could go out on her date.

“I don’t know,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders, as he didn’t even look away from the television. “Watch tv?” he suggested.

Lily looked over at Annabelle with a small laugh. “Well, tonight will be easy, won’t it?” she asked. Annabelle nodded in response as she sat back against the couch.

A little while later, the doorbell rang, and Annabelle immediately tensed up. Lily looked over at her, saying, “You need to relax. Seriously, you’re going to have fun!” Lily stood up, answering the door, and ushering Andrew inside. “Well, you’re looking awfully handsome tonight,” Lily told him as she watched Annabelle stand up and walk over to them.

Andrew stared at Annabelle for a moment, at a loss for words, until Lily elbowed him in the chest. “You look amazing,” Andrew suddenly spoke up.

“Thank you,” Annabelle told him, a small blush crossing her face.

Landon suddenly realized that Andrew was there, and he jumped up, running over to him. “Hey, Andrew!” he exclaimed excitedly. “What are you doing here?”

Annabelle looked at Andrew, waiting to see what his reply was going to be. “I’m here to take your sister out,” he answered.

“Annie?” Landon questioned. “You’re taking her out? Like on a date?” he asked, and Andrew nodded his head. “But, why?”

“Well,” Andrew began, bending down so he was eyelevel with Landon. “I like Annie, and I’m hoping that after I take her out today, she’ll feel the same way,” he explained, glancing up at Annabelle to see her standing there with a small smile.

“But, wouldn’t you have a better time staying here and playing video games?” Landon asked.

Andrew began to say something when Lily interrupted. “Landon, what do you say we play video games?” she asked him, and Annabelle mouthed a thank you at her. “We can play whatever you want,” she told him.

Landon looked up at her. “You don’t know how to play video games, do you?” he asked, unsure as to whether he should believe her or not.

“Yes, I know how to play video games!” Lily exclaimed. “Why don’t you ever believe me when I say things?” she asked with a laugh.

“Okay, we can play video games,” Landon said with a nod, and Lily pushed Andrew and Annabelle towards the door, finding this the perfect opportunity to get them out of the apartment without any argument from Landon.

Andrew opened the door, motioning for Annabelle to go first. She turned back around, giving Lily a small wave as she walked out the door. As soon as they made it into Andrew’s SUV, Annabelle turned to look at him. “So, what are the plans for tonight?” she asked him.

“Well, I was thinking we’d keep it simple tonight. Maybe just dinner and a walk on Navy Pier,” he replied. “As long as that’s okay with you,” he added.

“You know, I’m a little surprised,” she told him, and he looked over at her, trying to figure out what she meant by that statement. “I just figured you’d go all out, take me on this crazy date and everything,” she continued. “But, I’m glad you’re keeping it simple. I like simple dates,” she admitted with a smile, which Andrew returned.

An hour and a half later, the two of them were walking around Navy Pier, holding hands. Annabelle had surprised herself by warming up to Andrew quickly during dinner, as they had discussed anything and everything that came to mind. She had found herself falling for Andrew more and more as the night went on, as she had learned all about his past, and how he had come to playing for the Blackhawks.

Andrew looked down at Annabelle as they stopped in front of a band, and he was ready to ask her what had been on his mind all night. “So, I’ve been wanting to ask something for a long time, and I’ve kind of been scared to bring it up,” he began.

“What is it?” Annabelle asked.

“Okay, well, why did you hate me so much from the beginning? I mean, you didn’t even know me, and you seemed to hate me,” Andrew pointed out.

“I never hated you,” Annabelle told him, and Andrew gave her a look that clearly said he didn’t agree with her. “I didn’t!” Annabelle exclaimed with a laugh. “You want to know the truth? I thought you were going to replace me,” she admitted.

“Replace you?” Andrew asked. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’ve always been Landon’s hero, since he first started watching hockey when he was like two. I’m not even kidding, he would go around saying your name whenever he saw something dealing with hockey. And, that was when you were with Carolina. And, then, he got to meet you, and you were a real life superhero. And, honestly, I thought he wasn’t going to even care about me anymore,” she admitted in a quiet voice, embarrassed that she was even admitting this out loud.

“Annie, you have to know that I’m never going to take your place in Landon’s life,” Andrew told her.

“I know, it’s just, I’ve been there for him for so long, and I thought that you were just going to come in and…never mind,” she trailed off.

“No,” Andrew said, turning around so they were facing each other. “Tell me, I want to know,” he insisted.

“Fine,” Annabelle said, pulling on his hand as she walked towards a bench so they were further away from the band, and it would be easier for them to hold a conversation. She sat down and took a deep breath before looking at Andrew. “My parents died in a plane crash two years ago, and I’ve been taking care of Landon by myself since then. No one’s been there for him except for me. I’ve been there through everything, from all the doctors’ appointments to his diagnosis to moving here to Chicago. I’ve been the only one there for him this entire time. It’s been me and him this whole time. And, then, you come into the picture, and suddenly you’re his new favorite person,” she explained, knowing she was sounding like a conceited person, but she was being honest.

“And, you thought that Landon wasn’t going to need you there anymore,” Andrew stated, understanding where she was coming from. Annabelle nodded her head, not looking at Andrew. “Annie,” he said softly, and she slowly lifted her head to look into his eyes. “Landon’s always going to want and need you there. I’m never going to take your position in his life. You’re his big sister who’s been there for him from the beginning. I just want to be there with you. I don’t want to take over for you,” he assured her. “So, do you think I can be there with you?” he asked, scared for her response.

Annabelle nodded her head, leaning in and giving him a kiss. “I’d like that,” she told him with a smile when they separated.