Crazier

"You want to learn Russian?"

"Not the whole language, just enough so I can tell Geno some stuff," Carson said, explaining lamely. Sergei furrowed his eyebrows, but laughed at the blonde.

"You're going to have to tell me more than that," he told her.

"Well, we can talk and have conversations- but there's still that language barrier. It's difficult, and I want to learn some Russian so I can tell him how I feel," Carson said, a blush creeping it's way to her cheeks just from talking about Evgeni. She had never in her 21 years of life felt like that about someone. He gave her butterflys when he was simply mentioned. He made her smile just by being there. He made her heartbeat at a thousand miles an hour when he kissed her. She felt so innocent around him, like it was the first time she ever had a crush on a boy. But this was different.

"Well, I guess I can teach you a few pharses," he smiled. "That's actually really sweet of you though."

She blushed and looked down at her lap, "I just want to tell him how I feel," she repeated.

"Well, that's certainly more than any other girl has done for him," he chuckled. "Let's get started."

Carson spent most of her day with Sergei trying to learn Russian, though it was much harder than she had originally thought. He wrote down a few of the phrases she wanted to learn and told her to practice. He taught her until he had to leave to catch the bus for Philly. Carson went home with the paper stuffed in her back pocket.

"Where were you?" Jordan asked when she got back to his apartment. He was tieing his tie and walking towards the kitchen. Kris was seated in the living room already dressed and ready to go.

"I was learning Russian," she told her brother confidently. Jordan lifted his head from out of the fridge and let the door swing shut. He was looking at her with a mix of shock, anger, and confusion all over his face.

"You were what?" He asked her.

"You heard me Jordan," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Don't play stupid."

"No, I heard you alright," he clarified. "I just want to know why you're learning Russian."

"I think you know why," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Jordan glared at her and took a few steps closer. Because Jordan was so tall, he easily towered over his sister's 5'4 frame. He used to use this methond to intimidate her, but as they got older it no longer phased Carson- it mostly just pissed her off because it hurt her neck to look up at him.

"You went on a date with him and now you're learning Russian?" Jordan asked angrily. "What the fuck Carson?"

"I can do whatever I want, and I will. I like Evgeni a lot and I want to be able to tell him that in a way he would fully understand," she shot back at her brother.

"Listen to yourself," he laughed. "You don't even speak the same language, how can you have a relationship?"

"We'll find a way," she retorted. "Plus, who says he'll even want something with me? He may just turn me down and say he doesn't feel the same. Maybe he feels exactly like you, maybe he just thinks I'm some stupid girl," she shrugged.

"Carson," Jordan said in a much softer tone. "Don't say that," he sighed. Carson looked at her brother incredulously. Even Kris shot him a surprised glance from his place on the couch.

"What?" She asked him, still in a state of shock.

"I don't want you to feel like that," he told her. "I want you to be happy," he went on to say. "But it's just hard seeing you with boys. It's hard for Eric, Jared, and Marc too. Even though you're not the youngest, you were always like our baby sister and we wanted to protect you. Once you turned 16 all of our teammates would start to say things about you when you came to games. And it was so weird to hear them say those things," he admitted. "We just always want the best for you. We don't want some guy to come around and just use you or break your heart,"

"Evgeni's not like that," Carson said softly.

"I know," Jordan nodded in agreement. "Geno's a good guy. I know that if you two decide to...date," he said uneasily. "he'll be good to you," he said. "It's just hard to see you talk about a guy like you talk about him. It's weird for me."

"I know," Carson nodded slowly. "I'll be fine though. I'm a big girl now," she said. "Bigger than you," she joked. "You just have to trust I'll make the right decision."

"I do trust you," he said. "It's all of those guys I don't trust," he added with a goofy grin. Carson laughed and rolled her eyes again, wrapping her arms lightly around Jordan's middle. He hugged his big sister tightly and only pulled away when he heard Kris clear his throat.

"As cute as that brother sister moment was, we have a bus to catch," he smiled. Kris and Jordan gathered all of their things and said their good-byes to Carson.

"Good luck!" She wished her brother and his roommate. She watched as they walked out the door and then made her way to Jordan's room where his laptop lay on his bed. She grabbed it and then walked to the living room. She pulled out the paper Sergei had given her and opened the laptop. She had Russian to learn and she promised herself she would learn it by the time The Peguins got back from their two game road trip.