Northern Lights

Ava was already awake by the time TJ's eyes fluttered open, causing him to wake up alone. With a yawn he swung his legs over the side of the bed and let his feet touch the carpeted floor. He grabbed a tee-shirt from his suitcase and began walking downstairs.

Ava was busily cooking in the kitchen while the few boys that remained in the house lay on the couch, hung over. TJ fell back onto the old couch next to Evan Trupp who winced at the sudden movement and sound from next to him.

"Bro," he hissed lowly.

"Sorry," TJ shrugged, not feeling all too hung over himself. He actually hadn't drank very much last night, only enough to feel slightly tipsy, but not to a point where he would be nursing a hangover come morning time.

"I wish I could just stick her in my pocket and take her everywhere I go," Ryan said, glancing over his shoulder and at his kitchen as he referred to Ava.

"Seriously," Brad Malone agreed as he lazily pressed the buttons to the Xbox controller.

"How'd everything go the other day? You know, with the hospital and all," Chay asked, looking up at TJ.

"It was kinda a mess," he admitted. "I've never seen her like that before," he added in a low voice. "But she somehow got through it like she always does."

"She's fucking like, super human or something," Brad added, shaking his head in a sort of disbelief.

"Breakfast guys," Ava popped her head into the living room, smiling at her old friends. The boys all got up and filed into the kitchen where a good home cooked breakfast was waiting for them. "I had to make do with what Duncs had," she joked. As far as the boys were concerned though, pancakes, eggs, and bacon was good enough for them.

"You're the greatest," Evan grinned widely. Ava giggled lightly, ruffling his dark hair.

"Thanks Ev," she blushed. TJ smiled proudly at her, happy she seemed to be back to her normal self.

"So you guys must've had fun last night," Ryan wiggled his eyebrows at Ava as the boys all ate and she sipped on a cup of tea.

"What?" Ava asked.

"You and Osh," he smirked. Ava furrowed her eyebrows, confused as to what he was getting at. TJ on the other hand was sitting straight up in his chair, his eyes darting back and forth between Ava and Ryan. He of course knew what Ryan was getting at- he, as well as the rest of the guys, all thought it was just another night TJ had slept with her. Ava of course, had no idea what Ryan was talking about because she had slept soundly next to one of her best friends. She was oblivious that for the entire time she went to NoDak everyone was under the impression she was fucking TJ Oshie.

"That we slept together?" Ava asked innocently, not meaning it in the way everyone else was thinking it. TJ watched helplessly from the sidelines as his former teammates all sent him a wide smile and some even a thumbs up. "I don't get it," Ava said finally, noticing all of the boys acting rather strangely.

"It's nothing Ava," TJ dismissed with a wave of his hand hoping to God that would be enough for a subject change.

"It's nothing that I have to clean my sheets now?" Ryan asked with a laugh. "You two like, damaged every bed at NoDak. TJ rubbed his face with his hand, the color completely draining from his usually rosy cheeks.

"Wait. I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" Ava asked, setting her mug down. Ryan, considerably confused at this point looked at Ava like she was insane.

"You and Osh screwed each other the entire time you two went here," he said bluntly. Ava's eyes went wide, and then snapped to TJ- the boy she thought she could trust. She didn't say anything as she left. She just turned around and began walking towards the front door.

"What the fuck?" Brad spoke for everyone. The chair TJ sat in scraped against the ground as he pushed it away from the table so he could follow Ava. He ignored all the questions being thrown at him and only focused on the tiny red-head that held his heart in her hand.

"Ava!" He called when get got outside, noticing she hadn't gotten too far because she wasn't wearing any shoes and there was snow on the ground. She didn't turn around, instead she picked up her pace and tried to tip toe around the snow. "Ava!" He called again, jogging towards her and grabbing her arm when she was close enough.

"I trusted you," she said, her voice low and serious. Ava was the type of person who didn't yell when she got mad; instead she spoke to you very calmly and chose her words carefully making you feel much worse than you did before you talked to her.

"I'm sorry Ava I didn-"

"I considered you to be one of my best friends. If not my one, true best friend. You know everything about me. You brought me to the hospital to see my father, you listened to me tell you stories about my childhood, we spent hours upon hours together just talking when we went here," she said. A pained look crossed TJ's features as he noticed how shiny her eyes were getting. He knew she was about to cry. "How could you tell them something like that Timmy?"

"Ava I-" TJ tried, only to be cut off once again.

"Every single time we shared a bed you told them we had sex? Every single time we were alone they all thought we were fucking?" She cursed. "How could you do that?"

"I don't know Ava, I was stupid! I was young; I didn't know what I was talking about. They mostly just inferred we had sex," he tried desperately to defend himself.

"So you've never told them we had sex?" She asked, already knowing the answer. TJ looked down, ashamed of what he had done. Never did he think it would all blow up in his face like this. It wasn't worth loosing the trust of the girl he loved.

More than anything, it hurt Ava to think someone she had trusted so much had been spreading rumors about her. Rumors that only boosted his ego and popularity, rumors that benefited him. Ava never thought TJ Oshie was so selfish, she never thought he would so something like this to her. Ava always smiled because she knew a side of TJ that not many other people got to see. It pained her to know the bad things most other people said about him were true.

"I'm sorry Ava. I'm so sorry," he apologized, not answering her question because he couldn't. How could he possibly tell her he had told all of their friends they had been screwing throughout their entire college experience? He couldn't; it was physically impossible. He wished so badly he could take back his immaturity, but instead he had made the only girl he truly cared about cry.

"I can't believe you Timmy," she shook her head, tears slowly rolling down her slightly chubby cheeks. "I don't really even have anything to say to you," she admitted. "I trusted you with everything I had in me. To know you lied to me and to our friends for so long kills me."

Ava hadn't even cried when she had found out about her father dying, she hadn't even cried when she saw him for the last time, or when she spoke her mother. But finding out TJ Oshie had lied to her made the tears fall down her cheeks quickly.

"I was young and stupid," TJ tried. "I know better now. I would never do anything to hurt you Ava, I swear."

"I'll ask Evan to help me book a flight back to Chicago for later tonight," she mumbled, trying to wipe her tears with the end of her sweatshirt. "I don't want to be near you right now."
And with that Ava walked back into the small apartment and out of TJ's life.