Don't Be Scared, It's Only Love...

Jordan Staal was in a bad mood. He was in one of those moods where every damn thing any fucking person said to him made him want to scream. And when you're being interviewed and you're a famous hockey player, this mood was dangerous territory. Those stupid interviewers, with their stupid questions, it made him want to strangle them all one by one. But he couldn't, sadly.

"What do you think about Geno's recent success?" one asked. Jordan wanted to growl at the man.

Instead he smiled, giving a little chuckle. "I'm so happy that he's finding his rhythm. It's great for him and the team."

Questions streamed in. He answered all politely and diplomatically. Finally they seemed to get enough and the cameras and microphones and annoying voices disappeared. Jordan's bad mood had now become volatile.

"So, about the-" Chris Kunitz began to say to Jordan. Jordan cut him off with a growl.

"Shut up. Walk away now and do not talk to me."

Kunitz looked perplexed. Then he let out a laugh, an annoyed and exasperated laugh. "This is about Charlie isn't it? About what Eric told you?"

Jordan glared at his team mate and stood up, shoving past him to make his way out of the locker room. His other team mates stared after him. Someone called to him.

"Jordan! You're still half-way suited up."

He looked down to realize he was still, in fact, half dressed in his hockey gear. He glared around the room, into the faces of his confused friends.

"Oh, shove it up your ass," he shouted, before storming out.

His team mates exchanged worried looks. Sidney Crosby, who had previously been talking with Craig Adams, heaved a sigh and went to go after him. Pascal Dupuis grabbed his arm as he walked past.

"You sure you should go after him? Maybe he needs to cool off."

"No, trust me. I know what he's going through," Sid said with a grimace.



"Stop staring at your phone, Char."

".... Sorry, what?" Charlotte asked after a pause, looking up with bloodshot eyes. Jenny groaned.

"Charlie! He's not calling. Give it a rest."

"He will. He's Jordan. He's a hypocrite and a liar and a jerk, but he's protective. He'll call. He's just busy."

"I thought you didn't want him to act like you belonged to him and be all possessive?'

"That was before I realized that I want to belong to him."

Jenny gave her a look, a look that broke Charlotte's barriers. It was look of confusion, irritation, and anxiety, but also of love and understanding.

"You've changed so much, Charlie."

"You can thank Jordan for that."



"Jordan! Wait up!" Sidney finally caught up to his team mate in the parking garage. Jordan turned on Sidney with a glare fit for murder.

"What is it, Sid? What the hell do you want?"

"I want to know why you get to be this way. Why do you get to be this way and Charlotte doesn't? Stop acting like a prick. You act like the world is revolving around you, and Charlie revolves around you and-"

"I'm going to stop you there, Crosby. Thanks for trying to act like you know everything, but you don't," he sneered. Sidney opened his mouth in protest. Jordan held up a hand. "I'd hate to concuss you further, Sidney, but if you don't get very, very far away from me, I can't be responsible for my actions."

Jordan got into his car, not looking at his friend. Sidney was furious at being dismissed like this. He tapped on the window and Jordan rolled his eyes before rolling it down an inch.

"I just hope as you sulk you remember that the person that you're sulking over, she still exists. And she's not in the best shape either. You've messed with her enough to break a weaker person."

Sidney walked away, hoping that somehow he had gotten through to him. Jordan stared after his captain. He hated to admit it, but Sidney Crosby was right. What right did Jordan have to be angry and insulted after the stunt he pulled with Jenna? He sighed and flipped out his phone, not feeling rage anymore, just exhaustion and defeat.



Charlotte was tired of looking at her phone. She was tired of being obsessed with Jordan. She was tired of analyzing every damn thing he did and if he felt this way or that way. She was tired of loving him. And she was tired of waiting and waiting to see if he loved her back.

She made an executive decision, taking one last look at her phone, and stood up. Tonight she would go out. She would have fun. She would show her sister and Sidney and Jordan that she was the aloof one. She didn't have to hang onto Jordan and be clingy, she didn't need him. In fact, he was bringing her down.

No, it was high time the old Charlotte Michaels made an appearance. She had been in the shadows far too long. Charlie was no one. Charlie was a naïve girl who fell for a stupid hockey player and somehow thought he would feel the same.

"Where are you going?" Jenny asked in disbelief, after Charlotte came down dressed to the nines and ready to walk out the door. Charlotte smirked, the way old Charlotte always did.

"Out."

And with that, she slammed the door on her sister and Charlie. Charlie was gone. In her new black mini dress, perfect hair, and dark make-up, Charlotte Michaels was back in every sense. Or, almost every sense. No matter how hard she tried, Charlotte couldn't shake stupid Charlie's stupid feelings for stupid Jordan Staal. But she wasn't too worried, in time she would move on from the jerk.

And so Charlotte Michaels was now back, or so it seemed to the naked eye. But Charlie was still in there somewhere....



Jordan dialed a number he knew well, a number he had memorized. The phone rang. And rang. And rang.

"Hi," Charlotte answered. Jordan grinned, before he realized it was her voicemail. "You've reached Charlotte Michaels. Sorry I can't take your call. Leave a message!"

Jordan hung up. He didn't want to leave a message. He wanted to see Charlie in person. He wanted to see her bright, beautiful eyes and kiss her lips and show her how much he loved her. He wanted to hold her and never let go and never let another man touch her. He wanted to tell her all of these things and see that smile light up and know that everything would be perfect.

Most of all, Jordan wanted to show her that for all the mistakes he’s made, for all the mistakes they both have made, and for all the things neither of them said, they could be perfect together if they could just see it for what it is. Jenna didn't matter and the bastard from the game didn't matter. Hell, hockey didn't matter. All that mattered to him was her.

And Jordan planned to tell her that. And he would do whatever it takes to get to her and make sure she knew.



Charlotte woke up in a bed that wasn't her own and wearing nothing but her high heels. She blinked until she got used to the light streaming into the room and then looked to her side. She was unsurprised to find a man sleeping next to her. She sighed quietly.

As was her routine, she tip-toed around to gather her clothes and get dressed. Her heels made a louder sound than she would've liked, but she just walked as slowly as possible. Suddenly the man sat up.

"Charlotte?" his groggy voice said. Charlotte took in a sharp breath, her head whipping to look at this man.

"Fucking shit. Sutter?" she groaned. Brandon Sutter stared at her. Charlotte blushed, clutching her shirt over her chest as she realized it had been exposed.

"Shit. Well, Jordan's gonna kill me," he said plainly. Charlotte scowled, continuing to get dressed.

"Don't worry about him. He doesn't care what the fuck I do," she pouted. Sutter laughed. She glared. He stopped. "Well better be on my way. Thanks for the.... fun? Bye."

And she took her usual cab service back home and took a deep breath. Charlotte Daniels was officially back, it had been sealed with a one night stand. So why did she want nothing more than to be Charlie again?



Incessant knocking at the door woke Jenny up. She stumbled to the door and was greeted with a beaming blonde buffoon. She groaned and fell onto the floor in a ball to go back to sleep.

"Is Charlie here?" he asked, still smiling, staring at her down on the floor. She was suddenly wide awake. She slowly stood up, wearing a hesitant smile.

"She's not here right now, Jordan."

Jordan laughed slightly. "She has to be here! It's like 7 in the morning."

Jenny looked uncomfortable. Jordan's smile had fallen. He looked confused. And that's when Charlotte walked in.

"Oh my god, you will never believe-" Charlotte stopped short as she saw Jordan. Jordan's eyes looked her over in her rumpled clothes, smeared make-up, and messy hair. His smile was long gone by this time.

Jordan stared at Charlie and thought about the thing he always thought was a fact. He always thought they belonged together. Yeah, they had their share of fuck-ups and they were constantly skirting around their feelings, and they never seemed to be on the same page, but he still believed that one thing would always be true, that they would always end up together.

But as he took her in, standing in the doorway and glaring at him, he thought for the first time that maybe they weren't meant to be. Maybe all the things that always went wrong weren't obstacles to get through, but barriers to force them onto two different paths.