You Can Let Go Now

Have you ever felt alone in a crowded room? -Jack Mannequin

"Does this look good?" Elizabeth asked as she put on an Armani Exchange shirt with her Guess ruffled jean shorts.

"You look fine," McKenzie said without even looking, she was focusing on her own outfit. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, fine was not a word accepted when one wanted to look good in their house.

"McKenzie! Seriously, should I change the shirt or no?" Elizabeth asked, getting aggravated. She wanted to leave, the party already had started a half hour ago.

McKenzie turned her head and checked out her friend, saying, "I like the shirt. Keep it. Add some dark make- up to your eyes."

"I don't want to try too hard, I mean, it's just a party," Elizabeth stated.

"You wanted my opinion, you got it. No complaints," McKenzie told her. Point taken.

Elizabeth shrugged and put some pins in her hair to keep her bangs out of her face. She put a little eyeliner around her eyes and said, "Alright. I'm done, are you ready?"

"Yeah," McKenzie said, touching up on her lip gloss before saying, "Let's go."

They didn't say much as they walked towards Sidney's house, both were a little nervous. Elizabeth came to the front door which had a sign that said, 'Come in'. They opened the door and heard loud music coming from outside, and a few voices towards the back of the house.

Elizabeth looked around and gasped, his house was beautiful. It had just the right colors and designs, nothing too much and not too little. She was impressed, especially since he was a boy.

As they walked in, there was various pictures on the walls. She saw him standing with his parents and sister in most of them. Several of them had him standing with a beautiful woman at his side, his arms wrapped around her waist. Both of them had huge smiles on their faces.

Elizabeth looked at McKenzie, feeling a bit crushed even though she knew she shouldn't. "Looks like he has a girlfriend, I was right," she told her friend.

"We'll see," McKenzie said before pulling her friend towards the kitchen area. A few people were there chatting and grabbing their food. They didn't wave so Elizabeth and McKenzie moved towards the back.

There was a mass of people standing in his back yard, some were dancing, others were standing around and chatting in small groups. Some were even on the dock and swimming.

McKenzie turned to Elizabeth with wide eyes. "Where should we go? I feel awkward standing here!" She yelled over the music and other voices.

"Uhmm... I don't know!" Elizabeth responded, looking around.

Luckily she saw Sidney walking toward them with a smile on his face. Once he reached them he said, "Hey! I was beginning to think you two weren't going to show."

Elizabeth smiled and blushed, something about him made her knees go weak. "Sorry! We didn't realize what time it was."

"It's alright, why don't you come over here, I'll introduce you to a few people," he said, leading them towards a group of guys. Elizabeth immediately recognized Jordan Staal, she figured this was part of his hockey team.

"Who are these ladies?" A guy with a french accent asked, eying them down. Elizabeth crossed her arms in discomfort, McKenzie lightly blushed and smiled.

"They," Sidney said glaring at his friend, "are my neighbors. Elizabeth and McKenzie."

The two smiled awkwardly, all of the guys stared them down. "Elizabeth, McKenzie, these are my teammates. Max," he said referring to the french one, "Kris Letang," who shyly waved, "Jordan Staal," the tall blond one, "Marc Andre Fluery," another french, who gave them a big toothed grin, "Evgeni Malkin," a tall Russian who also gave a toothy smile, "and Tyler Kennedy," a short, stocky brown haired guy with a big nose who waved awkwardly.

"So, do you guys stay here all year?" Max asked, and Elizabeth came to the conclusion he was outgoing.

"No, we live in New York," McKenzie said before Elizabeth opened her mouth.

He made a face, "Rangers fans then?"

Elizabeth smirked, and said, "Yes, actually. My personal favorite it Sean Avery."

The guys faces dropped and Max stared at her as if she had something on her face. "Uhm..wha..how...why?"

Elizabeth laughed, "He's gritty and quite honestly, I think he has personality."

"Personality? Dude, the guys a total douche bag. I just want to fucking strangle the guy. Or at least shut him the hell up," Tyler Kennedy piped.

"Well it doesn't really matter if you like them anyway cause we won the Cup. They're a bunch of losers," Jordan Staal said triumphantly.

All the guys smirked at them. Elizabeth didn't know what to say, so she shrugged. McKenzie said, "Yeah, barely."

Sidney narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't see your beloved Rangers winning anything, and last I checked we were the ones who kicked them out of the playoffs last year."

"And then you lost in the finals," she retorted.

Knowing McKenzie would faithfully defend her Rangers until she went the the grave, Elizabeth said, "Sidney, would you care to show me where the drinks are?"

He nodded, and led her to the sliding doors that led to his basement. "You have a beautiful house," she stated as she grabbed a Mike's Hard Lemonade.

Sidney blushed and looked down, "Thanks. It was hardly my doing."

"Really? I would have never guessed," she joked.

"My mom and Em..." he cleared his throat, "My mom helped me a lot with it."

She gave him a weird look before saying, "Well she did a great job."

He grabbed a water and shut the cooler, looking back at her. She asked, "No drink?"

Sidney shook his head, "No."

"I don't think I've ever seen a hockey guy turn down a drink," she stated.

"Yeah, well I'm not like most 'hockey guys' then," he told her seriously.

She studied him for a minute before saying, "Enjoy your water then, Sidney."

He chuckled and took a sip. "C'mon, I don't want to leave your friend hanging with the guys, even if she supports the Rangers."

"Hey! I support the Rangers, buddy!" she said.

"That's really unfortunate," he told her before adding, "I will change that."

"I don't think so," she disagreed.

He didn't say anything as the approached Marc Andre and a short brunette. "Elizabeth, this is Vero, Marc Andre's girlfriend. Vero, this is Elizabeth, my neighbor."

"Hi! It's nice to meet you!" Vero said in a french accent.

Elizabeth shook her outstretched hand, "You too."

"Come and meet some of the other girls!" She told her, taking her hand and pulling her toward the hot tub.

"Dude, you totally fucked her," Staalsy told him as he took a sip of his beer.

"No, I just met her. I barely know her," Sidney said, defending both of them.

"But you're going to..." he continued.

"No! I don't...I still...I can't," Sidney stuttered.

"Sid...You have to move on," Jordan tried.

Sidney glared at him. "Stop. I don't want to talk about....that. I need a fucking drink," Sidney spat, walking towards the basement. Jordan shook his head at his friend and found TK and Tanger.

Opening the beer, he drank it for a minute before going to the dock, which was now empty. He looked to the house, and despite having all these people surrounding him, he felt lonely.