I Bet it Stung

Saturday came sooner than Alice thought. She and Zachary had agreed to meet up at the Starbucks down the street from campus for their coffee outing. Alice wasn’t thinking of it as a date, but she still made sure her hair and makeup looked nice before heading out the door.

Zachary was already there when she arrived. It had started to snow on her walk, and she dusted the little white flecks off her shoulders and tuque as she gave him a little wave and headed over to the table where he was sitting.

“When did you get here?” she asked as she started shedding off the layers as the warmth from the heaters in the cafe fulfilled their purpose.

“Not that long,” Zachary shrugged. “Don’t worry. It’s not like I’ve been sitting here for hours waiting for you to show up.”

Alice smiled a bit and took a seat.

“So,” Zachary began, leaning back a bit in his chair. “Since we’re both psych majors, I think it’d be pointless to beat around the bush. Wanna tell me what’s wrong and why you were so upset a few days ago?”

Alice fiddled with the hem of her sweater and bit the side of her lip. “It’s stupid.”

“You said that already, remember?” he joked. “Come on. Tell me. We’re friends, right?”

Alice looked into Zachary’s dark brown eyes and saw the look of insistence and hope within them. She nodded and took in a deep breath. “My boyfriend and I just broke up over something really stupid. Well, actually, he dumped me.”

Zachary looked surprised. “Anyone I know? Does he go to our school?”

“A probable yes to the first, and a no to the second.”

He looked intrigued now. “Wanna tell me who it is? How can you know that I’ll know him if he doesn’t go to our school?”

Alice sighed. “Do you watch hockey?”

Zachary nodded. “Yeah, I’m a huge Pens fan. Why?”

She glanced out the window and answered, “He’s number eleven.”

Zachary’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “Wait, what? You were dating Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins? The former third line center? No way!”

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” Alice muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced back at Zachary who looked both skeptical and apologetic at the same time. “Fine, want proof?” She dug into her purse and pulled out her walled. Then she pulled out a picture of herself and Jordan that she kept tucked away from Vancouver and showed it to him. It was the same one that Jordan kept in his wallet as well.

“Holy--” Zachary mumbled. “Wow, so the two of you really dated?”

“Yeah,” Alice nodded faintly. “He was the real reason why I wanted to choose a school in Pittsburgh. So I could be closer to him. We lived together for a while until we broke up. Now I live with Sid.”

“Sidney Crosby?” he demanded. “You’re living with Sidney Crosby in Mario Lemieux’s house? Holy crap, do you know the entire Penguins team or something?”

“Well, yeah,” Alice replied, as if it was obvious. “I work part-time at the arena on an internship and my sister is dating Sid.”

“Hold up. Your sister is dating Sidney Crosby? Who’s your sister?”

Alice was trying her best not to look amused, but it was getting increasingly difficult. Zachary’s eyes were close to bugging out of his head from shock. “Mia Masterson.”

“The singer?” he burst out. “The one who toured with Tegan and Sara and An Horse in Australia and just came off a tour in Japan? That Mia Masterson? Are you for real, she’s your sister?” Zachary’s posture was now fully leaned forward, hands gripping the table in astonishment. “Wow, you’ve got some crazy connections!”

Alice shrugged. “I thought we were going to talk and work through my issues. Not discuss my sister, her boyfriend, or her boyfriend’s hockey team.”

“Well, it’s kinda hard to focus now,” Zachary admitted. “You know just about everyone I guess.”

She shrugged. “Promise you won’t start acting weird around me now that you know about all this?”

Zachary gave out a genuine laugh, his chest rumbling as he shook his head. “It’s alright, Alice. Believe me. I’m not just going to start treating you differently because you’re friends with our city’s hockey team and because your sister is famous. I’m sure you just want to have a life with some sort of normalcy, and as long as you’re staying in Pittsburgh, I think I could help you out.”

Alice smiled, feeling at ease for the first time in weeks. “You know, outside of the guys on the team, you’re my first friend in the city.”

“I’m very proud to be holding that title,” Zachary grinned, his perfectly straight teeth showing just slightly between his lips. “Here. I’ll buy you a hot chocolate.”

Alice was about to protest, but Zachary had already gotten up and was headed towards the counter. She just remained in her seat as he turned his head to look at her, flashing her another smile. Alice returned it briefly and looked down at her hands.

I’m moving on, she reminded herself. This is a good thing.

* * * *

Mia was sitting on the couch practicing on her guitar when Sidney came through the door, letting out a loud and frustrated sigh.

“How was practice?” she was almost afraid to ask. Sidney gave her a flat look and Mia nodded slowly. “That bad?”

“I don’t know what to do about Staalsy,” he announced, sounding defeated. He dropped his hockey back on the floor and plopped down next to Mia, resting his head on her shoulder. She nudged him a bit and he sat up so that she could massage his tense shoulders.

“Is he still that broken up about the breakup with Alice?” she questioned. “It’s been a while.”

“There’s not just that anymore,” Sidney told her. “Flower said that Vero went to the Starbucks down the street from Carnegie Mellon today and saw Alice there with that guy. What was his name again?”

“Zachary.”

“Yeah, him,” Sidney recalled. “Anyway, Vero told Flower, who told me. And Jordan overheard and he’s a mess all over again.”

“What should we do?” Mia asked, wrapping her arms around Sidney’s shoulders from behind and leaning her head against his. “We can’t be super cliché and lock them in a broom closet. Alice is claustrophobic and she knows how to pick locks with bobby pins.”

“I have no idea,” Sidney admitted. “I don’t think we should interfere. Both of them would probably freak out if we did anything like that.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Mia agreed. “I just hope Jordan’s going to be okay in the long run. Christmas is in a few weeks, I’d hate for him to be so upset so close to the holidays.”

Suddenly a look of realization sparked on Sidney’s face. “Maybe there is a way we could inadvertently help without completely interfering with their lives,” he grinned. “I think I have an idea.”

“Lay it on me!” Mia clapped, anxious to hear Sidney’s next few words.