Melting On Ice

"How could you?!" Miranda leaned over me, inturrupting my peaceful dreams. "What kind of a friend are you! Your lips touched his before mine! Before mine!" She stared down at me, furious.

I looked up at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like you don't know." I raised my eyebrows at her and she grabbed my arm angrily, pulling me out of bed. "It's all over ESPN!!!" She stalked into the living room to rewind the little segment on PTI and the title was none other then "Jonathan Toews New Flame?" The short clip from the Cubs game was being replayed repeatedly.

I crossed my arms, not sure what to say. "I wouldn't say it's all over ESPN."

She opened her mouth in disbelief at me. "I can't believe that I considered you a friend! I'm leaving!" She stormed around the room, tearing stuff off the selves as she did so.

"Miranda! Can't we talk about this?" Her response was the door slamming in my face. I sighed as I walked around the room, picking the stuff up that she had knocked over. As I started to stack my CD's back onto the self, I came across one that I had forgotten about. There were the words, "Patrick Kane" written in a circle on the top half and a little heart at the bottom.

When I was in my freshman year in high school, I had a very cliche english teacher. Very poetic and let us create our own visions. As a part of that "experience" he inspired us to write songs about something that was important to us. Trying to "connect with the kids through music" or something like that. Anyways, after that class I really enjoyed writing songs and I had written probably hundreds of songs about Patrick, since I had a minor crush on him in high school. I had recorded my favorites on a CD with a cheap recorder that my foster mom had purchased me at a garage sale and I had planned to give it to him if and when I had ever decided to tell him how I feel. That obviously didn't happen and I doubted that it ever would. I quickly ran to my room to hide the CD under my pillow.

I was just about done cleaning when I heard my phone ringing. "Hello?"

"Em, you've got to help me." Jon's voice was close to desperate on the other end of the line. "Miranda won't talk to me. Why is she so mad?"

"Well," I walked over and rewound the TV back to the clip again. "She might have heard about what happened at the Cubs game."

"What happened at the Cubs game?" Was he really going to make me spell it out for him?

"Um, we sorta kissed remember?" I rolled my eyes. Boys were so clueless.

"No, what?" I walked over and shut the TV off. "No we didn't. I mean it wasn't real! I mean, I don't like you like that. No offense or anything."

"None taken." I sat back down on the couch and stared at the blank TV. "I didn't exactly get fireworks from you either buddy."

"Well, how are you going to fix this?"

"Excuse me?" I really wished that he was actually with me so that he could see the look I was giving him. "How am I going to fix this?"

"Yeah," he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're the one who kissed me so technically, it's your fault."

I opened my mouth in disbelief. "If you want to play that game, then it's your fault for coming and crashing my date in the first place!"

"Whatever," I could feel him roll his eyes through the phone. "Just please help me."

"Since you asked nicely," I said sarcastically as I got up and started walking around the room. For some reason it helped me think better. "Call her and tell her your sorry, tell her it didn't mean anything. Just an annoying thing for the crowd." I paused to make sure that he was understanding what I was saying. "Just telling you now, she won't believe you."

"She won't?" I was seriously beginning to think that boys should have to pass a Girls 101 class to graduate high school. "How do you know?"

"Do you want me to help you or not?" I took his silence as a yes. "Okay so anyway, she won't believe you. Then ask her out to dinner tonight. She will refuse at first." I paused to see if he would protest. When he didn't, I continued. "So keep asking. Beg if you have to."

"What do I talk about at dinner?" I heard a pencil scribble and I hoped for his sake that he was not actually taking notes.

"That won't be a problem." I smiled slightly to myself. "We're going on a triple date."

* * *

"Stop playing with it!" Amber hissed at Patrick who had readjusted his tie for about the 50th time tonight. "It looks fine the way that I did it." We were sitting at a fancy restaurant and I was beginning to think that this was a very bad idea. Jon and Miranda had worked it out, but Patrick and Amber were annoying the heck out of me. How could they even call themselves a couple if all they do is fight all of the time? I rubbed my temples as he continued to mess with the stupid tie. Derek grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently.

"We don't have to stay you know," he whispered in my ear. "I would be happy to take you somewhere else."

The little devil on my shoulder almost made me say yes. "No, we can't" I sighed quietly. "This was my stupid idea in the first place." I glanced over at Miranda and Tazer who seemed to be having a good time by the way that they kept whispering and giggling at each other. I looked over and saw Patrick just give up and take the tie off. I couldn't help myself, I just started laughing. "You know what this reminds me of?"

Patrick looked up to see the look in my eye and groaned quietly. "Please don't tell the story."

"What story?" Amber asked, suddenly not caring so much about Patrick's appearance.

"I have to tell it now." I shrugged, acting as if I currently had no other choice. Patrick sighed in defeat. "Okay, so when we were like, twelve years old?" I waited for Patrick to nod to confirm that I was getting this right, even though I knew that I was. "I went over to his house for this Christmas party. Every year the Kane's had this giant Christmas party with all of their friends and family. Well anyway, Patrick's mom made him wear this horribly ugly tie. What did it look like again?" I smirked at Patrick, waiting for a response.

"Purple with pink snowmen" he grumbled. I heard Jon stifle back a laugh at that.

"That's right, now I remember. So the entire night, Patrick was trying to get the tie off, but his mom is like an expert tie tier, so of course he couldn't get just the tie off." I started laughing before I even finished. "So the only thing that he could think of to do was take the entire outfit off. He sat and ate at dinner butt naked." I shook my head as I stared laughing, which made it awkward cause only Jon was half laughing along with me. "You should've seen Mrs. Kane. She totally freaked out."

"That's not really funny." Amber interrupted me. "What's funny about him eating dinner naked. It's just dumb."

I don't know what made me say this next part, but it just slipped through me lips. "The part I find slightly amusing, is that I've seen your boyfriend naked, and you haven't." I took a slow sip of my lemonade to force myself to stop talking.

She narrowed her heavily make-uped eyes at me and smiled her sour-sweet smile. "Who says I haven't." I almost choked on my drink as she walked her fingers up Patrick's arm.

Jon forced an awkward cough to attempt to break the tension. "Waitress," he waved her over as he spoke. "I think that we are ready to order." After we ordered, I excused myself to go to the restroom. I heard Patrick's footsteps not to far behind me.

"What was that about?" I noticed how he could not stop smiling as he spoke.

"What was what about?" I leaned against the wall in the hallway leading to the bathrooms.

"Nothing," he laughed quietly, shaking his head. "Just curious why you were trying to make Amber jealous."

"Why would I be doing that?" My heart started to race as he walked closer to me.

"I don't know." He leaned on the wall on his hands as he put one on either side of my head, trapping me in and forcing me to look at him. "Why would you?" The wheels slowly started turning in my head.

I closed my eyes, knowing that I would be unable to focus with him being that close. "Tazer told you, didn't he." I whispered.

"Told me what?" He brought his voice down to the same volume as mine.

I slowly shook my head. "Excuse me for a minute." I pushed down his arm and stormed over to our table. I looked at Jon and Miranda talking and started to consider not interrupting the wonderful time they seemed to be having, but then decided against it. "Jon, I know that you told him."

"Told who what?" He asked, looking at Miranda as he spoke.

"Jonathan Bryan Toews, you know exactly what I am talking about." He tore his eyes away from her to look up surprised at me.

Miranda stood up slowly. "I think I'm going to go outside for some air." She said before mouthing, "explain later" to me as Jon reluctantly let go of her hand. I was happy that she wasn't mad at me anymore because I was going to need someone to vent to later.

I nodded as Derek said, "I'll come to." Jon and I both turned expectantly at Amber who stood up slowly and sighed.

"I trusted you!" I tried to keep my voice semi-low and was failing. "Why would you tell him?"

"Em, I swear that I didn't." His eyes looked up at me pleading. "Why would I tell him?"

"I don't know." I said, angrily. "You tell me."

"I can't because I didn't!" I narrowed my eyes at him, but he didn't continue.

"Then why is he playing freakin' twenty questions with me!? You had to have told him!" I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear that had fallen out of the bun I had it in.

"Told me what?" Patrick came up behind me and leaned on Derek's empty chair.

I sighed in frustration as I looked between the both of them. "I'm not good at this game!" I left them staring after me in confusion as I stormed out of the restaurant.