Thanks, Best Friend

Patrick and I had always been best friends. We grew up together, playing hockey on the street, doing everything together. We were inseparable, so it only seemed fitting that I move to Chicago with him when he got drafted. The first few months were okay. He came straight home after practices and games, he would always call or text me to let me know how he was, but the past week or so had been different. Patrick always came home drunk at an early hour in the morning, and he would never call or text me what was up. I took care of him and his sorry self, of course, seeing as I was his best friend and couldn't bear to see him in a mess. Tonight was just another night, I assumed, where he'd come home drunk.

I was slowly drifting off to sleep when I was jolted awake at the sound of the front door opening, followed by giggling. I heard Pat mumble something along the lines of "Come on, baby," and my eyes widened. He had brought a girl home? I tried not to gag as I heard his bedroom door slam shut, and ignored the noises coming from there as best as I could before quietly leaving the apartment. I bit my lip and sighed, before pushing the elevator button and going down to the lobby. I waved hi to the man at the front desk, Alex, and he gave me a sympathetic look. Obviously he had seen Patrick and whoever she was; they had probably been making out the entire way to the apartment. I gave him a weak smile and trudged outside. It was slightly cold, but the fresh air was kind of relaxing. I hugged my sweater tighter against me and sat down on the wooden bench. As the air helped me sort out my thoughts, I felt myself grow angry.

Patrick was upstairs, having sex with someone in the bed him and I had shared countless times. The thought made me shudder and I squeezed my eyes shut, which only made the image worse. I groaned and tried to give myself a pep talk. Maybe he actually has a girlfriend, I reasoned, then frowned. He had never mentioned a girlfriend. Then again, he hadn't been home in a week, and for all I knew, he was out with this girl the whole time. I sighed and ran my fingers through my disheveled hair. I had tried to talk to him, but every time he was either drunk or at practice. It had been clear that both he and the girl in his bed tonight were both very drunk...

I bit my lip. There was no way that was a girlfriend.

I put my face in my hands. This can't be happening. Patrick had always had tons of girlfriends, yeah, and I didn't mind - as long as he didn't ignore me, which he never did, I was fine with it. But deep down, I knew him making it into the NHL was going to get to his head. The girls, the parties... I should have known there would be one night stands sooner or later. I shivered. The thought of the two of them doing whatever they were doing 20-something floors above where I sat made me want to run away.

I stood up and started to walk down the brightly lit sidewalk. I knew I'd be safe; the apartment was on a busy street - even at 2:00 in the morning there were tons of lights and people and cars buzzing around.

I sorted through my options. My first thought was to stay out here all night, but that idea quickly dissolved as I felt a chill run through me. It was the beginning of December, and I was not staying out here all night. I bit my lip and thought of where I could go. There was the 24 hour coffee shop just down the street, or one of Patrick's team mates... I decided on the second one. I didn't really want to be alone.

I scanned through my contacts. Bur, Sharpie, Steegy... my eyes landed on one name and I decided that was my best bet.

After a few rings, I bit my lip nervously. This probably hadn't been the best idea. He had practice in the morning and-

"Hello?" my thoughts were interrupted by Jonathan Toews' groggy voice.

"Hey, Toewser, it's, uh, it's Julie." I said quietly. I mentally pictured him trying to keep his eyes open, his hair a mess as he processed the 2:00 in the morning phone call.

"Hi," he replied.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "I need a favor, Jon. Can I come over?"

There was silence on the other line and I heard Jon shifting. "Uh, sure. Everything alright?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, then sighed and shook my head. "I guess. I just need somewhere to stay."

***
Jonathan's black SUV pulled up beside me about fifteen minutes later. I shyly opened the passenger door and glanced over at my friend. His hair was a mess, and he looked like he was in a daze. He was wearing sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. He met my eyes.

"Ready?"

I nodded, and turned my gaze to the window.

We drove in silence until we reached his house. It was a tiny house, and I had never been here before. We quietly got out of the car and he unlocked the front door, letting me pass. I wrapped my arms around myself tightly and looked at the house. It was small, but nice. There was a living room off to the right and a kitchen straight ahead, then stairs to the left. It was also very clean, which surprised me. Although I guess all he did here was sleep and eat.

Jon threw the keys on the couch and I followed him into the living room. He sat down on the couch and leaned his elbows on his knees, running his fingers through his short brown hair. I stood beside him quietly.

"Do you, uh, need to talk, or something?" Jon asked awkwardly. I smiled slightly and shook my head.

"I think I just need sleep. So do you, by the looks of it." He nodded and led me up the stairs.

He pointed to a room on the left. "That's the spare bedroom." I nodded and he pointed to the room on the right. "That's mine." He pointed straight ahead. "That's the bathroom. If you need me I'll be in here." And with that, he was gone. I sighed as the six foot two figure disappeared behind a closing door, then opened the door to my room for the night.

***
I woke up the next morning and trudged into the kitchen. I assumed Jon wasn't up yet, so I was just going to watch TV until he got up. As I walked past the fridge, a piece of paper caught my eye.

Practice. Lots of food, go ahead. Back around 12:30. - Jonathan

I sighed then glanced at the clock. 10:00. Not too bad. I decided on grabbing some cereal and watched a bit of TV until I heard a car door close. I sat up and subconsciously smoothed out my hair and clothes from the night before.

"Hey," Jon said as he walked through the door.

"Hey, how was practice?" I asked as I followed him into the kitchen.

"Good." He hesitated as he put the keys on the counter. "I told Kaner you stayed here... He was worried about you when he woke up to find you gone."

I nodded blankly, not meeting Jonathan's eyes. "Okay, thanks." I paused. "Did he say anything else about last night?"

Jon shook his head. I let out a sharp breath and Jon glanced down at me.

"He brought a girl home. They were both drunk and I really wasn't going to sit in my room all night listening to them... You know." I shuddered and Jon nodded.

"Makes sense," he responded.

"Should have seen it coming, I guess." I leaned against the counter.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you hockey players enjoy one night stands, correct?" I crossed my arms and Jonathan's lips turned up into a slight smile.

He scratched his head.

"Yeah, most of the young guys go for it."

I smirked. "You're one of the young guys."I was amused at how he acted a lot older than he was. "It's the apartment we share, and it's just not fair of him to do that to me."

"I don't think he means to be a jerk. He's just having fun, I guess." Jon shrugged.

"Yeah, fun." I rolled my eyes.

Jon raised an eyebrow.

"I pride myself on not having 'fun', if you know what I mean," I replied. He looked completely lost. "I'm a virgin," I explained.

Jon looked amused. "Interesting."

"I'm a virgin because I want to be, Jonathan Toews," I glared at him and he grinned.

"I didn't say anything."

***
I walked to the corner store a while later to grab a toothbrush. There was a game that night, and Jon was going to take me with him so I could hopefully talk to Patrick. I was dreading it, but he was my best friend and I had to talk to him about it.

I walked into the house and heard no sound of Jon.

"Jon?" I called. "Hey, Toews!" Still no answer. I walked up the stairs and knocked on Jon's door. No answer. I cautiously opened the door. My intention was to leave the pack of gum he had asked me to buy on his dresser. I tiptoed in and glanced around. There were a few shirts thrown on the floor, but for the most part it was tidy. There were a few pictures of Jon and his family, and I smiled as I placed the pack of gum beside one of the pictures.

I jumped as the door opened and I turned to come face to face with Jonathan's bare chest. He only had on a pair of jean shorts and he had his towel in his hands.

"Oh, gosh, I didn't..." I blushed furiously. "I thought you were out or something and I just... I put your gum there." I pointed and quickly brushed past him and into the spare room. I lay down on the bed and tried to breathe normally. It wasn't that big a deal. It wasn't like I had stayed at his house and then completely violated whatever privacy he had left...

I groaned. A few minutes later, I heard a soft knock at the door.

"Time to go."

"Coming," I replied.

I waited for his footsteps to fade before I rushed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I frowned at my clothes that I still had on from yesterday. I threw the toothbrush in the garbage and cautiously made my way down the stairs.

Jon stood by the door, his keys in one hand and a shirt in the other. I was confused, seeing as he now had a shirt on. He threw the shirt at me.

"Put it on, quick. I didn't think I had pants to fit you, but at least that's something."

I nodded, saying a quiet thanks as I rushed to the bathroom and threw on the shirt. It was a white t-shirt that said "Blackhawks" across the front. Typical.

"Thanks," I said again as Jon held the door open for me. He replied with a quiet "you're welcome" and we got into his car.

We drove in silence for a moment before I blurted out, "I'm so sorry."

Jon raised an eyebrow and glanced at me.

"For?" he questioned.

"I kinda invaded your house last night and then I was in the only non-me-contaminated area you had left, and-" I stopped as I saw Jon's lips turn up into a smile.

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind." I smiled back with relief.

"Thanks so much, Jon. For last night. Don't know what I'd have done without you."

"No problem," he responded with a nod, glancing at me and smiling before turning his eyes back to the road.