Remember Me

Remember Me
Chapter 1: Life In a Glass House

"Is this really necessary?" Asked a young, petite blonde girl as she was sat down at the kitchen table of her new home. This was the last thing she wanted; to be stuck in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the middle of nowhere, as far as she was concerned), with her aunt and uncle and their family. Sure, she loved her relatives to death, but this wasn't where she would prefer to be.

"Yes, we have to go through the rules." Her uncle, Pascal, told her in that stern voice of his. The same voice that he used whenever he wanted to warn you not to mess with him, and just oblige. The curly haired, blonde groaned inwardly in protest, but still stayed sitting at her seat and waited for the recent lecture to start.

"First, you will tell us where you're going and when you'll be home. And if you're not coming straight back, you will call myself or your aunt." She rolled her emerald colored eyes, "I'm serious, Alyssa Violet Dupuis. As long as you live under this roof, you follow these rules."

"Fu-" Alyssa stopped dead in her tracks after receiving her uncle's warning look. "I'm twenty, Uncle Pascal, I'm not thirteen anymore."

"And when you're mature enough to live by yourself for more than just a few days, you'll be able to go by your own rules. But for now, you will live here and go to school, and oblige by these rules. Which leads to my next one: No smoking." Aly opened her brightly glossed lips to object, but was stopped almost immediately: "Don't think I don't know. And FYI - we will know. There are three little soldiers living in this house that see all, hear all and report all."

Alyssa sunk deeper into her chair, knowing what her uncle was saying was right. Fucking twirps, she thought while her uncle continued on with the never ending list. The dark-haired man, her father's brother, continued on to list things like making her bed was a must, and no boys in her bedroom, and no swearing in front of the little ones. The more he went on, the more she wondered what happened to the fun uncle she used to know. The one that would bring home special gifts every time he returned to Quebec during the offseason, and the one who would always be on her side whenever she went into an argument with her mother. His new daughter seemed to have squashed that version.

"Aly! Aly!" The sudden interruption was well received by the blonde as she sat up and smiled brightly at the sight of her six year-old cousin, Maeva, running straight towards her. Reaching out, she grabbed a hold of her and picked her up, sitting her on her knee and giving her a big, sloppy kiss on her cheek. She leaned back and smudged the lip gloss mark she had left behind with her thumb.

"You've gotten so big!" she giggled, receiving her own welcome kiss from the little girl.

"I had a growth spurt!" Maeva smiled up at her cousin, beaming with pride. "Wanna come play with me?"

Aly leaned down towards her cousin and whispered into her ear, "Ask your dad."

The light auburn haired girl immediately turned to face her father, using puppy dog eyes to ask, "Can she, Daddy?" He gave in within seconds, and agreed, sending his daughter into fits of celebration as they quickly ran out of the room and Alyssa was dragged quickly towards the six year-old's room.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Carole-Lyne questioned, popping her head into the blankly decorated spare bedroom of the Dupuis household. Inside was where Alyssa had spent most of her time, ever since arriving in Pittsburgh. And still, there she was, sitting on her neatly made queen-sized bed, hunched over a black, hard-covered, binded notebook. She didn't even bother looking up to acknowledge her interruption.

"No thanks," she muttered, still writing something in her book. Her blonde hair had fallen into her face, and every so often, she found herself having to blow it away. Boxes of her things she had brought from home, were still scattered around the room, unpacked. One had been opened, clothing pulled out and thrown around the room, but other than that, the tape was still firmly in place.

There was a long pause, before a hard and heavy sigh filled the room. "Okay then, but you know, it would mean a lot to your uncle if you were there."

There was no answer. In fact, there was no sound except for the click of the door closing again. Alyssa glanced up for the first time, staring thoughtfully at the now shut door. Hanging from the door knob, being held up by a clothes hanger, was a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey jersey. She dropped her pen into the centerfold of her notebook, letting it close slightly, and hopped off of her new bed.

Alyssa's fingers grazed along the shoulder stitching of the jersey, a small side smile gracing her lips. Despite how much she hated giving in to people's guilt-trips, she slipped the article of merchandise off of its hanger and slipped it over her black sweater. "Okay, fine. I'm coming!"

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

"Good game, boys!" A loud voice cascaded throughout the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room. The atmosphere was high, and after that win against the New York Rangers, it was clear to see why. The team had slaughtered New York's hometown team, and the only one who seemed upset about it was the young twenty year-old making her way, hesitantly into the locker room. She looked out of place, and unsure of herself. But more importantly, she looked as if she had been forced to come there, and would much rather be anywhere but where she currently was.

The Penguins' goaltender was perhaps one of the first men in the room to notice the girl. The petite girl wearing his team's colors, but not his team's smiling and celebratory attitude. It was almost intriguing as to why she looked so unimpressed. Was this win not enough for her? His eyes roamed from her bountiful amount of blonde curling its way to just briefly past her shoulders, to the Penguins jersey that covered the very top of her black leggings. He was surprised to see that she had paired her outfit with a pair of Chuck Taylors; all signs pointed to a pair of too-tall high heels used to get the attention she wanted from the hockey players. If he didn't know any better, she was no-doubt the type Talbot would land in his bedroom.

He was quick to be distracted however, when Ben Johnson slugged him on the back with an open palm, congratulating him on the win. Marc-Andre, the starting goaltender, smiled his widely trademarked smile in thanks before going back to finish taking off his equipment. The press had just left, and the team could finally get back to hurrying the equipment off and go home for some shut-eye.

"Uncle Cal," a bright voice called out, causing Marc-Andre to take notice of the girl he was once admiring. He wondered who she was calling her uncle, but soon found himself a little disappointed when his teammate, Pascal Dupuis, #9, approached her. Perhaps he should have noticed the #9 on the back of her jersey, a little better. But despite the fact that teammates' family were supposedly, off-limits, he couldn't help but watch their interaction. There was something about her seemingly unimpressed attitude that was almost intoxicating. She acted like she didn't care about anything in the world -- her posture showed she had no need, or want, to be there -- but her eyes told a different story. And Marc couldn't help but notice that sparkle in her eye.

"What's up, Aly?"

"Wanted to say good game," she confessed, and that's when the Penguins' goal-tender saw it. That smile. For the first time, her lips twisted upwards and she was even more attractive whilst smiling, than she was frowning. Now all Marc was trying to figure out, was why she had to be related to Duper.

Pascal smiled, happy to see his niece showing her old, much more easy to work with, personality. She had loved to go to hockey games since she was little. He remembered playing around in the backyard with Aly and his brother. For hours, they would run around and play some street hockey. She was the son he never had, before he had that son, mind you.

"And Carol wanted me to remind you to invite the guys over for dinner tomorrow," Alyssa shrugged. "But I'm also here to tell you, that you don't have to remind anyone. If it's another one of those cotillion-type events, I don't want it." The twenty-year-old narrowed her eyes, trying her own Dupuis warning glare. It still had some work to do to perfect it however, which Alyssa certainly was getting in as of late. It seemed, all she would do was frown or protest, or glare. Pascal had been warned by her mother, but he didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. He couldn't remember the last time he saw his niece not smile constantly.

"Sorry Lyss, but you know your Aunt."

Alyssa groaned, leaning back once more against the brick wall. "She thinks I needs friends, but I have friends. It's not like it's my fault they're back in New York." Pascal just laughed at this, but it only angered Alyssa more.

"Oh c'mon, don't be so afraid of social interaction. Just because we live in Pittsburgh, doesn't mean we don't know how to have fun." He teased her, nudging her lightly. "Now get outta here, you're not even supposed to be in here."

"What's the perks of having you as my uncle, if I can't see naked hockey players?" Alyssa tossed, smirking while receiving that Dupuis family glare. "Fine, fine. I'm gone."

I can't believe I just heard that, Pascal thought, turning to get back to packing up his things so he could head home.

"Hey Duper, who was that?" His teammate, Max Talbot, questioned. The boy's french accent was in full effect.

"She's my niece I was telling you guys about," he informed Max, not knowing most of the team was listening, too. "Alyssa's living with us while she goes to Carnegie Mellon next semester. She's going through a bit of a rough patch, and we thought some new scenery would be nice."