Status: Sporadically active with VERY long hiatuses. Sorry for any grammar mistakes!

Just Another Pretty Face in the Crowd

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two - Family Surprise

When I woke up the next morning, the night before felt like a dream. 'Did it really happen?' I sat up, alerting my half asleep dog. His ears perked up as I stretched, my elbows cracking.

I glanced at my alarm. It must have been my internal clock that woke me up because it was 6:30. “But it’s Saturday,” I whined to no one in particular.

Caesar groaned in response as he rolled over onto his side.

I rolled my eyes, “Was that really necessary?” I finally got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.

It was about twenty minutes later when my phone went off. I wasn’t expecting anyone to text me this early in the morning, so naturally I was a little confused.

Morning, babe :)

“Okay, maybe it wasn’t a dream,” I said to myself smiling at the thought. It felt like I was in high school all over again.

Morning :)

I wasn't the best with pet names. I didn't want to call him 'hun' since that was I called everyone that. Eventually, I'd come up with something to call him besides his name.

“Ready for your walk, boy?” I asked to Caesar, who was just lounging around. Immediately his mood changed. Within a few seconds, he was impatiently standing by the door, waiting for me to hurry and take him out. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

My phone went off again: What r u doin up early?

I sighed as I typed back: Internal clock.

I locked my apartment door and jogged down the stairs to keep up with Caesar, who was yanking my arm in excitement.

“Good morning, ma’am,” the doorman said as I jogged by him.

“Morning,” I smiled over my shoulder. I continued to try and keep up with my dog.

We were at the park in record time.

Caesar didn’t even bother looking at the joggers or barking at the birds, he was focused. I didn’t know what he was so focused on but whatever it was he was intent on finding it.

“Slow down, boy,” I plead with him.

“You do realize he isn’t going to talk back, right?” a very familiar voice said behind me.

I jumped, not expecting anyone to talk to me. I looked behind me to see Sidney smirking down at me.

Caesar turned around, wagging his tail wildly in excitement. The next thing he did shocked even me. He jumped on Sidney, his front paws on his chest. He was just tall enough to reach Sidney’s face and was able to start his “attack.”

“Down, Caesar!” I scolded.

“No, he’s good! He just missed me is all.” Sidney said, laughing as Caesar tried to stand taller to keep licking at his face.

I smiled at the two of them. “Why are you here?”

“Figured you’d be here,” he said smiling at me.

“But why are you here?” I asked again, slightly confused as to why he was standing in front of me and not at the arena or gym.

He looked at me with his confused face and then smiled, "I wanted to see your cute face.”

I shook my head a little with a smile playing on my lips, “Your plan is to walk with me?”

“Yea, that was the plan,” he said, nodding his head. “Don’t let me down?”

“Why would I ever do that?” I asked, smiling.

Caesar finally got down from Sidney’s chest and was standing. His tail still wagging wildly. I don’t know how he knew that Sidney would be here but he had calmed down from earlier.

“What are your plans today?” Sidney asked, interlocking his fingers in mine.

I just shrugged, “Don’t know yet." I glanced up at him. "You?"

“Game tonight, practice starts at 9.”

“Should have known,” I said, smiling a little.

“No worries, I don’t expect you to keep up my schedule,” he answered, causally.

I shrugged my shoulders again, “I normally do.”

“What do you mean?” He cocked his head to the side, confused by my statement.

“Not to sound like I’m stalking anybody, but I just learn patterns and habits of people,” I said, hoping I didn't sound like an obsessed girlfriend.

“You're saying that you’d learn my routine?” Sidney glanced down at me.

“I already know your routine.”

He slowed up and looked at me, confused. I have to admit he looked cute when he was confused.

“Every home game, you go to practice, then go back to your apartment. I’m assuming you make something small to eat. You are usually napping by two in the afternoon. You'll be back at the arena before five.” I looked at him, smiling. “Am I right?”

He had fully stopped and was looking at me with his mouth parted a little, “How did you know that?”

I smirked, “I have my secrets.”

“Seriously. How did you know that?” he asked again.

“Dusty has the same routine. Most hockey players do with their home games. Away games are similar but you probably go out to lunch with a couple of your teammates,” I answered. “I swear I’m not stalking you.”

He didn’t say anything for a little bit, “I never realized hockey players were so predictable.”

I smirked a little, “Hockey players are my speciality. You guys are creatures of habits and routines and rituals. So superstitious.”

We walked around the whole park by this point, not paying attention to anybody else but ourselves.

It wasn't long before my phone broke our peace. I sighed, annoyed that I had to drop Sidney's hand to get to it. “Who is texting me?” I whined as I pulled my phone at of my back pocket.

It was Sadie. Game tonight. The box again?

“Who is it?” Sidney asked, casually.

“Just Sadie. I’m probably going to be watching you tonight,” I said. “Hope you don’t mind.”

He just looked at me like I was crazy, “Why would I want you watching me?” He made this face and then smiled playfully.

“No," I started smirking. "The correct question is why would I want to watch you."

“Because I’m a hockey god?”

“Well," I made a face. "Someone’s conceited." I began laughing at our conversation.

He smiled at me, “You know I am.”

“I never said you weren’t but I’m pretty sure that you’re supposed to be modest about it.” I looked up at him, smiling brightly. “You might get a bigger head.”

“Are you saying that I have a big head?” he asked, acting like he was offended.

“Yes, you look like a balloon.”

“You are just so mean,” he said, a fake pout on his face.

“No one ever said I was nice.”

“You play the part very well,” he countered.

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” I said, smiling at him.

He broke his pout and smiled back.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, looked up at him.

“Unfortunately, I got to get ready or else I would get breakfast with you. Coach would have my head if I was late for practice,” he said, his smile never wavered.

I smiled softly, “Okay. I’ll see you later tonight then?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered. “I expect you down in the locker room after the game.”

I nodded my head, “Yes, sir. Can’t disappoint the captain.”

He smiled down at me, “I don’t think you could ever disappoint the captain.” He pulled me into a tight hug and kissed me sweetly. “I’ll see you after the game.”

“See you then.”

I watched as Sidney walked away. I quickly grabbed my phone again and texted Sadie back. Doesn’t have to be the box. I’m fine with seats.

“Come on, Caes. Time to go home.”

Caesar walked beside me as we walked back to my apartment.

Okay.

*****

“Are you ready for this?” Sadie asked for the millionth time as we walked into the arena.

“Yes, Sadie, I’m ready,” I replied back for the millionth time. “Who are we playing again?”

Sadie smirked at me, “You’ll see.”

We walked into the suite and I instantly stopped. Something was off. Incredibly off.

I saw Mario and Nathalie. I saw Maureen and Vero with their many kids combined. I also saw two other people both wearing red. I knew those people anywhere.

“Mom? Dad?” I asked.

“Drusilla!” my mother pretty much screeched and then rushed over to me, pulling me into a hug.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, very confused, hugging her back.

“Surprise!” my dad said, smiling.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I looked over at him and then back to Sadie. “You were in on this!”

“Sorry,” she said, innocently, as she walked past me and sat down in the chairs.

“Why are you guys here?” I asked again.

“Your brother, he wanted us to give you this,” my mom said, excitedly.

I was more confused than ever. I watched as she rushed over to one of her many tote bags that she purchased from Thirty-One. She pulled out something red. She rushed back over and unfolded it carefully, revealing a Washington Capitals jersey sweater. “You do realize we are in Mario Lemieux’s suite, right?”

My mother sighed and rolled her eyes. “I swear, she is your daughter,” she said looking at my dad. She turned the sweater around showing the big number 7 on the back. Above it, the name Thompson was in big capital letters.

“What is this?” I asked, even though I knew what it was. I was just having a hard time processing the information.

“Your brother’s,” dad answered. “He thought you'd want to wearing it tonight.”

My eyes widened, “He isn’t.”

“He is,” my mom verified. Her smile growing even wider.

I rushed out to the seats that were attached to the box and searched through all the away players for the white sweater with the big number 7. My eyes immediately trained the two goalies. One was Braden Holtby and the other was my brother.

Sadie just smirked at me, “Surprise.”

“How did you know about this?” I questioned, looking at her.

“Tony told me. Apparently, your brother has been scheming this since he found they wanted to pull him up to the big leagues a couple days ago. He called Tony, Tony told me, and BOOM!” Sadie explained.

'A couple days ago? That asshole already knew!'

“So now the question is: break your man’s heart or break your brother’s?” Sadie said smirking.

“Screw Sidney!” my answer was almost immediate. I grabbed my brother’s bright red jersey sweater from my mom’s hand and ran to the bathroom.

Within a few minutes, I had changed out of my black Crosby #87 sweater into my new red Thompson #7. I wasn’t even ashamed of it. If Sidney couldn’t understand that he was my brother and he was the most important guy in my life (besides my father), then he clearly wasn’t the guy I thought he was. This was Dusty’s debut in NHL. I was not passing up the opportunity to wear his jersey in his debut.

“I believe this must be a first for you, Mario,” I said, smirking as I walked back into the suite.

He gave me a confused look.

“Having three people cheering against the Penguins in your suite. It must be a first for you.”

He smiled finally understanding, “Yea, it’s definitely not the norm here.”

I smiled and sat down next to my mother and Sadie. I handed my Crosby sweater to my mom, “Can you please put that in your bag?”

“Yea,” she gently placed in the bag like it would tear if she was too rough with it. “You excited? You haven’t seen Dustin play in over a year.”

I nodded, “I’m definitely excited.” I could feel my last name burn into my back. I smiled at the thought. My brother finally reached his dream. He wasn’t completely there but this was one step closer.

The lights then dimmed low and the teams flooded on the ice. With my mom beside me, I was more confident in my cheering. When Dusty’s feet hit the ice, we screeched together, gaining a lot of attention for every suite close to us.

“I’m moving. I can’t be seen with the enemy,” Sadie said, playfully. She moved regardlessly.

“Whatever, I didn’t want you sitting next to me anyway,” I answered.

*****

In the beginning, the thought never crossed my mind that Sidney was playing against my brother. It only crossed my mind after 10 minutes of play, when I saw Sidney’s number rush down the ice towards my brother.

“Don’t know who to cheer for?” Sadie asked, looking at me. She must have seen my face.

I just looked at her but didn’t answer. I returned my gaze back to the ice as Sidney got closer to Dusty.

“Come on, come on,” I muttered. I still didn’t know who exactly I was rooting for in this showdown. My mother grabbed my hand instinctively.

Sidney took the shot. I held my breath.

Much to the Pens' dismay, the rookie net minder made the save, knocking the puck to his right side with his stick. He instinctively backed into the net’s opening, making himself bigger just in case there was a rebound.

“Good save!” I shouted. My mom patted my leg, releasing my hand from her death grip.

“You really want to get yourself killed, don’t you?” Sadie said, smirking at me. “Rooting for the rival on home ice.”

“Shut up, Granger!” I said, playfully.

She just laughed at me, “You don’t scare me, Thompson!”

The game continued on. A couple times, the Pens tried to score against my brother but he kept blocking them. He really was an excellent goalie. I was just surprised he was able to keep up with the fast pace of the puck.

It was late in the third, when Nicklas Backstrom scored against Thomas Greiss in the scoreless game. My parents were cheering on their feet but I took the more casual root of smiling in my seat.

“They’ll come back,” Sadie taunted me.

I just looked at her, “Don’t get me started, Granger.”

She just laughed at my use of her last name, “You still don’t scare me, Thompson.”

The next five minutes, my nerves were on edges and on the verge of killing me. Every time a Penguin got close to the goal, my mind would freak out. But my brother never let me down.

“WE WON! HE WON!” my mom shouted. I jumped up and hugged her as the clock counted down to zero.

“He’s good,” Vero said, referring to Dusty’s goaltending skills.

“Trust me, he knows it too,” I said, smirking. “Cocky little bastard will let it get to his head.”

“You are so loving,” Sadie said, laughing at my response.

I laughed a little with her.

“We’re heading down to the locker room,” my dad said. “Are you joining us?”

I nodded, “I just need to do something real quick and I’ll be over.”

My parents nodded and headed out the door, glowing with happiness that their son had won on his NHL debut.

“You going to see Sidney?” Sadie asked as we walked down towards the locker rooms.

I nodded, “He wanted to see me after the game. With my brother being here, it shakes things up a little bit. Especially if Sidney has something planned.”

“What? You're going to ditch Sidney?”

I sighed knowing I would get this reaction out of Sadie. "My family won't leave me like he could.”

Sadie rubbed my shoulder, gently. “He won’t leave you.”

I ignored her as we walked into the Penguins locker room. The room tensed we when walked in but I ignored it. I know was wearing a Caps sweater but they didn’t know the story behind it.

“I believe you are in the wrong room, miss,” someone said, eventually.

“No, I believe I’m in the right one,” I answered, confidently.

Before anyone could answer be back, Sidney walked out in his UnderArmor again. His eyes widened a little at my sweater, “What the hell is that?”

I smirked, “It’s a hockey sweater.”

“But it’s a Capitals sweater!” He said, frowning. “Where’s mine?”

“I originally was wearing it but something happened. I thought that maybe I should wearing this one instead,” I said, smiling a little.

He looked down trodden.

I looked up at him. “It’s not Ovechkin’s or Backstrom’s.”

“Then who's jersey?” he asked, glancing at the sleeves for the number. He probably wasn’t even paying attention to get my brother’s sweater number while he tried to score on him all those times during the game.

I turned around, quickly, revealing my last name on the back. When I looked over my shoulder at him, he looked relieved. “It’s Dusty’s.”

“Thank God!” Sidney said, a little relieved. “You want to hang out with him tonight?”

“And my parents. They showed up, too, apparently.”

“Hey, Sid, hurry up!” Max poked his head out the locker room door. He then spotted me and frowned, “And you were so beautiful.”

“Shut up, Max,” both me and Sidney said together, giving him a look.

“Continuing on what I was saying, you’re more than welcome to join,” I said. I quickly added. “You don’t have to, it won’t break my heart at all.”

Sidney was quiet for a few seconds, thinking about his answer, “Is it okay if I pass?”

“Yes!" I said, smiling to reassure him. "If I wasn't okay with it, I would have never told you didn't have to."

He smiled back and kissed me sweetly, “I’ll text you tonight.”

I nodded before pecking him lightly on the lips.

I was pulled out of my thoughts of his cute butt by Sadie. “What was that?” She pulled my shoulder a little so that I was facing her.

“What?” I asked, casually as I started heading out of the Penguins’ lounge room.

“The PDA!” She continued shouting as she followed me out into the hallway.

I rolled my eyes at the scene she was creating. “It was show of mutual likeness between boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“WHAT?” she screeched. It echoed loudly against the walls and low ceiling.

“You heard me.”

“When did this happen?” she asked, loudly.

“Last night,” I said, trying to play it off like it wasn't a big deal. I really didn’t want to share the details of the amazing date. That was something that Sidney and I shared. I wanted to keep it that.

“Why wasn’t I aware of this?”

“I was going to tell you... Eventually,” I said as I followed the hallway down to the visitor’s side.

“Sure, you were! You were going to leave me in the dark!” Said complained.

“DRU!” my brother’s voice echoed down the hall. I thanked the Lord that he shouted my name when he did.

I broke out in a run when I finally saw him. I jumped on him, hugging him tightly. I haven’t seen him since the previous summer. I missed him so much. I shoved my face into his shoulder, trying to hide the joyful tears that were trickling down my face.

“I missed you too, Dru.”
♠ ♠ ♠
I swear I didn't forgot about you guys! Life has just caught up with me. Just FYI: I would never, ever, EVER wear a Caps jersey sweater. I swear. I only did it for Dru because of her ties to the team. Don't hate me for it!

Thank you to Thatmom and WhitneyGenevieve for commenting. I love when people comment, by the way!

In hockey news, I don't want to talk about the Capitals game. But the Devils game tonight, that was beautiful!