Storm Before The Calm

Olivia had never been crazy about crowds. She hated pinning her arms to her sides and slinking in between the herd of strangers crowded around her. She had never appreciated the unwanted contact that she got in congested areas and of course the red carpet was the last place that would get her away from that. Fortunately, she and Allyson had shown up before the massive swarm of people devoured the parking lot of the RBC Center.

"Let's just snag a spot over here," Allyson explained. Olive nodded in agreement and the two teenagers walked to a spot near the photograph wall. There they would have ample time to stop players before they made their way to the photographers and every player would be sure to see them. They watched as the mascots came onto the red carpet and tried to entertain the fans.

"I'm nervous," Ally admitted.

"Why?" Olive asked her, and looked up with a confused expression on her face. This broke Olive from scanning the crowd. She watched the mascots dart around and try to entertain fans who were bubbling with anticipation for their favorite players. She knew that Olive was talking about Mike. Olive felt like she was a mascot at the moment. On the outside, she was pretending like she was smiling and forever happy, but on the inside, she was just a sweaty teenager, unhappy and self-conscious. She really cared about her friend, much like mascots care about the fans, but at some point, the mascot just wants to take off its costume and go back to its own life.

"I don't know. I'm just now thinking about what will happen after this weekend is over,”Allyson mumbled as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She glanced up at Olive and sighed. Olive could tell she was uncomfortable. Ally gnawed at her lip like corn on the cob. “What's gonna happen to Mike and I?"

Olive thought about it for a second. She wanted to be completely realistic, but she didn’t want to break her heart. Mike adored Ally and she could tell, but Ally was still in high school, let alone in North Carolina. Mike played professional hockey for a team hours away from her. The distance between them wasn’t the only obstacle. Ally had dated a handful of guys, but none over the age of twenty. The others definitely didn’t have the pressure of a fanbase, a coach, a team, and other women. However, Ally wasn’t the jealous type. She could command attention at the drop of a pin. She was independent and she spoke her mind. Olive was fairly certain that Ally could handle all of those influences.

"Well, do you like him?" Olive asked her best friend. Without hesitating, she nodded. This confirmation helped Olive. She knew that Ally would work as hard as she could to make the relationship last. "Then you'll work something out. D.C. isn't all that far. Maybe you can go to college near there." Olive always had a lot of hope for her friend. Though outspoken, she was very bright. However, she was worried. The Capitals were the closest team to North Carolina, besides the Thrashers, but it was far enough away for it to be a hassle. It could be manageable, and if they lasted, Ally could always go to a college close to D.C.

"Thanks. I guess I've just been a little uneasy about the whole idea." Ally admitted, picking at her dead ends. Ally wasn’t a very self-conscious person, but Olive saw that she was worried.

"You'll be fine. And I know for a fact Mike will try his damn best to keep you around." Olive replied. That brightened up her friend’s face."I'm okay with you together, as long as Ovi doesn't try to hit on me again." Ally laughed.

The two chatted for a while about nothing in particular. Ally’s phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her pocket. She fumbled to turn it on, her nerves getting the better of her, as she almost dropped it twice.

"We're here," she read out loud, after laughing at her clumsiness. The text was no doubt from Mike. Olive could tell by smirk on her face. Seconds later, Olive's phone rang. She jumped to answer it as well, hoping it was from Jeff.

"Here. Where are you?" Olive read aloud the text. Sure enough, it was from her favorite rookie.
"Pretty much directly across from the photograph wall." she texted back, trying to hide the excitement on her face.
"k. Which jersey did you pick?" he replied, quickly.
"You'll see ;)" Olive responded flirtatiously.

The players all loaded onto the carpet and one by one, Olive's jerseys were filled with autographs. Ally had Cam's jersey, because she refused to hold Fleury's.

"I wish my sugar daddy would buy me stuff like this. He spent like three hundred dollars on you, just on jerseys. I can't even imagine how much the seats were." Ally stated.

Olive had never really thought about how much he spent on her. She knew it was a lot, but she didn't actually think about it. She got a fluttery feeling in her stomach that made her feel extremely uneasy. She felt like he was trying to buy her friendship and she couldn't help but feel like a puck bunny, minus the actual sex. She liked Jeff a lot and she wished that he would feel the same way. She looked out onto the carpet to pull herself away from her negative thoughts.

"Hey, there's Mike." Olive pointed out. Ally's head snapped up and her face lit up.

"Mike! Mike!" they yelled along with the crowd. Their voice were lost in a sea of desperate fans, begging for attention.

"What's something we can yell that he will recognize?" Olive suggested. Ally thought for a second, and then chuckled.

"Mike Green. Two minutes for hooking!" she screamed, to the top of her lungs. His head popped in their direction and his face flushed bright red. He came charging towards the two girls.

"What does that..." Olive trailed off.

"He's got a bit of a..." Ally said, her finger up. She clicked her tongue and hooked her finger like a pirate's hook.

"OH MY GOD, ALLY. EW." Olive replied, slapping her friend's hand down. As much as she liked Mike, as a friend, she really didn't want to know about the shape of his penis.

"Hey, Ally." he mumbled through gritted teeth, signing their jerseys. She tried to muffle a giggle, but to no avail.

"I want to give you a hug, but everyone is staring."

"Fuck 'em." he said, reaching over the barrier to give her a hug. Fans around them were screaming, requesting hugs left and right. Olive couldn’t help but sit back and watch the couple in front of her. They really were cute together. "Well, I have to go. See you at the Skills?"

"You got it, stud." Ally said.

"See ya, Green." Olive added. He saluted and walked to get his picture taken. The two were approached by each player that was participating, except one.

"Where the hell is Skinner?" Ally asked after a while. Olive tried not to care, but the mention of his name sent flutters through her stomach.

"I think he may have already passed by." Olive said. She tried not to sound disappointed, but she was sure that her expression was displayed on her face. He had promised to see her on the red carpet and he seemed interested in enough to bring it up multiple times, but Jeff was an anomaly to Olive. He seemed to like her one minute, and then ran away the next.

"I'll beat his ass if he passed by." Ally replied. Olive laughed, when she actually just wanted to run away. She didn’t know how much longer she could pretend that she only liked Jeff as a friend. Just then, the crowd erupted into high pitched screams and squeals.

“There’s Prince Charming.” Ally smiled. Olive looked around saw Jeff, grinning as big as he could. His dimples made all the girls, including Olive and Ally scream his name. After a quick interview by Roenick behind the wall, he appeared to give autographs. He seemed to be looking for something. Olive hoped it was for her, so she gave a loud wolf call that snapped his head her direction. The crowd behind him booed and wailed to the top of their lungs when they saw him walk away from them. He hustled right over to his blonde friend, who’s face reflected his. Olive was so proud of him. He may have been famous when she met him, but she couldn't help but feel proud in everything he accomplished at such a young age.

"Hey." he greeted, breathless.

"Hey." Olive replied. In that moment, time stopped. Olive and Jeff just stared at each other, and nothing else mattered. Olive ignored the pushes she was receiving from jealous fans, Jeff ignored the calls for his presence, and they just took a deep breath. Olive wished she could reach out and kiss him, but she wasn't sure how much more rejection she could take. Her head told her not to try anything, but her heart told her otherwise. She just wanted him, not as a friend, but he was completely clueless. He frowned down at the jersey she was holding, noticing it was the Fleury jersey.

"I haven't decided yet." she promised, gesturing towards the Cam jersey. He swiftly signed both of them.

"Make the right decision." he advised, winking and then walking to get his picture taken.

I want to make the right decision, Olive thought. but all I can think about is you.

Once the red carpet ended, Olive sat with Ally in her car. They were touching up their makeup and eating barbecue from a nearby stand. Olive desperately wanted her friend's opinion on her relationship with Jeff.

"So, Al...” She waited for her friend to say something, anything.

"He likes you." Allyson looked at her seriously. A simple glance did nothing to help her feel any better.

"Well, I know he likes me, but I like him more-" Her friend cut her off before she could finish her thought.

"No, I mean, I think he wants to put his penis in your vagina." Ally said bluntly, licking hot sauce from her fingers. Olive spat out the sweet tea, in shock. Once she composed herself, she turned to her friend.

"Then why does he continue to pull away?" She grabbed some napkins to clean up the mess that she just made.

"Why does anybody pull away?" Ally replied. "They are scared or nervous. I think Skinner is just scared."

"But I don't want him to be and I don't know what I can do to make him feel more comfortable!" Olive whined. "Stop trying to attack him." Ally suggested frankly. Her heart sunk a couple inches and she looked down. That hit Olive hard.

"I'm sorry. That was kinda mean, but I'm gonna be completely honest with you, O. You move way too fast.” Ally stated. She put her hand on her friend’s knee. Olive looked up at her, her face falling. She knew it was true. “You fall head over heels for a guy and then you realize how close you are getting and bail. Maybe Skinner is realizing how quickly you guys are moving and bailing for you."

"Well, that's coming from the girl who slept with a player directly after meeting him." Olive snapped. As soon as the words left her lips, she immediately regretted them. She wished she could grab them out of the air and shove them back into her mouth. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay." Ally promised. "I just really... I really like him. And I freaked out and slept with him, I know. I just got so wrapped up in everything. I mean, have you seen his arms?" Ally paused to laugh. "I think it's because he's older than me and there are so many other girls he could be with... I wanted him to choose me." Olive looked at her best friend.

Her eyes were bright and she had a sly grin on her face. Olive never really believed in love at first sight, but she definitely did now. She was jealous of the way Mike looked at Allyson and she wanted what they had. She wanted to have inside jokes. She wanted to hug him in public. She wanted to love Jeff Skinner.

"Holy crap... these are great seats." Ally whispered as they walked to their section. Their jaws dropped and they tried not to freak out. The two were hockey fans, through and through. No matter how many connections, how many relationships, and how many conversations they shared with hockey players, they would always love the sport, down the the core. They were hockey fans and nothing could ever shake them from that.

"Yeah." Olive muttered, as quiet as a breath. She wasn’t even sure if her best friend could hear her, but as the music blared in the RBC, she really didn’t even care. She stared at the ice that Jeff and she had skated on and looked at the patch where they shared a kiss.

"No like-" Allyson’s eyes were wide as she looked down at the ice. Olive didn’t even want to look at it anymore. It hurt her heart to see the empty spot on the ice that reflected the empty place in her heart. She began to wonder if she could really deal with still being friends with Jeff.

"Yeah. I know." Olive cut off, walking down the stairs. The further they went, the more Olive thought that they had misread the tickets. They were front row, right behind the home bench. Olive had no idea how Jeff even got the tickets, but once they sat down, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.