Crazy Girl

After getting through practically the most awkward hour of my life, I felt utterly drained. It was exhausting constantly shooting Crosby death glares. But he deserved it. After all, he had been a dick to me just for trying to be nice to him. The rest of my shift flew by after Crosby left.

"Hey, Elliot, time to get outta here," Alli said as she walked by me. "Need a ride?"

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind. I need to get to Consol to meet up with my boss. He'll kill me if I'm late and it takes a while on the bus."

"No problem, let's get going."

The ride was fairly silent, both of us feeling slightly awkward considering the day's events. I was still bitter she had saddled me with Crosby and crew and she was still not seeing what she did wrong. I could tell by her scowl that she was being stubborn.

"Look, sorry I blew up at you for giving me their table. I was just... I felt kind of betrayed after I told you how much of a jerk he had been to me," I said quietly. She glanced over at me.

"I only did that because... look, Elliot, I'm 34 years old, I have no money, no man, and seem to be missing a college degree that could get me a decent job. I see me in you and I don't want you to turn out like I did. You're 24, babe. You have your whole future ahead of you. You need to see that taking a chance on things isn't always bad. Sometimes it can turn out to be a really, really good thing."

We pulled up to Consol and we sat there, silence consuming us as I took in her words and advice. I swallowed. I knew all this, I just hated facing the truth.

"Thanks, Alli. I... well, I really appreciate your concern," I said, choking up a bit. "It's hard, sometimes, living here all alone. But I'm glad I have you. I know I can be better, I know I can do bigger things. Sometimes, though, it just doesn't seem like it's worth the effort. I don’t know. Failure is my biggest fear, and I guess I just have a hard time putting myself out there."

She gave me a small smile and I knew nothing else would be said. We had a strange relationship, Alli and I, but somehow we worked. I got out of the car and gave a wave before walking into the arena. It was fairly dark in the building as I walked to my boss’ office and knocked on his door.

"Come in," a pleasant voice drifted out. My eyes narrowed. That sure as hell wasn't my boss' voice. I opened the door nonetheless and almost choked at what I saw.

I had just mistakenly walked into Dan Bylsma's office. Who, coincidentally, was having a meeting with none other than Sidney Crosby. I had to physically stop myself from screaming in frustration. Sidney looked absolutely terrified when he saw my face as well, which did nothing to make matters better for me. He jumped up from his chair and backed into Bylsma's desk slightly.

"You... Fuck! Why are you following me?" he practically screamed. Bylsma gave him a strange look.

"I... I'm not. Shit. I mean, shoot," I corrected myself with a quick glance at Bylsma's unimpressed expression. "Seriously, I'm not following you. I just... ugh."

"Anyone want to explain to me?" Bylsma broke in. Sidney glared at me.

"This... this... crazy girl has been following me for the past 3 days!" he sputtered. I wrinkled my nose at being called crazy.

Bylsma turned his intense gaze to me. I gulped under it. He stared hard for a minute, eyes narrowed. And then, all in one second, he was laughing.

"Oh, Sid, you look absolutely terrified of this innocent little girl!"

Sidney looked like he was about to protest, his perfect pink lips pursed in annoyance, when the door opened and my boss walked in. He looked from me to Sid to Bylsma and then groaned.

"Oh Christ, Elliot, what the hell have you done now?" he asked gruffly. Bylsma smiled diplomatically.

"Nothing to worry about Barry, just a little misunderstanding." Bylsma attempted to brush it off. The boss was having none of it.

"No need to protect the girl, she's a rook, easy to fire," my boss said matter-of-factly. I swallowed quickly. Bylsma looked lost for words.

"Look, you don't need to do that," Sidney said hastily, looking sort of ashamed. I almost scowled, thinking to myself that he should feel ashamed, but I figured he was saving my ass so I shouldn't.

And just like that. A few little words from Sidney Crosby and my boss blinked and smiled so wide it looked like it hurt, simply brushing off the fact that a few seconds ago he was about to fire me. He even smiled at me. And, if the few seconds before weren't a hint, he hates me.

"Let's go, Elliot. Lots to do, so little time," he said cheerfully. I rolled my eyes as he turned around and walked away, whistling some tune I'd never heard before. Wow.

"Thanks for that," I said begrudgingly to Crosby. He... oh my god, he blushed. Then he coughed, rubbing the back of his neck seemingly out of habit. I hid a smile at the cuteness.

"No problem. Figured I owed you for the shitty way I treated you the other day. I was a jerk," he said, almost in a whisper. I half-smiled in response.

"Oh, now I get it," Bylsma suddenly said, a secret smile on his face. I was startled, forgetting he was in the room. Sidney blushed even further. I smiled fully now.

"Well, I have to go meet with the boss, so... since we've cleared up the whole 'crazy girl stalking you' thing, maybe the coincidences will stop. So I guess I should say hope to not see you soon?"

He let out a small sort of giggle thing. I gave him a strange look and walked out of the room.



"So, this girl, you're interested?" Bylsma asked with a smile as Elliot (yes, he now knew her name) had left. Sidney just laughed.

"Sorry coach, but you only control the hockey part of my life, not the rest," Sidney joked. Bylsma laughed, a twinkle in his eye.

"Ah, and here I thought hockey was your life! There's so much I don't know about you, kid."

"Ha ha, very funny! So, what did you call me in here to talk about in the first place?"

Bylsma looked serious now. He clasped his hands together and placed them in the desk in front of him. He sighed, fixing Sidney with his piercing eyes.

"Sid, I'm just gonna be straight with you. I know you're feeling the pressure with the 6 game losing streak and I know this new rumor that just broke hasn't left you feeling any better about the team, but I want you to know that we've never left your side and we never will. I know the guys have told you this and that you're skeptical, but maybe me telling you with get the point across."

Sidney suddenly found the gold carpet very interesting. He hated this sort of confrontation- especially with his coach and concerning his whining. He cracked his knuckles, a nervous habit.

"You're right. I'm sorry, coach. The pressure has been getting to me and I'm sorry that I lashed out at the guys. I would never believe a rumor like that, don't worry," Sidney supplied, but in the back of his mind that 'C' with the big, fat X through it still lingered. Bylsma automatically looked appeased, unclasping his hands and giving a smile.

"Well, glad that's settled," Bylsma said happily, then smirked. "You know, if you leave now, I bet you'll be able to catch her outside."

With a wink from his coach, Sidney, rather flustered, left and made his way to the parking garage. In the big, empty building, he could clearly hear the footsteps behind him.

"Hey! Wait up!" he heard her voice call out. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. She gave him a smile. He looked at her for moment and decided he hadn't noticed through all the crazy, but she was sort of pretty.

"Hey. So, Elliot, right?" he clarified. She nodded.

"That's the name. And I don't even have to ask yours, Captain." She teased. But the term just caused Sidney’s stomach to turn. Was he even Captain anymore? She seemed to notice his discomfort and changed the subject. "Look, I just wanted to thank you again for saving my job. As you could see, I'm clearly not very valued here, but I need the job and I couldn't afford to lose it so thanks. I mean, I know-"

"You know you're starting to sound crazy again, right?" Sidney interrupted. She gave a sheepish grin.

"Oops. It's something I'm trying to work on," she laughed. He smiled kindly.

"We all have our quirks I guess," he said. She laughed slightly.

"I guess we do," she agreed, and then let out a sigh and stopped walking. Sidney did too. "Well, I've got to go out front and catch the bus. Thanks again, you know, for saving me."

Sidney was having an internal debate, wondering whether he should offer her a ride. But, he really didn't know her, did he? But, then again, wasn't it rude not to? And he had been his fair share of rude to her already. He noticed she had started walking away. He panicked.

"Wait!" he shouted. She turned around, confused. He blushed. "Uh, I could give you a ride, if you want."

She smiled. "Oh, I couldn't possibly. Besides, I take the bus all the time, I'm used to it. Thanks though."

"You really think I'm going to let a beautiful girl go out and take the bus alone in the dead of night?" he said more firmly, smirking. "Nope. You're coming with me, crazy girl."

The insult now acted as a sort of teasing nickname and Sidney was almost pleased to see that Elliot was blushing a little. She awkwardly shuffled toward Sidney and they kept walking to the garage. The silence was uncomfortable, but Sidney had no idea what to say. Neither did Elliot, it seemed.

"Hey, Sidney?" Elliot finally broke the silence. He smiled, deciding he liked the way she said his name.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted you to know, I think you're a good guy. I had my doubts for a while and I realize it's sort of weird that now we're suddenly, well... er, acquaintances, but I want to apologize for ever thinking badly of you. After all, I should've known you were everything the people of Pittsburgh raved about," she said, carefully not looking at him. He glanced at her profile as he walked beside her.

"Huh. Well, thanks," he said simply. And, both wearing matching, goofy smiles, they got into Sidney's truck and drove Elliot home. The ride was filled with small talk, mostly Elliot asking questions about what it was like being so famous and recognized and Sidney cracking bad jokes that Elliot laughed politely for.



They were friends. And both still felt a little wary of the term. But, somehow, in the dark of night, driving through Pittsburgh in Sidney Crosby's truck, that's what they became. And from there, well, that's where things got complicated. Or, I guess I should say, more complicated.