Crazy Girl

Emily was the type of person who never took no for an answer. She was one of those peppy, nice to a fault bitches that you have the constant urge to slap- hard. To some, they may have been endearing qualities. To me... well, let's just say I don't like her and leave it at that, hmm?

Sidney met Emily by chance. He had been on a jog when- get this, her cat latched onto his leg and clawed the damn thing up. Needless to say, Sidney swore like a sailor and tried to shake the demon creature off of him. And up ran a distressed Emily, hair blowing in the breeze and blah blah blah. I'm relaying this story as told to me by Sid, and clearly it is quite biased.

Anyway, they got to talking and the rest is history. Or, you could say the rest is in front of me. Yes, currently I am sitting on Sid’s couch with DJ, shooting him and stupid fucking Emily resentful looks out of the corner of my eye.

"Do you even know what's going on in the movie?" DJ whispered in my ear, noticing my glances. I cracked a smile.

"To be honest, no." I stood up then. "I'm going to get more water."

I went to the kitchen and DJ followed me. I poured myself more water and gave my friend a helpless, pathetic look.

"Do you think I'm being stupid?" I asked quietly. DJ shook his head slowly, a thoughtful look on his face.

"I think you're being... I don't know. Not stupid, just... well, I hate to say it, but sort of crazy," he grimaced. I did as well, thinking back to when Sid kindly referred to me as crazy girl.

"How so?" I gritted out, trying to stay composed. DJ gave me a look.

"You're acting like he belongs to you and you guys just became friends. You're acting like he's doing this horrible thing, when really, the team has been trying to get him to get a girlfriend for, well, ever." He said, then gave me a sympathetic smile. "I don't want to be the bad guy here, Ell, but Sidney Crosby isn't yours to be jealous of and I realize you like him, but you're acting crazy. You're acting like a jealous ex-girlfriend."

I chewed on my lip, glaring at Dustin. I set my water down on the counter with a slam.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm done with this shit. How did I ever believe I could fit in with you people? Me! Some poor girl with two jobs and absolutely nothing to show for my 24 years of life," I shouted, now on a tangent. "I was wrong to ever think that you boys, with your talent and your good looks and your fame and fortune, would ever be able to understand me. I've just wasted my time here. I was better off alone!"

I stormed out of the kitchen, into the living room, where Sid and Emily sat staring at me in confusion, and right out the front door. I don't know why I was so mad. Possibility the fact that Dustin even tried to dissuade me from what I was feeling. And right then and there I decided that Alli had been right. I had so much left to give. And I wasn't going to waste it all away thinking about Sidney Crosby or any of those Penguins.

I drove myself to the place where it all started: Consol Energy Center. It felt normal and routine, walking into the building. I did it almost every day, after all. I walked to my office. Again, normal. I printed out my two week notice and slapped it down on my boss’ desk. Not normal.

And I walked back out of the building, holding in the tears, and remembering that Alli was right, I had to chase my dreams. And the journey has to start somewhere, right? And it began there, right where it all began.



Sidney stood up as the front door slammed. The house was silent. He was confused. He could feel Emily staring up at him, puzzled. All of a sudden, Dustin's shout shattered the silence.

"Fuck!"

Sidney strode into his kitchen to see Dustin leaning on the counter with his head in his hands looking utterly lost and annoyed. As Sid entered, his team mate looked up and groaned.

"She's a fucking nut," he managed to get out, before he too stomped out of Sidney's house. Sid sighed and walked back into the living room where Emily still sat, watching the movie.

"What in the world is going on?" she asked, barely tearing her eyes from the screen. Sidney smiled slightly.

"Elliot's known for being a bit... crazy," he said fondly.

Emily's head snapped up, her eyes narrowed. She didn't like the tone of voice Sid used to talk about Elliot. No, she didn't like it at all.

Sidney was still smiling to himself, not noticing the nasty look on his girlfriend's pretty face.



The two weeks went by in a blur. I tried my best to stay out of everyone's way. I put reports together instead of actually interviewing the players and I never set foot in the locker room. I was good. I avoided any Pens players like the plague.

Finally my last day came. I gathered the very few items I had into a box and carried it to my car, all set to leave this place and never look back. Of course, I'd have to find another job for the time being or I wouldn’t be able to afford my apartment. I opened the door to get into my car when someone shouted something that echoed through the parking garage; my name. My head snapped up.

"Elliot! Please, don't go!"

I had prepared myself for this. I had prepared for those puppy dog hazel eyes from Sid or those apologetic, guilty eyes from Dustin. But standing in front of me, blue eyes as earnest as I'd ever seen them, was Jordan Staal.

And I had not prepared for this.

"Elliot!" Jordan snapped after I didn't respond. I gave him a blank stare

"I'm leaving , Jordan. I'm sorry." And I was. I was truly sorry because they were amazing boys and I, by association, was amazing, for at least a few minutes of my messed up life.

"Why? Why the fuck do you have to leave?" his eyes were burning now. He was angry with me. I smiled at him, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"My 15 minutes are up, Staal."

"Don't be so cryptic, Ell. You're fucking staying, okay? Because we just got our Captain back and he's a god damn mess because the girl he loves is avoiding him."

"Did him and Emily get into a fight or something?" I cursed the hope in my voice. Jordan laughed.

"Jesus. And you say he's oblivious?!” he shook his head, then looked back down at me. "You're leaving. I know I can't order you not to. I know you won't listen to me. But you care about us. I know you do. You care about all of us. Especially Sidney. And maybe I'll never see you again. Maybe none of us will ever see you again, but shit, Elliot, you've got to try. You've just given up! You're fucking weak!"

I slapped him in the face, effectively cutting off his sure to be heartwarming speech. I pulled on his collar and brought him down so we were at eye level.

"I'm stronger than you or any of your team mates will ever be," I hissed, eyes narrow. I let go of his collar and got into my car, a carefully bland look on my face. I looked at Jordan one last time, trying, fruitlessly, to commit his face to memory. "And I deserve better than Sidney. I deserve so much better."

The tears were already falling before I even got out of the parking garage. I felt sick and broken and disgusting. I couldn't believe I had slapped Jordan. He hadn't looked too surprised when I did it though.

And as I merged onto the interstate, miles of road just lying ahead of me, I felt lost. The one steady thing I had been holding onto, had just been snatched out from under me.

And everything was my fault as the Jenga tower fell.