Fantasy World

The only sound filling the car was the soft hum of the tires on the road. The sun felt too bright and cheery for the middle of February, but that didn't stop it. There was a lack of anything in the car. No emotions, no tension, no happiness. Simply emptiness.

Maci stared out the window at the passing city. All the smiling faces that she passed seemed like a movie. None of it seemed real. How could anybody be so happy on a day like this?

Steven kept his eyes trained strictly on the road. No matter how bad he wanted to sneak a glance at the girl besides him, he refused to let himself. He could tell just by how she slumped towards the window that she wanted to get to her dorm and curl up on her bed.

Every piece of him regretted everything he'd done. No matter how badly he had ever wanted to be with her in any way what so ever, he couldn't bring himself to even feel the slightest bit happy. He'd made her feel worse and that was enough to make him want to drive his car into the approaching building.

"So, did you score yesterday?" Maci whispered out.

His eyes betrayed his wishes as they flickered over to her sad face. She was still facing outside. "Yeah... In the third period," he told her.

She smiled a little bit. "Do I get the puck from that birthday present?" she asked jokingly. She didn't expect him to have kept the puck at all. She hadn't even expected him to score a goal like he'd said he would earlier that day.

"They're in the backseat if you want them," he told her with a smirk.

She looked at him with a confused expression. "They?" she questioned before turning arond. Her eyes landed on the three black pucks sitting on the seat of his car. Her small hand slowly reached back to pick them up one by one. She read the tape that was placed on the side of each one. "Good God, these aren't even two minutes apart," she remarked in surprise.

He smirked, feeling his previous pride from the goals come back. "Yup. Fastest hat trick I've ever gotten," he told her.

She laughed softly and shook her head. "Well, thank you for that birthday gift. It's very sweet of you," she said.

He held in the surprise he felt when her lips ghosted over his cheek. "You're most welcome," he mumbled back. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her smiling down at the pucks. He'd never felt quite as accomplished as he did just then.

"How many goals does that put you at now?" she asked curiously.

He thought about it for a moment, trying to remember the exact number. He knew he was getting close to his second highest amount of goals. "About 41," he answered finally.

She grinned over at him. "Think you can make fifty with another whole month left?" she teased.

He let out a laugh. "I don't think so. I think last night's game took up all my luck," he replied.

She sighed dramatically. "So sad... It would have been so amazing to see you beat your highest record so far," she said.

He shrugged his shoulders as he pulled up to her dorm and parked. "Oh well. Guess they'll just have to trade me to Edmonton or one of the California teams or maybe even Toronto," he teased.

She gave him a fake glare. "Shut up. You're staying in town," she told him. It wasn't a statement, but an instruction. He wasn't allowed to leave the Tampa Bay Lightning.

He laughed. "I don't think you have to worry about that," he assured her.

She gave him another smile. "Good. I'll need someone here to get me through getting my masters," she said. She unbuckled her seat belt and turned to pull him into a hug.

He quickly wrapped his arms back around her, not wanting to waste the chance to hold her close. She smelled like him. "You're staying here to get your masters then?" he asked.

"Yeah, looks like it. I just have to check on my scholarships and all that to be sure, but it's looking like I will be," she answered before pulling back. Her fingers lightly brushed against the soft fuzz at the back of his neck.

He grinned at her. "Good."

Maci rested her hand on the door handle. "Thank you, Steven," she mumbled as she stared him in the eye.

He nodded his head even though he felt like he'd only made things worse for her. "No problem."

She looked down at the pucks before smiling widely. "I'll see you later," she told him after finally opening her door.

"Just give me a call, baby Steven," he told her. He felt better knowing that she didn't just want him completely out of her life after everything. She was a sweet girl, though. She didn't get rid of her friends for one stupid reason. She pushed through everything to keep a friendship alive.

"Will do, big Steven. Bye."

He lifted his hand in a small wave. "Bye."

She gave him one final smile before closing the car door. He pulled away from the curb and drove off, catching the eye of a few students walking on the sidewalk.

Maci watched his car disappear. With him now gone, she felt the weight on her shoulders press down harder. Her mood dropped considerably.

With a sigh, she headed to her room. People ignored the small girl as they milled around and joked with their friends. A few people smiled or said hello, to which she responded like she normally would.

She felt like every person was staring her down, though. She felt like her forehead was labeled in bright red letters, screaming out her new secret to everyone in the building. As she turned down her hallway, she quickly noticed the bouquets of roses massed around one of the doors. She swallowed hard as she neared her door and the flowers.

"Please no," she whispered to herself.

But when she stopped in front of her room, she stopped in front of the flowers. They were all leaning against her door.

In a suddeny burst of anger, she kicked them aside. All of them. There had to be at least eight dozen roses there, but she didn't care. When they were finally all scattered away from her room, she entered it. A taunting bouquet stared at her from her bed.

She gripped the flowers and turned around to chuck them at the wall of the hallway. The flowers fell to the ground, falling out of the plastic wrapping around them. Maci shut her door harshly before sitting on her bed. She studied the rubber pucks that were still in her hand. Her finger stroked the rough edge followed by the smooth surface. She traced each indent and chip before running her finger along Steven's name, scribbled on the white tape.

"Holy shit, it's like some prima ballerina threw a fit in the hallway," Corey stated as she entered her dorm room. She watched her room mate lay on her bed, staring at three pucks. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

Maci glanced up at her roommate. "Nothing," she answered.

Corey shrugged and dropped down onto her own bed. "Did you see what happened in the hallway? It's such a mess," she told the brunette with a laugh.

Maci forced a small smile. "Yeah?"

Corey stared at her accusingly. "Those were all for you, weren't they?" Maci's eyes fell back to the pucks. "What happened? Kyle a dick last night?"

Maci inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. "We broke up," she blurted out.

Corey gaped at her. "You're kidding, right? You two have been together since you were like born, weren't you? What went wrong?"

Maci ran her finger over the rough tape again. "He wanted to take it to the next level or break up. I wasn't comfortable with going to the next level with him, so we broke up," she muttered. The more she thought about it, she was a little mad.

He'd known her feelings about everything. He'd known how she felt on the situation. How could he suddenly just not care anymore? Obviously he regretted it or felt bad, seeing as there'd been dozens of roses all over. Maybe if he had reacted that way and even thought to give them an ultimatum, he wasn't as perfect as she'd once thought he was. Maybe they weren't actually meant to end up together.

"That's fucking stupid! He'd make it come down to that? He's such a bastard!" Corey yelled out. Her eyes fell to the pucks that Maci was toying with. She took a second to form her question. "And... Where are those from?"

Maci shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to explain.

Corey stared at her, not planning on backing down any time soon. Maci finally let out a sigh. "From the Bolts' game last night," she finally answered.

"And whose goals?" Corey pressed with a smirk. She'd seen the game. Her family had all watched the game and nearly lost their shit when the hat trick had been scored.

Maci gave her a pointed look. "Why do you insist on asking these questions just to rub it in my face? We both know whose goals these are from."

Core grinned madly. "Gah! Why couldn't you have just dated Steven? You two would be so cute together! You're all petite and adorable while he's all big and sexy. You guys would be such a perfect couple!" she exclaimed as she fell back on her bunk. "Now that is one man I would not mind seeing naked one bit."

Maci automatically blushed. "Yeah..." she mumbled to herself. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, he did have one good looking body.

"Honestly, would you tap that if you got the chance? If he showed up right now at our door and told you that you could have your way with him for the rest of the day, what would you do?" Corey asked as she stared at the ceiling.

Maci's face turned the shade of a strawberry. What would she say to Steven if he offered a repeat of last night? "No. I'd tell him no," she quickly stated. Because there was no way she could do that to her best friend again. That broke so many of the best friend codes.

"Seriously? I'd bang him so hard that he can't play aga-"

"Can we not?" Maci finally asked, covering her face in her hands. She laid back against her pillow, leaving the pucks on her stomach.

Corey sat up to look at her room mate. She gave her a suspicious look before gasping. "You fucked him last night!"