Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Charlotte had promised to meet Jon at the arena after practice so that they could go to lunch together. It was the first time he was going to be at the arena and see his teammates since he had proposed to Charlotte just two days earlier. When he told the select few about the news they reacted as he expected: happy and congratulatory. There was a particular person he didn't want to find out-- at least not yet-- and he would be lying if he said he hadn't gone out of his way to be discreet.

Jon smiled when Charlotte wrapped her arms around him when practice was over and he was ready to leave. He leaned down and kissed her and lightly pressed the tip of his nose against hers. "Hello beautiful," he cooed with the same goofy grin Charlotte always coaxed out of him.

"It isn't even right how much you make me smile," she gushed looking in his eyes with her hand perched gently on his cheek.

"Okay you two, break it up," Duncan Keith teased as he walked by and stopped in front of them as they pulled back from each other. "Congratulations," he said sweetly turning his attention to Charlotte.

Charlotte quickly flickered her eyes to Jon before looking at Duncan unable to contain her excitement. "Thank you!" she squealed and jumped in to give Duncs a hug. He let out a laugh as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I can't say I'm surprised but I am very happy for you-- and a little relieved. It took long enough, dammit. You have any idea how long this guy's had that ring?!"

Charlotte pulled back and leaned into Jon who snaked his arm around her waist. "The best things in life don't come easy, right?" he looked at Charlotte and gave a little shrug as she nodded her agreement.

"HEEEYYYY!" Patrick Sharp approached from down the hall and loudly yelled at the trio visibly excited for Jon and Charlotte. "Charlotte, congratulations! I'm so happy for you guys. Jon told us all about it-- I can't believe you didn't catch on to his ploy."

Charlotte's face flushed and Jon looked over at her beaming. "What can I say? He's always knocked me off my feet. He knows me too well-- he knows how to get me like that!"

Sharpy grabbed her hand and lifted it up delicately to get a look at the two and a half carat Princess-cut diamond that was perched in-between a baguette on either side of it in a skinny platinum band. "Wow, nice job Tazer. It's beautiful." He looked back up at Charlotte as he released her hand. "This guy has it bad for you, he must to get a ring like that."

Charlotte nuzzled tighter into Jon and smiled as she looked at Sharpy. "He's amazing Sharpy, c'mon. Even before we were dating. All those years we were friends...he's the best guy I've ever known."

Jon turned his head to give Charlotte a quick peck on the cheek and couldn't understand why the rest of the group had gone quiet. He looked at Sharpy and Duncan and saw that they were awkwardly looking behind him and Charlotte. Jon swallowed and turned his head to the side, immediately seeing Kaner walking slowly to where they were standing. It was clear he'd heard at least the last few things that were said and though he tried to hide it the look of hurt was visible on his face.

"I guess I was a pretty big dickhead huh?" he said self-deprecatingly as he came to a stop and looked at the four of them.

Charlotte didn't know what to say, she could only muster a sympathetic glance-- though she didn't know what she even had to feel sympathetic about. She had her hand resting on Jon's chest and tried to discreetly slide it in and under his jacket so that Patrick wouldn't notice but when his eyes flickered down and did a double take Charlotte knew the jig was up.

Patrick lunged out and grabbed Charlotte's left hand in his as he stared down at it in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he looked up at Charlotte and no sooner than he spoke did he feel her hand get ripped away from his.

Jon pushed her arm down and stood protectively between her and Kane. "I wasn't going to tell you."

"I have a right to know."

"I guess because we're supposed to be friends," Jon said condescendingly, "You do. I just didn't think you needed to know yet-- I didn't think you could handle it."

Patrick shook his head and angrily looked away from Jon putting his gaze entirely on Charlotte who was standing behind him. "You're gonna marry him?"

She nodded her answer and felt Jon's hand give hers a little supportive squeeze. "This shouldn't come as a surprise..." she said softly trying to be as kind as possible.

Pat pushed by Jon and stood inches away from Charlotte, his desperation on full display. "We were together over two years," he breathed out. "You weren't even wearing my ring that long ago and you're gonna marry him. Just like that. Because I meant nothing to you."

Charlotte's lip quivered as she looked at him and tried to figure out what to say. Jon went to push him back but Charlotte rested her hand on his chest and stopped him. She turned to Jon and mouthed 'it's okay' before nodding her head and turning her attention back to Pat.

"I'm trying to feel bad for hurting you here because I know you're already hurting," Charlotte said softly but held her own ground. As much as Pat hurt her she never wanted to put the dagger in his heart. "But every time I try and put myself in your position, I can't help but cringe as I remember the fact that you cheated on me-- frequently and for a long time. You got his girlfriend pregnant while I was wearing that ring," she blurted out as she pointed to Jon.

"What does that even matter at this point? Your heart was never really mine now was it."

Charlotte looked down at the ground and swallowed before looking back up at him. She could see Duncan and Sharpy take a few steps back unsure of what to do in such an awkward situation and she could see Jon out of the corner of her eye ready and waiting to step in. "Patrick," she said his name as it fell from her lips. "I don't really know how to answer that question. I already told you, numerous times...I was willing to be yours if I couldn't be his. I'd even put it behind me to some extent thinking I never would be...and at the end of the day you still couldn't be faithful."

Patrick shook his head again and pursed his lips. "It's hard to be faithful to a girl that's in love with your teammate."

"And it's hard to be friends with a teammate that intentionally went after the girl you love," Jon said unable to resist stepping in any longer. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were dead serious.

"Look," Charlotte said as she wiggled in-between the two of them. "What's happened is in the past. You and me," she looked at Patrick, "We're in the past. You have a baby on the way now and you need to find a way to stop hating Jon-- he didn't do anything wrong."

"Because I'm the asshole, right?" he assumed bitterly. "Because it was always him."

"You have your own baby mama to worry about," Jon interjected. "Remember? The girl you knocked up while you were engaged to Charlotte."

"And you wanna marry the girl I was with first? Touching what I already touched, kissing what I already kissed," Pat responded in attempt to get a rise out of Jon.

"Stop," Jon immediately shut him down. "This needs to stop. Don't go and cause trouble when things have been better between us all, well, at least a little. You have a girl, remember that. It isn't Char, maybe it never really was, but I know you don't mean what you're saying."

Pat looked down and squeezed his eyes shut, it was clear it was a sore spot for him. He took a deep breath in and looked up at the two of them. "You're right," he said sadly. "Congrats," he offered up begrudgingly as he turned to walk out of the arena. "Toews," Pat stopped again and turned around. Jon looked at him from down the hall and waited to hear what he wanted to say. "Don't take her for granted man." It was surprisingly genuine and mature and Jon pursed his lips and nodded his head.

Seeing Pat turn and walk away sulking, seemingly accepting the reality of the situation for the first time in a long time, Jon was willing to soften his position. "Hey," Jon called out as he relaxed his shoulders and a look of empathy came over his face. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely when Pat turned around to see what he wanted.

Pat held his gaze for a few seconds before giving a little nod. "Me too."

Jon took Charlotte's hand and pulled her to him. She immediately looked up at him and slid her hand up to his cheek, gently cradling it in her hand. "Is it wrong I still feel bad for him?"

Jon gave a faint smile before leaning in to give her a kiss. "No," he shook his head. "It's one of the things I've always loved about you-- your compassion."

Charlotte's lips curled up into a sweet smile and she leaned into Jon taking him in as he pressed his lips to her forehead. "Well," he said as he pulled back and the other guys came back over. "I think that went about as well as I expected it to."

"That was fucking brutal," Duncan spit out as he shook his head.

"Yeah I'm about ready to just get out of here," Jon answered as he took in a deep breath. He looked down at Charlotte. "You ready?"

She quickly nodded her head, "Yeah."

"I'll see you guys later for the game," Jon said his goodbye to Duncan and Sharpy.

"Congrats again guys," Sharpy offered up with a smile. "Char he'd been holding onto that thing so long, I'm glad he finally just asked. I seriously began to think he was going to self-combust."

Charlotte smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you. Bye guys," she said as she gave a little wave and let Jon lead her out.

"I have to ask you something I've been pondering the last two days."

"Okay," Jon said. "Shoot."

"If you've had this ring for as long as you said you have...why didn't you give it to me the night you asked me to go to Vegas?"

Jon smirked and Charlotte saw the redness overcome his cheeks. "That is a good question. Well, for starters. That night we were at your place and I didn't have it with me. Secondly, I had the whole elaborate plan already--that night was a spur of the moment thing. I meant every word and I would have hopped on the plane that night if you had said yes, but I had bigger plans for how I wanted to present this to you," he said as he lifted her hand and gave it a kiss. "Whether we had eloped or not I still would have made this special for you."

"Fair enough. I'm not complaining either way." Charlotte accepted his answer and happily nuzzled into him. "I have one more."

"And what's that?"

"Well," Charlotte swallowed before continuing. "What if...what if you never used it. What would you have done then...with it?"

Jon inhaled slowly and let out the air in a loud rush of breath. "I don't know. I don't really like to think about the alternative."

"Would you have given it to someone else down the line?"

"No," Jon answered quickly and adamently shook his head. "This was yours and if I never got to give it to you I would have probably hid it away in a drawer and looked at it sporadically, feeling pangs of misery that I never got to be with the girl I had loved my whole life. It never would have been given to anyone else. You've, uh, you've always brought out the unpredictability in me and this ring-- this purchase was no different."

"I still can't wrap my mind around it sometimes. You can have any girl-- and I mean anyone. Why would you pick me?"

"The first time we met I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. It's been over eight years and that opinion has never changed. I got to know you and your personality made you more and more beautiful. You're my best friend, I trust you and, well, you're hot. Say what you want but I hit the jackpot here."

"Really?" she was in awe of his response and her lips curled up giving away the fact that her heart was on display and fluttering about.

"Yeah, I mean, look...I'm obviously not the only one who thinks so. Still," Jon said in reference to Patrick.

"I don't get him," Charlotte confessed. "We were together a while and he didn't act this way and now that I'm with you it's the biggest deal in the world. I mean, I knew he wouldn't take it well but this is just...I don't know. Ridiculous. I thought he'd settle it down after he apologized for coming over that night when he was drunk."

"And he did," Jon immediately pointed out. "I just think us getting engaged opened up that wound again. As much as I want to hit him when he's around you, truth is I understand how he feels-- to see the girl you love with someone else. Though lets be honest he doesn't love you the way I always have...to him I still think it's partially the competition and he hates losing."

"I get it," Charlotte agreed knowing how it felt-- she had to endure longing for the man she loved as well.

"So to come to the realization he fucked it up and you're mine-- well, I can get why it's taking him so long to get over it. That on top of the fact he knocked up a girl he's stuck with now. It doesn't just go away overnight," Jon commented trying to be rational.

"But regardless of how much he screwed up....Jon...I would have been with you had you just said the word."

"I know that now, but I didn't then. So to him, he thinks if he was faithful you'd still be with him."

Charlotte nodded her head understanding what he was saying. "I just wanna see you two be back to where you were."

"Yeah," Jon said quietly. "Wouldn't that be nice."

***

It'd been a little over a month since Jon and Charlotte had gotten engaged. They'd had time to settle fully into a normal engaged life and gotten used to the fact they were in love and together all the time. There were no secrets anymore, they were simply happy. The playoffs were upon them with the end of the regular season coming to a close. Luckily Charlotte was able to go to the game, which was at home, and cheer Jon on with the rest of the crowd. He had become evermore focused and serious the faster the season winded down, and now that it was over and the playoffs were to begin she knew he would be how he was every other year-- only difference was she wasn't his all those other times, this year she was. She'd noticed that he had become a little distant as the end of the season approached but she knew it was due to the stress Jon felt going into the playoffs. He didn't want to lose and he needed to be focused. Even though his coldness bothered her a little, she'd never say anything to him. She supported him completely and wanted to be there as best she could.

She sat in the stands and thought back on the season-- how when it started she was with Patrick and would be at the arena for him-- and now she was with Jon and wearing his ring. She wondered if people, if the fans knew about their relationship status and she couldn't help wondering what they thought of her. They didn't know her, they wouldn't know that she wasn't a bed-hopping whore. They couldn't know how deeply she and Jon always cared for each other and how much she always loved him despite the fact she was committed to Patrick. It was so complicated...and it didn't need to be, all those years it could have been just her and him, but that was besides the point now. Her emotions began to get the best of her but when Jon looked up at her and smiled, much like he always had, she felt the butterflies in her stomach erupt and she felt the peace she'd only come to know since she was with Jon.

She was so proud of him, so happy that his dreams had come true over the years. She knew he was anxious-- he always was when the regular season ended and the playoffs started-- but she had a surprise for him. Charlotte wanted to do something sweet for Jon, something that would make him smile and show him how much she loved him. She'd been waiting a while to give it to him and couldn't stop thinking about how excited he would be later on when she finally gave it to him, but all her thoughts came to a pause when she watched him drop the gloves and take a few punches. She instantly popped up in her seat and felt her jaw drop as she watched him lose his cool. She hated when he got hit and hated it even more when he fought, and she could tell by the look on his face that he was pissed.

When the game was over Charlotte went down to meet Jon, but for the first time since they'd been together he didn't greet her. He didn't really seem to care about the fact that she was there. Even when he was angry after games he'd always be happy to see her, always light up when he saw her face, but tonight was strange territory for her. She coughed it up to him be so focused on his job, but it didn't sit well with her.

She looked to him, looked for something that would give her comfort but he didn't provide her with any. "Jon," she gave his hand a little tug and he finally turned to acknowledge her. "Hey," she said when he made eye contact with her. "I'm gonna get going. Do you want me to meet you at your place?"

Jon didn't say anything, he just gave a quick nod and she reached up to give him a quick kiss goodbye on the cheek. She pressed her lips to his skin and held the other side of his face delicately with her hand. "My gosh," she breathed out flabbergasted as she got a good look at his swollen eye. She reached up higher and gave it a kiss. "It looks bad baby," she said softly wanting to take care of him and brushing her fingers softly over his bruises.

"Uh huh," he pulled back seemingly agitated and brushed her off. "I'll see you later," was the last thing he said before he turned and went back to his locker. Charlotte stood there in shock for a few seconds and let out a breath as she watched him with a hint of sadness in her eyes. She gave a little shrug and turned to go, smiling to herself as she walked out knowing deep down she would cheer Jon up when he got home.

Charlotte stopped off at her place to grab some clothes and pick up what she wanted to give Jon. She couldn't wait to see him so when she walked through his door she had an extra pep in her step but it didn't take long to see that Jon was the exact opposite. He was sprawled out on the couch and barely reacted when he heard her come in the door.

"Hey baby," Charlotte said enthusiastically as she bent over the back of the couch to give him a kiss.

"Hey," he grunted.

She grabbed his face in her hands to get a good look at his eye. "Aw baby you're all swollen, are you okay? Can I get you anything?"

"No," he shook his face away from her grasp. "I'm fine thanks."

"Are you alright Jon?" Charlotte looked at him concerned feeling more uneasy with each passing second. "You're being..."

"What Char? What am I being?"

"Woah," she looked at him taken aback. "You're being weird. Not how you usually are with me, anyway." She turned and walked into the kitchen to put her things down and grab the brownies she'd picked up earlier in the day.

"I'm sorry," he answered genuinely sincere. "I'm just, I've got a lot on my mind."

"I can see that," Charlotte yelled from the kitchen. "I thought these might cheer you up," she said holding up the brownies knowing that he could see her from where she stood.

She went in the freezer and grabbed a frozen bag of ice that Jon had already prepped for bumps, bruises and swelling and with that and the bag of brownies in her hands walked in the living room and sat down on the couch beside him. "Here you go," she said as she raised her eyebrows and gave a smirk, handing over his brownie.

"Thanks," he said quietly as he took it and wolfed it down. When they had finished eating their guilty pleasure of choice Charlotte turned and showed him the ice pack. "Okay, I think you could use this. It'll make the swelling go down and maybe help prevent some bruising. Plus it'll just feel good. Let me get a good look," she took his chin between her fingers and turned it so she could examine his injury. She gently ran her fingers across his temple and down the side of his face before leaning in to give him a kiss on his swollen face. "Here," she pressed the ice to his face and felt him wince away. "Does it feel okay?"

"No," he pushed her hand away and looked at her annoyed. "It hurts, actually. Just leave it."

"Jon..." Charlotte pleaded with him. She knew what was really going on and why he was acting the way he was acting but she didn't want it to come between the two of them. "You know you're gonna be fine right? You guys are gonna play amazing like you always do. You go through this every year, win or lose you have lots to be proud of. Just have as much fun as you can--"

"Charlotte!" Jon said her name more assertive. She could tell by the way he squeezed his eyes shut and pursed his lips with nostrils flaring that he just wasn't in the mood to hear anything she had to say.

"I'll drop it," she said in attempt to curve his attitude. "Okay?"

Jon nodded and when he did she let out a breath and tried to soothe herself before turning back to him. "I have something for you." As she spoke she held up a card-- the envelope had his name written on it in her handwriting. "Open it," she begged excitedly. "Please." She extended it out and waiting for him to grab it but he didn't react quite as positively as she had expected.

"Thanks Char," Jon said as he took it from her hand and laid it to rest on the couch beside him.

"You don't...you don't wanna open it?" Char asked visibly hurt.

"Baby I appreciate the card, I just don't wanna read it now. I'll read it later."

"But--" Charlotte tried to insist but Jon didn't want to hear it.

"Char just...," he let out an annoyed sigh and put his fingers to his forehead. "I love you, but I'm just not in a good mood...maybe you should just spend the night at your place."

"You...you want me to go home? That's your solution?"

"I think it'd just be better for tonight."

"Okay so you don't wanna talk to me? What'd I do? I'm trying to do everything I can and you won't even open the--"

"Charlotte," he said her name losing patience. "I'm just asking for one night."

"And what about when we get married? Where are you gonna kick me out to then?" she asked as tears welled in her eyes and she got up off the couch. "Fine," she breathed out. "I'll talk to you later your majesty." She grabbed her stuff and went to walk out the door.

Jon felt his body relax and his shoulders drop the tension he had been carrying. "Char, wait," he called to her softly this time-- conviction had finally overcome him for how he had been acting. He could normally separate the parts of his life and never took anything out on Charlotte but he was overwhelmed with stress and he let it affect how he was treating her now. It was too late in this instance though, by the time he called for her she'd already left-- left because he had asked her to.

He dropped his head and ran his hand through his hair ashamed of how he'd been acting. All she wanted to do was be there for him, support him-- and she was being so sweet, but he pushed her away. He'd had his moments through the years where he acted like a douche for no reason-- he let hockey rule his life and affect his mood at home-- and now was one of those times. He let out a sigh and continued to rub his fingers into his forehead. He opened his eyes and looked at the card sitting beside him. 'All she wanted me to do was open the damn thing and I kicked her out,' he said to himself under his breath. He picked it up and slowly opened it, pulling the card out of the envelope. When he opened it he saw two tickets to Hawaii for the two of them for July, when the season would be over regardless of how far they went in the playoffs. He held them in his hand and read the heartfelt words Charlotte had written to him and felt guilt plague him. He'd waited years to have her by his side and now he had her, he had everything he wanted, and he took her for granted.

Charlotte had just crawled in her bed feeling empty inside. She never took it well when she and Jon argued over the years and now it just was a heightened sense of anxiety coursing through her veins. She knew the playoffs were stressing him out, though they didn't really need to, and she wanted to be there for him. He just didn't want her to be. She hoped he'd call her, text her, something, but her phone was uninterrupted. It didn't take her long to fall asleep. She was exhausted and sleep came easy for her. The last thing she thought of before she fell into her twilight was Jon, like it always had been since they'd met.

Charlotte didn't know how long she'd been asleep but when she felt her body being pulled backwards and an arm around her waist her eyes flickered open and she turned to see what was going on. In her sleepy state she realized it was Jon, that he was with her in her bed, and she moaned out as she looked at him in the dark. "What are you doing here?" she asked groggily.

"I felt like a complete asshole," he confessed as he pulled her into him tighter. "You were being so sweet and I pushed you away."

Charlotte smiled and realized that her Jon had finally come back to her. "Nice to see you, I missed you. Don't go away again, okay?"

Jon let out a little laugh and nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm sorry baby. It's so funny because it's so easy to forget...I spent so many years going home with girls and pretended--pictured that it was you--and now I have you and it's so easy to let stupid shit get in the way."

"It's okay," she said as she rested her hand on the side of his cheek that wasn't pressed against the pillow. "I understand. I didn't want to push but I know you by now. I just hate when we argue."

"No," he shook his head. "It isn't okay. No matter what happens I don't want to take it out on you. It won't happen again, I promise."

Charlotte was the one who let out a laugh. "I know you," she repeated. "It probably will at some point or another, and I'm not condoning it, but I'm telling you it's okay. No one is perfect. I love you despite your flaws."

"I have flaws?" he asked with a grin, teasing her before kissing the tip of her nose.

"Not many," she answered as she nuzzled into him. "Truthfully I love your flaws too."

"You still wanna go to Hawaii with me-- even after how awful I've been lately?"

"Oh so you finally opened your card huh?"

"Yes." He knew he deserved some crap over that. "You have every right to be upset with me. Again, I totally dismissed you and that was wrong. I don't even know why, I'd never do that to you being in the right frame of mind."

"I know," Charlotte said again. "It's really okay. I love you and I'm not going anywhere. Don't act like you're losing me."

"I don't ever want to think about that. I'd like to prevent it as much as possible, so I figured an apology helped. Plus, I don't know who I'm kidding. If I'm going to get a good nights sleep I'm gonna need to have you in the bed with me."

Charlotte felt her lips curl up into a satisfied grin. "That makes two of us. Now would you relax? You have enough on your mind and don't need to get all upset over this. Yeah whatever it hurt my feelings but couples fight. I'm not going anywhere. It's okay, I understand. It's not like you're like this all the time, so believe me we're fine."

"You're sure?" Jon asked wanting confirmation to ease his conscious.

"Jon think about all the things we've been through together. All the disagreements and arguments we've had over the years. There aren't many big ones and this doesn't constitute as one either. There isn't anything we can't deal with together-- just promise you won't push me away when you get overwhelmed, okay? That's all I ask."

"That is something I can promise you, easily."

"Good," she said with her eyes closed completely and securely pressed against him. "Now can we get some sleep now?"

"Absolutely," Jon said as he leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of her head. "I love you Char, I'm sorry for being a douchebag. I don't ever wanna take you for granted again."

"It's already forgotten my love," she cooed as she drifted back off to sleep. "It's already forgotten."