Inevitable

"Phil, wake up." Tyler shook Kess gently.

Phil's eyes fluttered open and he looked around, tiredly. He smiled at Bozie and then yawned. The jet was about to land in Pearson and he had fallen asleep for most of the ride back from Ottawa.

Nazem stared out the window beside him, looking at the grass which was beginning to grow and the ice that was almost finished melting away. He stretched his legs out before preparing for landing.

Once the wheels touched the runway, and the players grabbed their carry-ons, they began walking out through the gate in their after-game expensive suits.

Matt put his Beats headphones back on, and they continued walking together out of the airport. The staff was behind them, as all boys headed out into the parking lot. The sky was slowly drawing itself dark, and the air was cool but warm for a Spring night.

The Maple Leafs bus stood there, alone, as the driver waited patiently. Randy stepped aside as everyone climbed in the large vehicle, before closing the door and getting in as well.

Matt and Nazem sat together again on the left side, with Dion and Jake behind them. Tyler and Phil together on the right side of Matt and Naz while James and Joffrey were seated behind. There was an aisle that split them apart but that didn't stop them from talking. All the players were in a good mood after beating the rival team 4-0.

"Jakey you should come to McFlannigan's with us," Tyler turned around in his seat to face Gards and the captain.

"When are you guys going?" Jake asked, glancing at the boys who looked back as well.

"After we go home and leave our stuff," Joffrey explained. "Then we'll all get together up there."

"Kate's coming, so you'll get to meet her." Matt smiled at Jake, one of his best friends. "Along with Kathryn." he winked at Nazem.

"Sure, I'm in." Jake grinned, wearing his tie and navy blue suit.

"Hey Phil, do you already miss the snacks we had on the plane?" Dion took a shot on him when he noticed that Phil was munching on a big cookie.

Phil tried to say something back but pieces of chocolate chip cookie dropped out. He started snickering and the boys did the same. He finally managed to swallow and replied to Dion, "Oh shut up, you couldn't take your hands off the brownies."

"I had one," Dion rolled his eyes.

"You had five, fatass." Joffrey smirked in Dion's direction, calling him out on the lie.

"Actually he had six!" John-Michael laughed so they could hear. He was sitting two seats ahead of Phil and Tyler, three away from Dion.

"They were good!" the captain defended himself as everyone else laughed.

The bus came to a stop at the MasterCard Centre and the players walked out to their polished cars. Nazem's was parked beside Matt, so they chatted on the short way there. Naz turned on his Audi R8 with a small remote and placed his carry-on in the trunk.

"Is fifteen minutes alright?" Jake called out, a couple spots further from them.

"Sounds good," Tyler nodded from a distance as well. He got inside the car with Phil in the passenger seat, and pulled away, driving out of the parking lot. The rest of the players did the same, going in their own directions.

Once Nazem arrived home, he quickly put his luggage in his room and took his phone out of his pocket. He scrolled through the list and tapped the touch screen, and called Claire Connors.

Kathryn Reece.



"Okay," Nazem pulled over by the curb near the bar. "Do you remember the plan?"

"Definitely," Claire assured him.

Naz eyed the McFlannigan's sign carefully. He was nervous and his skin already grew goosebumps. He exhaled heavily and stepped out, closing the car door.

Claire got out as well and Nazem stood beside her. He put his hand out, and gave her a reasonable look. They had to make it seem real. She understood and they headed for the door, while holding hands. Claire's slim body fit perfectly in the red short dress, and her long legs were finished off with a pair of simple black flats.

Nazem nodded at the guard, and he opened the door for them. Naz sighed once they were inside, making it too late to turn back now. He out his free hand in his pocket and licked his lips, searching with his eyes for his teammates.

He saw them sitting at a different larger booth, not the one the boys always got together at. Matt sat on the open end, beside Kate. Joffrey was next to Cheryl, Dion had his arm around Elisha. Three backs were facing Nazem, but he knew that it was Phil, Jake and Tyler was the one with the backwards Blue Jays cap, even though he was still in his game suit too. He wondered where James was, though.

Kate's eyes met Nazem first, and she smiled knowingly, while the rest of them were busy talking. She was wearing her straight hair down, a tight black dress, and black heels. Kaitlynn nudged Matt and he looked at her, before spotting Nazem who still stood a distance away at the door.

He and Claire walked towards them, side by side, hand in hand, with fake smiles.

"Hey!" Tyler grinned, once the fake couple came. Nazem had explained 'The Kathryn Plan' to Tyler at the hotel in Ottawa, but Ty was nervous and unsure about it.

"Move over, dumbass," Phil motioned him to move down, so they could sit as well.

Nazem put his hand out, so Claire could sit first. He then seated himself beside her, and their arms brushed against each other. They were right across from Matt and Kaitlynn.

"Guys, this is Kathryn." Naz licked his lips. "That's Dion," he glanced at the captain. "That's Elisha Cuthbert, if you don't already know." he smiled at the celebrity.

"That's Joffrey and Cheryl Burke-- also more famous than old Lupes." he winked and Joffrey rolled his eyes, as Cheryl giggled.

"Matt and Kaitlynn." he swallowed "Phil.. Tyler.. Jake.."

"Holy shit." James' mouth slid open. He stood by the booth with two cold beers in his hands. He stared at Claire who did the same, wordless.

"And that's.. James?" Nazem finished the introductions, but eyed JvR carefully. They all looked at James and Claire, back and forth, confused. Nazem and Kate exchanged looks, communicating that this was not supposed to happen.

"Um," Claire shook herself out of it and smiled back at everyone. "It's nice to meet you all."

"Here," Matt scooted over and Kaitlynn did the same, making room for James. "Sit down, I'll help you with those." he grabbed the beers and put one in front of Nazem and the other in front of Claire. Everyone else already had drinks in front of them.

"Uh, yeah, thanks." James made him self comfortable next to Matt, across from Claire.

"So, Kathryn," Dion smiled nicely. "How long have you and nifty mittens been together?"

Nazem kept his eyes on the table, back against the leather, with one hand holding the beer down. His other arm was around on top of the seat, reaching over Claire's shoulder. He made a mental check-mark in his head, remembering that they had gone over this.

Kate bit her bottom lip, glad the tension between Claire and James was gone. It was now going according to the plan, but she still wondered what that was all about. She noticed James staring dangerously at Nazem.

"A couple weeks now," Claire slightly cocked her head to the side.

"Where did you guys meet?" Phil asked.

"At this bar, actually." Claire faked another grin, as Phil smiled back. He glanced at Tyler, remembering the dare from that same night.

Tyler gulped a few sips of his beer down, exhaling and nodding at Phil.

"Are you a hockey fan?" Matt questioned curiously.

"No," Claire replied. "I don't watch sports that often but hockey's pretty cool."

"Are you working or still in school?" Joffrey asked what was mentioned in the plan.

"This is my third year as a fourth grade teacher," Claire said with confidence.

"I'm impressed." Joffrey smiled. Nazem smirked up at Kaitlynn and tilted his beer towards her as she did the same to him, without anyone noticing, they both drank.

"Have you traveled anywhere?" Jake smiled and his bright blue eyes stood out.

"I've been to Italy and France, I also used to live in the states," she explained. "I taught in Philly for a few years and moved here in July." Claire swallowed and caught JvR's eyes when she spoke about Philadelphia.

James leaned back against the leather backboard in his suit, as well, and gulped some more beer down. There was another silent staredown between him and Claire again.

"I love your dress, I must say." Cheryl put a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

"I agree, red is your color." Elisha winked in Claire's direction.

"Thank you," Claire smiled and complimented them too. Kate joined the conversation and the girls chatted together for a bit. The boys were down to their second beers, finishing the last couple sips left.

"I'll be right back," Matt kissed Kate's cheek. He then headed for the hall leading to the restrooms.

"I'm gonna get another beer," James slid out of the seat and stood up. "Do you guys want one more too?"

Dion, Joffrey, Phil and Jake said no politely, except for Nazem and Tyler who accepted the offer. Once James got up, Ty leaned closer to Naz.

"Is this part of the plan?" Bozie asked sarcastically while the girls were busy talking, and their other teammates were focused on their phones. Naz sighed and shook his head slowly, in response, having no idea why James was acting this way.

"I'll get some drinks for us as well," Claire put her hand on Cheryl's arm and smiled at the hockey girlfriends--and the fiance, Elisha.

Her fake smile instantly faded back to reality once she walked confidently towards the bar stand. She stood a few feet beside James, who was waiting for the bartender to hand over the beer bottles. They were a far enough distance away from the booth.

"..What the living hell is going on, Claire?" James said quietly but didn't face her. He just kept his eyes on the shot glasses and shelves in front of them.

She stared ahead, too, not making eye contact with him. "I can explain." she swallowed.

"I'd like the best explanation you've got." he put his hand over his mouth, scratching his goatee lightly. They were both making it seem like they weren't discussing anything, avoiding the chance of being suspected by his teammates and their girlfriends.

"There's been a huge misunderstanding." her voice cracked in the whisper. She licked her lips, trying not to show weakness.

James looked over his shoulder at the booth, where everyone was laughing and enjoying each other's company. He faced the front again and glanced at the dark hallway.

"Let's talk," he motioned with his head. She nodded and walked toward it by herself, and then a couple seconds later he followed, casually.

Once they were in the hallway with dim lights and a long blue carpet which stretched to the Men's Washroom and Women's Washroom signs, Claire leaned back against the white wall.

"James.." Claire crossed her arms nervously, hugging her chest.

James put his hands in his pockets and stood in front of her. They stared at each other, "Why are they calling you Kathryn?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I.." she began. "I can't tell you."

"Tell me." he said firmly.

"It's part of a plan," she bit her bottom lip. "That's all I'll say."

"How much do you like him?" James took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on his hips.

"I don't." she squeaked, swallowing an urge to drop and cry.

"You're pretending to be to his girlfriend?" he quickly caught on.

"It's part of the plan," she looked up at him again. "I didn't know that he's your teammate."

James took two steps closer to her, not removing his hands from his hips. His black tie hung down his chest and he eyed her carefully before asking, "Why did you never return my calls?"

"Because I thought we made it clear last Summer that we hate each other." Claire breathed.

"I never said I hated you. I could never hate how happy you made me for those two years." James didn't blink. "I never stopped loving you."

"I'm so sorry for leaving.." she couldn't hold it back, as her lips were shaking and her breath was unsteady.

"It was my fault for letting you leave to take the better teaching offer." James put one hand on the wall beside her, and the other one on the back of her dress. "But now we're both here, babe."

"I still love you so much," she ruffled his hair at the front, sliding her hand down to his cheek.

Matt hummed a musical tune as he strolled out of the bathroom. He stopped in his tracks once he saw his teammate and Nazem's girlfriend so close. Then his mouth dropped open.

James closed the last inches between them and kissed her. They pressed their lips together again, finally getting to feel each other after eight and a half months.

Matt wasn't believing what his own eyes saw. He breathed quietly and walked down the hall, in the other direction. He was furious, he wanted to rip James apart, but he wanted to let Nazem do that. He turned to the left and saw their booth a couple tables away.

"Ready to go?" Matt rummaged with the keys in his pocket.

"Yeah it's getting pretty late," Cheryl spoke. She and Joffrey stepped out of the section, along with Dion and Elisha.

"Where's James?" Phil asked.

"Dammit, he and Kath went to go get drinks." Naz stood up. "I'll stop them since we're leav--"

"I saw you guys getting ready to go home, so I came." James suddenly walked up beside Matt. Kathryn shortly came after and put on her black leather Spring jacket.

"Oh, what a coincidence." Matt glared at both and at Kath. Everyone looked at Fratts, confused by what he had just said. James chuckled lightly, shaking it off nervously.

They said their goodnight's and went out to their cars. Kaitlynn sat in the passenger seat while Matt drove. He felt like he needed to tell someone.

"Kathryn is cheating on Naz." Matt spoke clearly, while keeping his eyes forward on the road ahead.

Kaitlynn choked on her own breath, out of nowhere, at the words she just heard. She cleared her throat and responded, "What do you mean?"

"I saw her and.. James.. making out." he shook his head slowly.

"Did you hear anything?" Kate asked quietly, swallowing hard.

"No," Matt told. "They were just in the hallway alone, kissing."

"Wow." she managed to say. Kate had quickly assumed earlier that they knew each other in Philly, so it was reasonable to think that they were together because of their reactions at the booth.

"I just can't believe he would do that to his own fucking teammate." Matt tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Kate bit her bottom lip and stared at her flooded hands on her lap. "Are you gonna tell Naz?"

"Yeah, there's no way I would keep something like this from him." Matt sighed. He pulled over in front of her apartment building and put his hands on his head.

"Hey.." Kaitlynn said calmly. "Look at me," she took his hands off and he did as she said.

She didn't know what else to say or how to reply, how to try to make him feel better, so she couldn't. She leaned in and kissed him. Matt put his hand on her cheek, and they kissed again, more passionately. He pulled back and smiled faintly at the girl he was starting like even more.

"Goodnight baby," she licked her lips and smiled. He nodded slightly and she stepped out, closing the car door. She waited for him to drive off, and once he did, she took her iPhone out of her purse and walked towards the building.

there's been a change of plans.

A minute after she was off the elevator and into her room, she got a text back from Nazem.

Claire told me what happened with James and btw I just dropped her off.

Kaitlynn wanted to text him quickly and tell him that Matt knew something too, but she was interrupted. She looked up at the front door that tipped open, and saw Claire coming in. She closed it and took her shoes off, without any words.

Kate sighed heavily while sitting on the edge of the sofa, feeling helpless. "Explain."

Claire sat on the wooden table and breathed, "Do you remember when I moved here last Summer and I said I dated someone in Philly, but never gave you any details because I didn't want to talk about it?"

"Fuck." Kate remembered and now it made sense. But it was sure to ruin everything because Matt saw.

"Look, you're still too young to know what love feels like." Claire spoke. "We were together for two years. I had no idea he was traded to the Leafs."

"I guess you were also too busy having no idea that Matt was in the bathroom." Kate whispered loudly, trying to stay calm. "He saw you when he came out into the hallway."

"Oh my god.. I.." Claire shook her head and closed her eyes.

Kaitlynn didn't say anything else after that, nor did Claire. They sat there, not even looking at each other. Kate got up and went to her bedroom. The plan was broken, as if there was another page in the notebook that had written itself without them going over it.